First Day Jitters - Level 2 Improv
Before I even walked into Hashtag Comedy for my first Level 2 improv class, I was nervous. An hour before I got REALLY nervous. I had this story in my head that everyone else in the room would already know each other from the last Level 1 class, and I’d be the odd one out. Luckily, Paul (my boyfriend) and Gary (my stepdad) reminded me: I was just telling myself stories. It wasn’t really going to be that bad. And they were right.
As soon as I walked in, my nerves started to ease. The very first person I saw was Lauren, someone I’d met in my improv class with Jeff Gage last summer. What are the odds? A few minutes later, Crystal, who I met in June at the Musical Improv workshop, walked in. Suddenly I realized, I already knew two people. That small familiarity was enough to help me relax into the night. There were 14 of us in this class, a good mix of people. Some had just finished Level 1 together, but others, like me, were coming in from different places and different levels of experience. I found myself right in the middle, not the newest, not the most seasoned, and that felt like a comfortable spot to land.
We started, as improv always does, with warmups. There was the classic “Zip, Zap, Zop,” which is basically a silly game of energy toss. And then something new—“Wah!” (or something like that—I’ll figure out the name next week). It was fast, physical, and funny. I missed my first cue to interact with the person next to me, but that’s improv: you shake it off and jump back in.
The real work started with three-line stories. One person began, the second person added to it, and the first person wrapped it up. Short, simple, but all about listening and responding in the moment. I went about six times, and each round was its own tiny surprise. Then came the two-person scenes. I got paired with a guy who also does stand-up, and within ten seconds, he introduced a premise about a “Mime Plumber.” (Quick reminder: mimes don’t talk. So, already we were off the rails.) But I kept going, threw in a couple of jokes, and we got some laughs. Not perfect, but improv isn’t about perfection, it’s about persistence and faith that next time it’ll be better.
We wrapped up with Freeze Tag (where you jump into a scene, freeze it, and start something totally new) and World’s Worst (where you act out the worst possible version of a given profession or situation). My proudest moment? Realizing I was going on too long in a scene, then finding a clean way out with a simple, silly line: “Oh, I found a penny.” It worked, it landed, and it felt good.
By the end of the night, I was buzzing. Improv has this way of completely clearing my brain—no work stress, no outside noise, just two hours of creativity and laughter. I left feeling lighter, more energized, and honestly excited to get back to my desk the next morning because I’d gotten that creative energy out of my system.
Week one of Level 2: a success. And the best part? I can’t wait to go back next week.
