Does practice make perfect?
This has been on my mind a lot lately, and with the hiatus (?) of my only still practicing improv group currently in full inactive swing, I want to get other people’s opinion on this.
How necessary are weekly practices for an improv group?
Two years ago when the teams of “my generation” were all in their formative states, we all practiced weekly. Actually, we all practiced on Sundays at noon. It was always humorous to me to see the Penguins, Robots, S&CCers and us Datans out on Saturday night partying and simultaneously moaning about having to get up early. Then there we’d all be, nine hours later, hungover at the UCB training center. But that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Of those groups, I think only Fat Penguin practices weekly still (please correct me if I’m wrong).
Fast forward to 2009 and there are now one bajillion teams, almost none of which practice. A lot of them are two-to-three person teams, but it seems like there are now a ton of side projects. Every improviser is on at least three teams. And as all of our careers take off, be they real world or UCB world related, there’s no time for practice with your indie team anymore. Is this a bad thing?
Coming from the mindset I had back in early 2007 and still have to this day (for right now at least), I think so. I think practicing instills a sense of importance and commitment to your team. You are paying money, you are spending time together. So many bits and rituals and team-building things come out of the hang out time before and after practice (and not to mention those e-mail threads). I think this is crucial.
Also, is this just because the scene that I started with back in October 2006 is now almost three years old? Do the people of the “generation” after me (let’s say, people who took 101 after April 2007) still practice regularly with a group?
What say everyone? Do improv groups need to practice to be good? Is the dissolution of the weekly practice inevitable after a group has been together for too long? Is this happening to the teams that are now hitting their 1 year anniversary marks?
