Improv Retreat
Or how not to hate each other after two days
Five years ago, the troupe I was coaching weekly wanted to take a weekend away and include some improv. More improv? A whole weekend? With me again?
I was surprised and slightly dubious about such an adventure. Spending weekends with friends and/or family can be daunting, but with people who only know each other from a weekly improv training? I knew about such outings, but my experiences of other retreats as a participant were not really positive.
Yet, adventure and a desire to spend some time in the green countryside of Normandy, away from the hustle and bustle of Paris, convinced me. I had yet to design a plan for the whole weekend — how to keep interest up, but not exhaust the fifteen people who came to relax and do improv; how to include different levels of improv with some participant I had never met or knew nothing about (to make the weekend financially sustainable, we extended invitations to people outside the troupe, some with little to zero improv experience); how to include different ages and language levels; how to get people on their feet between breakfast and lunch, digestion and party night, regardless of weather, in a space that wasn’t necessarily ready for workshops and group presentations… and different sleeping arrangements and waking habits, sartorial readiness, and controversial conversation topics…
TRUST THE PROCESS
I had to remind myself (and be reminded by others) that more often than not, people make efforts to turn an experience into a success. We all have our own particularities, preferences and mania, but most of us have various degrees of filters and ‘social modes’ which come into effect in such situations. People had planned time away from kids, friends, family, regular weekend activities, and spent money for this weekend, so they wanted it to feel good. They were ready to make compromises, accept shared common sense, and find their role within the group.
I had less experience planning a whole weekend of improv, so after some research, I adopted the philosophy of “relaxing with a loose focus”. I picked a narrative format for the advanced group and a challenging but more thematic format for the less advanced group (which the troupe leader would coach). Then I devised warm-ups and exercises leading up to the skills they’d need for the format. Classic.
I was more relaxed myself about starting/finishing exactly on time. I suggested stepping outside onto the beautiful terrace to enjoy moments in the sunlight (before the rain took over). There was no pressure to do anything. What helped was being seen as the ‘improv coach’ but not the ‘weekend organiser’ (that was the group leader’s job). My long-standing friendship with him also helped.
One new member of the troupe, less confident and outgoing, asked my friend to switch groups as he found me ‘too direct’ in my feedback, and of course I accepted it and we then switched rooms as my group was now the smaller one.
FEEL THE ROOM
I tried to gather as much info about participants as I could before the weekend, and adopted the ‘observer‘ attitude most of the time, staying quiet, flexible, and answering questions rather than providing tons of details about my plans (ahead of the improv bit). I remained available but let the participants naturally connect and share moments. I went to bed early the day before, proud that I thought of bringing my earplugs (I shared a room with two others and a dog).
It may be tough to find the balance between the disciplined coach who wants to start on time, and the laid-back coach who lets people walk in as they emerge from slumber, subpar coffee or a short night. I guess I just started slowly, with music and stretching. Eventually, all joined in. Did I follow my plan? Mostly. How much did I digress and introduce other games? A little. I could feel they were up to it until the last minute of the morning session. But after lunch was tough, so we took it easy, finishing slightly ahead of time. They were ready for the sacred “apéro” (pre-dinner drinks and nibbles) and wanted to get the barbecue going. What a lovely, chill evening! We went into karaoke but I let the screaming cats fight it off and went to bed early again.
TIMING
Part of the success of that weekend laid in its general organisation:
Food and transport were prepared thoroughly, arrival times, sleeping arrangements;
Improv session times were clear and agreed upon by everyone;
There was ample time for rest, leisure, meals, evenings
When I asked the participants about what they thought was the guarantee of a successful improv retreat, they said:
The general feeling of friendliness — smiles, spontaneous acts of kindness, helpful people… This was by far the number one factor. No-one had a big ego, no-one went away to sulk or refused to be part of the group.
The proximity to the sea, which in our case allowed us to leave the house for an afternoon and share a completely different activity (bathing, sipping coffee near the beach, etc.)
The feeling that all were free to express their individuality (some cooked, some sang, some played ping pong, some went for walks, etc.)
As a bonus, the landlady was particularly friendly.
CONLUSION
If you can pick a suitable place offering tons of different activities, people who will set aside their ego for a while, and coordinated effort to take care of the logistics before the actual retreat, then you might have a recipe for improv retreat success.
🔌 PLUGS
My twoprov “Digressions” also has an English version, should you want to invite us to your corner of the world.
I am the editor-in-chief of the first French and France-based improv magazine ever. Check out Improscope and you can sign up and download the first issue for free (second issue coming out on June 20th).
📣 SHOUT-OUTS
Speak French? Check out Not All Men, a French improv show dealing with sexism in a very funny and thought-provoking way in Paris.
🏓 THE PING & THE PONG
THE PING : I performed two sold-out improv shows: Digressions and Impro Columbo.
THE PONG : I am performing my first ever scripted one-man show this Wednesday and I’m not sure how I feel — scared and excited?
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