Supporting New Teams

With every company or school it’s important that the students get the full experience they’ve paid for.
It’s very common to see students do all the courses in the curriculum only to finish and find themselves saying, “What’s next?”
To me, this is a waste of potential.

I see a lot of improv teams/shows perform one class show, or one weekend show, and that’s it. They had coaches and they had a rehearsal space, but then after a show, no more. 
Of course the team isn’t going to last!
Get. Yourself. A. Coach.
It’s the number one reason why improv teams don’t last.
Get a coach, get a regular rehearsal going, and try and get gigs. 
For a new team, it’s tough. It feels like they have all the support leading up to their first show and then it all stops, I don’t blame them. The responsibility should be on coaches and schools to help guide these teams forward.

Improv is all about improvement; no one ever really becomes “the best” at improv. It’s constant practice, constant improvement. 
The best improvisers are consistent, the best teams are consistently making audiences laugh.

BLC takes great pride in being able to give students that extra step after a course. 
You’re not finished after the 401 course, you are encouraged to start a team and we do our best to give you everything you need, from coaches, rehearsal space, gigs, advice.
Your improv journey isn’t done after a course or a show, the training wheels might be off but the bike is still wobbling and it takes a little more time to be fully comfortable riding.

I think schools should at least be aware that improv teams need support when starting out. Give them a place to rehearse, give them a coach, give them another show, encourage them to continue performing. Improv is built from the community, from starting teams with new people and the desire to practice new formats. 
I kept coming back to improv because I was learning new things, I was performing with my best friends, and more importantly there was a desire to improve; every step forward there was a new challenge.

Your improv journey doesn’t end at 401, it begins.

- John