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Step 1
Find a good rehearsal space. At a university, you can use your student status to book space in an auditorium or classroom. If you're not a student, you can find rehearsal spaces advertised in the theatrical trade papers such as Backstage or Show Business. Many of these rooms rent by the hour for a small fee. You also might be able to rent space at a local acting school.
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Step 2
Recruit actors to join the group. Begin with one or two that you trust and work on small skits. Think about the various types of characters you want your growing company to cover. Pick actors that can fit a variety of roles and are equipped with skills beyond dancing, such as singers, dancers and musicians.
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Step 3
Advertise your auditions by putting up fliers in the local actors' union, at comedy clubs, in schools and anywhere else actors and comedians might congregate.
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Step 4
Get organized. Have a goal for each rehearsal. For instance, you might announce that you will spend the rehearsal working on silent bits, interactions that don't require dialogue. For another rehearsal, you might decided to create one original piece. Appoint one person to act as director. Someone has to be the chief.
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Step 5
In the beginning, make sure practice improvisational exercises to build trust and listening skills. Improvisations requires you to think on your feet. The group must learn to trust each other's instincts.
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Step 6
Build rehearsals around improv games from websites like fuzzyco.com. Never critique the results. They are meant to expand your imagination and sense of fun. Enjoy them.
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Step 7
Pick a name that will attract attention. Go online to review which names are already being used, and then let the entire group participate in the naming process. You want something catchy with a sense of the absurd.
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Step 8
Stick to a style. Choose between improv or stand up, and then perfect your performances. Don't try to mix styles. It will confuse you and your audience, and you'll never master either.
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Step 9
Schedule brainstorming conferences in which you and the actors meet to devise original material. This can come out of more improvisations or from straight writing sessions.
