Improvoker

Just last week I had an alarming experience. My improv notebook went missing and I panicked. I started calling all the people I knew, to see if anyone had picked it up while we were out. No one knew where it was. I searched my overflowing backpack, my messy apartment, my paper filled office and still nothing. It turned out, I had written a few notes in it last Wednesday during group practice and had left it by the leg of my chair. Luckily for me, Roy Astorias Studio had it turned in and I retrieved it, but it was a harrowing experience. The history of the last year of my improv education is contained in that little notebook and If I were to loose it, I wouldn’t be able to reconstruct all the lessons, exercises, thoughts, or knowledge contained in it.

This, surprisingly, coincided with an article I have been writing, off and on, for the past 3 weeks about keeping an improv notebook. I considered it a sign that I should finish off the article and post it on the website. And so, without further ado…

Recently a UCB instructor asked me, while I was sitting in the UCB training center’s waiting room, writing in my improv notebook, whether I took class notes.

You now I never see many students taking notes in classes I teach. Back when I was in classes I took lots of notes and I still have all my notebooks.
Yeah, I hardy ever see students taking notes in classes and it sees strange to me as well. I would never remember any of this if I didn’t take notes.

Strangely from that time I have taken 2 additional classes and I am consistently the only student who takes regular notes in my classes and the only student I know who keeps an active written journal (besides improvoker web journal). Of course, everyone is different and has different ways of keeping and recording information. Some people may have brains that can retain class information without the need of a notebook, but I am not one of those people and I would wager that the majority of you all are not those types of people.

Enter the Improv Journal

I take copious notes, because when I started taking improv in 2001 – I didn’t. When I started, I really didn’t take improv that seriously. I didn’t read books, didn’t see shows, didn’t connect with the community; it was a hobby and I was just enjoying the ride. When I decided to come back into improv last year, after a short hiatus, I knew I wanted to invest more time into my craft. Sounds pretty pretentious, but true. I had spent a lot of money and time honing skills that I can barely remember now. Sure most of the lessons, good and bad, have been turned into muscle memory, but I would love to have some record of those early days and the specifics of what were said.

My notes perform 5 major functions:

• Class Notes
• Thoughts/Improv Diary
• Recaps and Reviews of Shows
• Sketch Writing ideas
• Movies, TV, Theater people mention

My notebook is so important to my improv training, that I really don’t know how I would attend classes without it. The sheer number of lesson to remember in just a single class, can springboard me into my head, in no time. My notebook allows me to take the information, that would normally fill my thoughts, and record them elsewhere for later review. This truly allows my brain to focus on the scenework at hand, rather than juggling focus with specifics notes. And as we all know thinking too much can cripple an improviser’s ability to perform.

In a sense, my improv notebook acts like a repository for the things I need to remember long-term. It allows me to compartmentalize ideas and get them out of my short-term, so I can use that space for my scene work. If it all seems a little confusing, why not start your notebook today.