Improve Screenwriter
By: Moshe Leibovich
Tags: Improv, Screenwriting, Writing Tips

Improve Screenwriter

Image by Vigan Hajdari from Pixabay

Improv acting is a sub-genre of stage performance. It includes actors who go on stage without any preplanned script and run an act. One type of such an act is called Long-Form, and it includes a full 1-hour play with a single story from a start to an end.

At its core, Improve is a strong acting technique that helps actors connect to different characters, but looking closer at this art reveals much more. Long-Form Improve is not character building, it’s a storytelling session, live on stage. Looking into this form’s strategies can improve a screenwriter’s abilities, even without practicing it. Let’s start by examining some of these form’s common techniques.

Long-Form Strategies

The first Long-Form’s rule is “always look back”. A performer must remember every event that happened in order to use it later — either as a fun note or to close a loose end. The performance must be holistic and serve a finite experience to the audience, building upon past events and scenes is key in achieving it.

Another basic rule (the first rule of Improv in general) is to accept everything. It doesn’t mean “always say yes” but rather to accept a piece of information someone else provided. The idea in performance is simple, the audience heard it so it already exists, contradicting it (especially back and forth) will just feel stuck and bore the audience.

On the other hand, it’s really hard for the audience to remember everything. In order to make sure important information solidifies in the audience’s mind the “rule of 3” comes for aid. The rule simply says that in order to solidify a face (a character’s name for example), the performers should repeat it 3 times (in a reasonable time gap). It makes sure that the audience will be on the spot and the point loud and clear.

A different kind of rule, unique for Long-Form is about the storytelling aspect. At the begging of the show, the rule says that if something can go bad — make it worse. Wherever the stakes can escalate, it should be escalated. Only towards the end of the 1-hour, the resolution should begin and the performers bring back open threads and make sure the end it all.

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Improve Screenwriting

as we can see, Improve is pretty straight forward: accept every fact, base on previous scenes, complicate as much as you can, and give the audience all the important facts. These four rules are not new, they exist in every screenwriting book, blog, and lecture, but they usually appear in different posts. Seeing these rules together, especially in the larger context of a full long-form, can help with the macro aspect of screenwriting.

At the end of the day, Screenwriting is all about the full story, not the writing aspects. All the techniques and rules are great for specific problems, but it’s important not to neglect the macro of writing — storytelling. Performing in an Improv group, or even running a session in front of the mirror, compels the screenwriter to practice all storytelling aspects in a single 1-hour session.

Conclusion

Improv is a fun activity in itself, but it’s also a great social tool to practice screenwriting. It improves storytelling abilities, and just like writing group, having partners to push forward always help. It compels the writer to try and make better stories quicker, and as the most important Improv rule says — if it doesn’t work, it’s fine, the next one will be better.