What Is Long Form Improv Comedy?

Video Transcript

Now I want to talk to you about another kind of improv comedy, long form improv. There's lots of kinds of improv, mainly short form and long form. In this one, I want to talk about what is long form improvisation? Long form is when the scenes in the show are related somehow. They're either related by following a character through time, or following a story, a place, or even a theme or a concept. So the scenes are connected somehow. They can often even be an improvised play, or an unscripted play, like an unscripted Chekhov play, or Shakespeare play. I even do unscripted Broadway musicals, where we improvise the songs and the dances and the characters, all at the same time. So there's lots of opportunities in a long form narrative show or a long form Herald or Chicago style show. But how it's different is often, the, one of the other differences is that the suggestion usually comes at the beginning of the show, and the rest of the show happens onstage. The short form show, they might be coming to the audience throughout the show and getting suggestions. The long form, usually that suggestion comes at the top, and then you run from there. And, game play and short form is a great foundation, and great skill that you're going to use when you do long form improvisation, because long form is like one, big, long game. And they both have great value. One thing long form can do, is it can offer the audience something a little more richer, maybe some more complexity, characters that are compelling, stories that make you laugh, but also make you think, or make you cry. So that's one of the things long form narrative can offer, is a fuller, of artistic options, and short form can offer that really fast, funny option, but they're both very entertaining, both great options for improvisers.

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