Some practice ideas from Peter...

This is a set of pages on specific skills we need to have as improvisors.

Each page lists some theoretical considerations -- laying out exactly what the skill is -- and then specific exercises for improving that skill.

Meta-Practice
"You rehearse improv? That's so silly!"
How to Practice
Because there's lots of ways to practice improv, and you should get the most out of all of them.
Promises
Because getting better at improv requires too much damn multitasking.
Warming Up
Because you're tired, you've got a lot on your mind, and you're sure as hell not ready to do any improv. Dammit.
Giving Notes
Because somebody's got to pick through the black box recording.
Fundamentals
"So, what are the basic things you have to do?"
Character
Because stories have characters in them.
Objective
Because for a story to happen, those characters have to want things.
Location, Location, Location
Because scenes have to take place somewhere.
Changing
Because if your character doesn't change, it isn't a story, it's just something that happened.
Status
Because status is the best crutch we have for establishing character, relationship, and even objective.
Endowment
Because the quickest way to cut through the 'thirty seconds of vagueness' is to endow like a motherfucker.
Connection
Because you have to pay attention to the other players, or everything will go to shit.
Relationship
Because it's harder to do anything meaningful with charcters you don't know.
States of Mind
"You've gotta be crazy to do improv, right?"
Believe in your Scene
Because a scene can write itself when you suspend disbelief.
Improv Schizophrenia
Because you need a 'voice in your head' that tells you not to block, disconnect, join, or otherwise fuck up a scene.
Have Fun
Because we should all be having fun at this.
Bigness
Because playing it big makes the scene easier to understand and more likely to matter.
Playing For Your Partner
Because if everybody concentrates, not on themselves, not on the audience, not even on the directors, but on supporting the other performers as much as possible, everybody wins.
Special Cases
"Okay, say somebody threw a duck at you and your head exploded. What do you do then?"
Panic Control
Because it's hard to do a scene when you're standing there, empty-headed, scared witless, with a deer-in-the-headlights look on your face.
Movies
Because an improvisor can learn a lot from watching movies.
Improv Therapy
Because sometimes you get completely miserable about your own apparent inability to scenework, and you have to break out of it somehow.
Euthanasia
Because in spite of all of your noble efforts, occasionally you're going to have to shoot a scene in the head.
Naming
Because characters need names.
Working With a Boat Anchor
Because you may find yourself... in a scene with an audience member (or an improvisor acting like one), and you gotta carry it on your own.