Growing up I was highly introverted. To the point where I wasn’t comfortable having a conversation. I was always afraid I was saying the wrong thing so I often chose to be quiet.

Fortunately, I enjoy learning and trying new things. One day, my friend Serena told me she recently took an intro improv class. She wanted to take the next class but she was occupied with singing activities the next semester. She suggested that I take improv 100 so we could take the 200 level class together. Serena never ended up joining me for these classes but I’m really glad she was the catalyst for me. I liked it so much I continued to take the whole series of classes at Unexpected Productions over the course of the next year.

Yes, and…

The basic building blocks of improv can be summarized in a two word phrase: “Yes, and…".

Yes - The “yes” part is about accepting whatever has been presented via your improv partner. So if they start a scene saying:

“Wow, Grandma, I’ve never tasted such a delicious pumpkin pie!”

So just from one sentence, you’ll internally say “yes” to several things:

• You have a relationship with this person. You are their grandmother and they are your grandchild.
• You are eating pumpkin pie and it tastes good.
• You are in a place where you would eat pie together. You now have an opportunity to further define this setting.

“and…" - The “and” part is about you adding something. So you could add:

“Well, Susie, this isn’t just any ordinary pie. This is the family’s special Thanksgiving pie. The recipe goes back generations. My mother learned it from her mother. There’s a special ingredient that we use that can only be found in Russia.”

Then your improv partner in turn says “yes” to what you have added.

• Their name is Susie.
• More detail has been added to the setting - It’s Thanksgiving time.
• The pie has a “special ingredient.” This could potentially be the core question of the scene.
• Russia is related to the family history.

Keep this up and before you know it, you’ve constructed a scene!

This same technique is applicable in tons of social settings and its loads of fun. Being aware of “yes and…” has changed my life for the better!