There are no mistakes in improv

Improv teaches you that you that there are no mistakes and more importantly you can’t make a mistake. In that sense, through improv, you are one with nature. If you look outside your window you can see that nature doesn’t make mistakes. A tree isn’t wrong, the cloud didn’t stuff up, the grass is not incorrect. You’d never say a rock is the wrong shape or that it failed. It is just what it is. That’s how it is in improv – there are no mistakes. In this sense, whatever you do is correct.

That doesn’t mean some improv scenes and stories aren’t better than others, of course they can be, that’s a judgement we make, just like you might prefer one lake or an ice-cream over another. It’s purely subjective. So only through this subjective lens can you say there are bad and good choices. How many times have you done a scene on stage that you thought was terrible and you get feedback from someone in the audience who though it was the best moment in the show? There are no mistakes, no wrong choices - just choices and then better choices. The way to learn how to make better choices comes from making lots of choices. It’s called experience!

There is a caveat here and it’s a big one. You can’t look at ‘there are no mistakes in improv’ in isolation. It has to be considered amongst other improv principles such as ‘make your fellow player look good’ and ‘play the reality’ plus of course being accountable for your choices. You’re not just jumping up on stage saying anything and going “that’s improv folks!” If you’re honouring what the scene is about and working to inspire your fellow players then, whatever your imagination serves you is correct and then what you do with that is your talent.

With that in mind, there are no failed or wrong choices. The only choice that comes close to being a failed choice is not to make a choice at all - to stay standing in the shadows - and not partake. Of course in improv that can actually be the best choice in that moment and what the scene needed (ie: it didn’t need you). As you come to realise that you can’t be wrong, you develop your confidence and your ability to trust your intuition. You get comfortable in your skin. Letting go of the fear of making a mistake means you can be fully present with your scene partner/s and discover the gold. And of course, that’s when you start making better choices.