Hi! I’m Natalie, and I’m a longtime member of ImproMafia. If you ring us up to chat about all things improv, I’ll be your first port of call.

There’s a lot of common questions and inquiries people have, so I’ve put together a Q&A to help out the impro newcomer. These are mostly to do with getting involved with our workshop program.

Well, first up, is it actually OK to call you? 

For sure! We know that for many people, chatting through something on the phone is still their preferred way to find out more information.

It’s a big step to make a phone call about a potential new interest or skill, and the last thing you want is a hostile voice on the other end. I promise I’ll be nice!

If something else is happening and I can’t speak to you right then, I’m happy to arrange another time. You can also email contact@impromafia.com and we can set something up from there.

Is it OK to tell you that I’m nervous about improv? 

Definitely! Impro is making stuff up onstage without a script. It is way out of many people’s comfort zones, and naturally that’s a bit nerve-wracking! I’ll tell you now what I’ll tell you on the phone - impro is brilliant, wonderful, life-affirming and can give you tremendous sense of pride and personal achievement. But along the way you’ll also have moments where you feel like a numpty. Those are perhaps the MOST important parts. 

We very much follow the Keith Johnstone school of improvisation which encourages and embraces failure. Two of my impro heroes, Deborah Frances-White and Tom Salinsky, often get students to say “We suck and we love to fail!” before getting onstage. I love that as a mantra. Once you accept that you will never be perfect, and more importantly, you don’t HAVE to be perfect, you can really start to play around with your own creativity!

I worry that I won’t be funny enough.

There is a lot of humour to be found on the impro stage, it’s true. But that humour develops from honest, empathetic and truthful interactions with your fellow improvisers. 

Improv isn’t stand-up comedy; it’s working with others to build something great together. Often there is laughter; sometimes there isn’t. But as long as you’re in the moment, it will always be entertaining.

You know those positivity memes or yoga mantras that say “You are enough”? That really is true for impro. Just bring yourself and a sense of curiosity.

I’m worried I might be too old for improv. 

This is more common than you’d think. Many people first learn about improv or Theatresports at school, then perhaps don’t think about taking it up for years. Others don’t even find out improv is something you can learn until they come to see a show. Many people think they’ve missed the boat, but the good news is, you haven’t!

Impro is about a meeting of minds and perspectives. We all benefit when we have a great mix of ages and experiences.

We do typically have an age minimum of 18 on our workshops. But as long as you’re over that, you are welcome.

Oh, I’m under 18! What about me? 

This is a really good question and something we’re working hard to address. ImproMafia is a not-for-profit organisation with limited teaching resources, and so we’ve had to invest our time into adult workshops. 

However, we are fielding more inquiries from under 18s and their parents/teachers, and we hope to develop more options for under 18s during 2022. 

If you do have further queries about this, definitely shoot us an email on contact@impromafia.com

What is a typical class like? 

If you have never done impro before, we generally recommend one of our free taster classes, which we typically hold every couple of months to tie in with our Level 1 Beginners Workshop. 

This is a 90 minute introductory session where you’ll hear a little bit about the history of impro and ImproMafia, learn some basic impro principles, and then play some classic Theatresports games.

The workshops generally have 12 to 15 people per class, with one or two teachers present. There are gentle group and pair activities, but you won’t be forced to do anything you don’t want to do.

These taster classes are just that - a taste of what you can expect in Level 1. 

You can of course choose to dive straight into Level 1, which is typically an eight week course. Each class is three hours. You’ll do warm-up exercises or refresh principles you learned the previous week, then your teacher will focus on a key impro principle and give you solid foundations in how it works onstage. 

At the end of your Level 1 course you’ll have the opportunity to perform in a graduation show with your fellow classmates. This gives you the chance to test out your newfound skills in a real stage setting. This is completely optional, but we find it's the cherry on top for most workshop participants!

I’m investigating impro more for personal development, hoping it will help me in other areas of my personal and professional life. Is that OK? 

Very much so! A significant number of our workshop participants don’t pursue impro on the stage, or even come from a performing background. 

We have had doctors, lawyers, accountants, IT experts, retail and hospitality workers, public servants, business people, academics and more take our courses. All said their goals was to learn better public speaking and creative thinking skills, as well as confidence.

One of my favourite stories is about a young woman who was encouraged to speak up more and do presentations at her work, in order to raise her profile and increase her chances of promotion. She was terrified, but did our Level 1 to build confidence in her ability to speak with authority and connect with work colleagues. She wrote to her teacher afterwards to thank them - she had been able to incorporate her new impro skills and deliver her first presentation at work.

Impro is not magic; it’s not going to instantly transform your life. But it will give you fresh perspectives on things like failure, status, listening, being present, being changed, and working as a team.

So in that sense, I think it’s pretty magical.