Improv Comedy Techniques

Series Summary

“So what is the deal with airports? You walk in and everybody is in such a hurry. Its like the time your dad left without you at the gas station and made you chase the car down the road while your brother and sister are in the back sit giving you the finger...what?...why is everyone leaving?...sir, please don't throw your beer at me...why is my microphone off?...” Stand up comedy and improv comedy is a difficult career and making it is no laughing matter. It takes work, practice, persistence, and wit sharper than Oscar Wilde's pen. It is important for a comedian to be relevant, creative, intelligent, and accessible, even when objects are being thrown at him or her from an angry customer in the audience.

In this free video series, let comedian Les McGehee school you in the art of humor as he teaches you how to do improv comedy. Learn different improvisational techniques and games, how to apply those techniques to different situations, and how to use the art of improv comedy to make people laugh. This step by step comedy lesson is sure to make you laugh and get you closer to your dream of telling jokes for a living.

Video Transcript

"LES MCGEHEE: Hi, it's--what the hell? I heard you [PH] Joe. JOE PARSONS: I'm sorry, I'm so... LES MCGEHEE: See, that was a surprise. JOE PARSONS: [INDISCERNIBLE]. Oh, hi. LES MCGEHEE: Hi, it's Les McGehee and we're back. This is Joe Parsons. He's going to help me teach some simple improvisation lessons from my amazing book, "Les McGehee Plays Well With Others." and used at many universities and at a bookstore near you, as well as lesmcgehee.com. Alright, one of the basic building blocks of all improvisation, perhaps the most important lesson of all improvisation, one of the most important lessons, is going to be this rule of yes and, it's a type of agreement. Improvisers start working and they don't know what they're going to do. And so, when somebody launches an idea, they help to propel it in a direction they can all agree on and they use this tool, yes and. Now, grown-ups are really tricky at saying no and trying to sound like they're saying yes. Let's try a couple of these real quick. I'll explain what real agreement is like on an improv stage. Joe if you would please, suggest that I do something and then we go do something. JOE PARSONS: Hey, let's go play baseball in the park. LES MCGEHEE: No. that would be a really short improv scene and you would work really hard to fill up an evening of improv activity. So, we don't say no to each other, but grown-ups sometimes act no when they sound like they're saying yes. Watch this. Let's try. JOE PARSONS: Hey, let's go play baseball in the park. LES MCGEHEE: Yes, but first let's play football. That's a yes but, that means no, but it sounds like I was agreeing at first, didn't I? Try me again, I'll be nicer. JOE PARSONS: Hey, let's go play baseball in the park. LES MCGEHEE: Yes or we could read my book, "Les McGehee Plays Well With Others." See, that would be a "yes or." See, I replaced his idea with mine. Here's how it should be done. Actually, we'll try one more sneaky one. Try me one more time. JOE PARSONS: Hey, let's go play baseball in the park. LES MCGEHEE: Yes. And then I do nothing. None of those would work on the improv stage. On the improv stage, I've got to take whatever idea I feel coming from my co-worker here and I've gotta love it and help it go in the direction it's trying to go and the phrase that helps that the most is "yes and..." Let's give it a try. JOE PARSONS: Hey. LES MCGEHEE: Hey. JOE PARSONS: Let's go play baseball in the park. LES MCGEHEE: Yes, and it should be dry now, and I've got cleats on. So now we have something to do in the improv sense by agreeing with a yes and."