Improv Practice Program

What To Expect!

RA is getting ready to build some new improv teams for its improv practice program, designed for regular RA students who want to take their improv studies to a higher gear. If you are interested in joining a team or coaching a team for the first time please email me by 1/15/25 at terry@radicalagreement.com and provide the information requested under the corresponding application section below.

This is the second round of this program. Macaroni Pandas and Out To Lunch were the teams for the first round and did an amazing job (and I really mean that)! Let’s hear it for them! (Leave some accolades in the comments below, will ya?)

Also, big announcement! Moving forward this program will be known as the PIP, or the Practice Improv Program! Teams will be PIP teams, shows will be PIP shows, coaches will be PIP coaches and so on.

For more on the thinking behind the name change please see the WHY PIP? section at the very bottom of this post.

Cool students mid last century, just moments before they started practicing improv.

But first, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some thoughts about the program and also to share some expectations for the people in the program, both for performers and for coaches. If you are continuing in the program or looking to join a team for the first time or hoping to coach a team, I’d ask you to give this blog post a thorough reading.

PERFORMER SECTION

Okay so here are some quick details about the Practice Improv Program (PIP) for performers. I’m laying these out in bulleted lists named FACTS, EXPECTATIONS and BENEFITS. Sometimes a listed fact is more of an expectation and sometimes a listed benefit is more of a fact.

Try to be okay with it!

FACTS

• PIP teams exist for four month runs. At the end of the four months a team may be asked to return for the next round as is, or it may be broken up and its members spread between new teams. If a team is broken up it can always continue to practice and to perform on the RA schedule, but it would do this outside of the PIP program.

• The upcoming PIP round will last from 2/1/25 to 5/31/25.

• PIP teams will practice once a week with a coach for 90 minutes.

• PIP teams will perform 2-3 times a month on Sunday evenings at 6:30 PM ET. (At least one team will be created with the expectation of performing at a time more convenient for students in other timezones).

• PIP team lineups will be built by RA based on availability, compatibility and experience level.

• PIP teams will have 5 to 8 participants on them.

• Coaches for PIP will be in intermittent communication with RA about team development, both in practices and shows from both aesthetic and logistical perspectives.

EXPECTATIONS

• PIP teams are expected to perform live 20-25 minute sets of long form improv.

• PIP team members are expected to attend a majority of practices and shows and may be removed from the program if they are only making 50% or less of PIP team events.

• PIP teams are expected to pay their coach a weekly coaching fee, which will work out to be somewhere between $5-$10. If this is a financial burden for anyone, they can volunteer 1 hour a week to RA instead. 

• PIP team members are expected to take an interest in other PIP teams besides their own and to try to watch other teams perform when possible.

• All participants in the PIP program are expected to treat all other participants with respect and camaraderie.

BENEFITS

• PIP teams will receive logistical assistance with their live shows, artistic development and show promotion.

• Performers on PIP teams will be considered important parts of The Radical Agreement community and as leaders of our artistic efforts.

• Performers on PIP teams will be given individual performer pages on the RA website and teams will be given team pages.

• The artistic development of performers on PIP teams will be considered a priority. 

• PIP teams have the right to select their own coach, but will receive suggested coaching options from RA. Selected coaches must meet reasonable coaching standards to coach a PIP team. 

• PIP teams have a right to explore long form improv as they see fit and are encouraged to push their team in artistic directions they find interesting. They are asked to do this in dialogue with the overall PIP team members and the overall RA community, so that we are all engaged in a conversation about what we think constitutes good online improv.

Performer Application 

If you are interested in being on a team, please email me at terry@radicalagreement.com and include these pieces of information:

-How long have you been improvising?

-How long have you been attending RA sessions and with what frequency?

-Do you have time to practice weekly and to perform biweekly?

-Is the $5-$10 weekly fee okay for you or is it a hardship?

-What timezone are you in?

-Do you feel comfortable performing live?

COACH SECTION

If interested in coaching here are things you should know about the PIP program. I’m listing these out in bulleted lists again, but the headline is this:

PIP teams should be a fun opportunity for performers to practice improv and grow as improvisers. Coaches are a big part of the experience and the idea is that the most fun way to grow as an improviser is to try to do excellent improv.

Here are some details…

FACTS

• Coaches are selected by teams and coach them at the team’s discretion, although coaches can be recommended by RA.

• Coaches are expected to be available to coach a weekly 90 minute practice and to attend 2 to 3 shows a month with a total time commitment of about an hour a show.

• Coaches are paid by the teams for their coaching but not for shows.

• Coaches will be in intermittent contact with RA about their team’s development in practices and shows.

EXPECTATIONS

• Coaches are expected to provide their teams with guidance and care, nurturing performer confidence, ability and overall knowledge in improv.

• Coaches are expected to devise weekly coaching sessions that challenge teams in areas they are ready for so that sessions are tailored to their specific development.

• Coaches are expected to collaborate with their teams on artistic goals.

• Coaches are expected to host PIP performances for their teams over Zoom.

• Coaches are expected to provide notes after PIP performances. 

• If a coach cannot make a scheduled practice or show they are expected to work with their team to find a substitute or to make other suitable arrangements.

BENEFITS

• Coaches are paid for their weekly coaching sessions and can set their own weekly coaching rate. (Hopefully something in the $30 to $50 range.)

• Coaches are seen as leading experts in the RA community and may receive other opportunities to teach or perform improv professionally through RA.

• Coaches receive a bio page on the RA website.

Coach Application 

If you are interested in coaching a team but haven’t done so already, please email me at terry@radicalagreement.com and include these pieces of information:

-How long have you been improvising?

-How long have you been coaching improv? (It is not disqualifying for you to say you have not yet coached improv).

-How long have you been attending RA sessions and with what frequency?

-Do you have time to coach weekly practices for 90 minutes a week and to host performances 2 to 3 times a month?

-What is your coaching fee for a 90 minute session?

-What timezone are you in?

-Do you have the necessary technical equipment and knowhow to host a live improv show over Zoom?

WHY PIP?

The goal of the Practice Improv Program (or PIP) is to help RA students advance in their improv artistry by providing an opportunity to practice performing and rehearsing long form improv as a team.

Half the battle, maybe more than half of the battle, when it comes to improv is getting the nerves out so you can think straight. The more you practice improv the less nervous you get, thus the PIP. Oh, and live shows are more nerve wracking than rehearsals, much more nerve wracking, which makes them much more valuable for students looking to get rid of their nerves. 

The PIP is designed to place students in an environment in which practicing and performing improv begins to feel normal. This, in turn, allows the act of improvising to become humdrum so that students can control their decisions in scenes instead of allowing a panic response to make their choices for them.

Naming The Radical Agreement’s Project’s first team program the Practice Improv Program, instead of our Harold Team Program or House Team Program, is also important because it reinforces RA’s belief that every improviser should always approach the art form as a student. Improv is electric, dynamic and fun when we approach every instance of it with curiosity and openness to learn. When we approach it as a student of improv.

And not coincidentally, when we approach improv as experts who have nothing or almost nothing left to learn, that is when improv becomes lifeless, predictable and boring.

For these reasons and more RA has named its program the Practice Improv Program and I for one am psyched to see what will come out of it!