01 Jul Improv Training Advice: Short Form and Long Form
If you are seeking improv training advice, you’ve come to the right place! Improv training is a fantastic way to free up your impulses and instincts as a performer; it’s also a ton of fun. At 3-2-1 Acting Studios in Los Angeles, we do offer improv training within our class curriculum. A primary piece of improv training advice that we offer our students: understand that there are different “forms” of comedic improv. The main two styles are short form and long form.
Short Form Improv
Have you ever seen the TV show Whose Line is it Anyway? This show is a short form improv show! If you haven’t seen it, check it out on YouTube.
In short form improv, actors play a series of short “games” driven by audience participation and outside prompts. In this video, for example, you will see the “scenes from a hat” game on Whose Line is it Anyway?. Once the “assignment” or “prompt” is fulfilled – and a punchline is achieved – the scene is over. Short form improv therefore becomes a series of independent scenarios (rather than a continuous scene that involves character development). Short form improv is a lot of fun!
Long Form Improv
Long form improv is perhaps the more well-known form of improv; this is the genre of improv that comedy legends such as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler practiced before they got famous!
Many SNL cast members trained in long-form improv. In long form improv, there may be some sort of outside prompt, word, or idea that the actors on stage use as a jumping off point. However, instead of executing a quick “bit” with a punchline, the actors actually enact entire scenes and develop characters, scenarios, and plot points as they interact with one another. In most long form improv shows, there are a series of scenes that are linked either by characters or by common themes.
In some long form shows, single scenes can last for as long as 40 minutes or an hour! There are many different styles and approaches when it comes to long form improv.
The best way to see long form improv…is live. Upright Citizen’s Brigade, Improv Olympics (iO), Second City, and Groundlings are four famous comedic improv venues.
Which type of improv should you study?
Students seeking improv training advice often ask us what type of improv (short form or long form) they should study. We always say that it’s good to experiment with different performance styles to see what you enjoy most! If you are planning to audition for commercials, we definitely recommend long form improv. Long form improv is also great training for sketch comedy and comedic television work.
Have fun!
As always, have a blast while you train! We hope that this improv training advice proves useful. Watch the short form vs. long form video (above) for more insights!
