Practicing Your Instrument
The other day, I read this amazing quote by Jordan Peele in Judd Apatow’s Sick in the Head. In talking about learning improv, Peele said,
One of the breakthrough moments for me was realizing that, you know, you can take all the classes you want and learn and practice and get all the advice from other people, but it’s really like learning an instrument that has never existed until you were born. No one can tell you how to play that instrument. There’s a part of that journey that you have to figure out for yourself.
I read a LOT about comedy and improv. I probably talk about it way too much. Incidentally, if you want to talk about comedy books, we’re starting a Comedy Book Club next year. Any tiny nugget of wisdom I pull from my reading is worth it to me. I didn’t expect to find one of my favorite quotes about improv buried in a book only tangentially about improv.
I couldn’t agree more with Peele’s quote. I could lecture for 1,000 hours about all of the experiences I’ve had on stage with my instrument. Some of that might be valuable to a student, but most of it is unique to my own improv journey. A student might learn every single experience I’ve ever had and how I negotiated it, and that student might come across none of those situations in their own improv career. That’s why I focus on encouraging my students to get on the stage and start practicing their own instrument rather than taking 6 years of classes and hoping for a “shot.” Make your own shot.
In my experience, stand-up comedians don’t obsess about classes and workshops and learning the craft the same way that improvisers do. They find an open mic. They sign up. They bomb for a while. They eventually might get good. I think improvisers could use more of that energy.
If you love improv, get out there. Find a few friends to make a troupe. Rent the back room of a bar. Give away free tickets for your show. Start practicing your instrument.
