Improvisation is one of those comedy forms that is, ironically, the butt of many jokes. From Michael Scott on The Office working his way through painful sketches to tweets about the cringe people feel when they hear “Can I get a suggestion from the audience?” improvisation has somehow earned the reputation of a lowbrow, self-promotional and even painful form of comedy.
This, I must say, makes me sad. I spent three of my four years of college on our school’s improv team. We were called On The Fly, which was somewhat punny since our college sports team was The Dayton Flyers. My time on that team literally changed my life, because my husband and I had our “meet cute” at a party hosted by my improv friends.
And yeah, even though I was absolutely one of those gawky people saying, “Give me a suggestion of a famous character—NOT Harry Potter, please!” I still feel great affection for improvisation as a form of comedy. Bad improv can feel like a prison sentence in which the audience is waiting to be released from the obligation to laugh at flailing actors. It’s these uncomfortable moments that give improvisation such a terrible reputation.
But good improv? It feels like magic. An entire story is made possible before your eyes, with callbacks and witty turns of phrase and memorable characters.
Netflix’s new limited series, Middleditch and Schwartz, absolutely falls into the “good improv” category. As the title suggests, each episode stars Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley, Verizon Commercials) and Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation, Sonic The Hedgehog). The two improvisers then put on a show of about 35 to 45 minutes in length that is completely improvised based on an audience interaction.
Watching these two reminds me that there are certain principles that make good improv possible. Middleditch and Schwartz showcase these ideas in several different ways!