Hello from Nottingham, UK! I’m here for the 2026 Robin Hood International Improv Festival, on until September 6th. This Friday, I’ll be playing with an all-star international cast in “Helliday”: an improvised horror comedy, directed by Polish improviser Beata Różalska. Who will die first, and who will become the “final girl?” Tickets to this and other fantastic shows are still available via the festival website. (And if you’re at the festival, come find me and say hello!)

What the audience sees

A reader wrote: “If you could give perspective from an audience point of view, from how things appear to the audience. Though we hone our skills while onstage and with our scene partners, in the end, it is all about the audience’s experience.”

Thanks for asking! Here are some thoughts and physical improv tips for maximizing the audience experience…

Details and Placements

Details are the positioning and movements you use to describe an improvised object that the audience can’t see. The way you position your hand shows them whether you’re drinking from a coffee mug or a shot glass. The way you swing your arms shows them whether you’re playing baseball or chopping down a tree.

Placements are the locations on the stage where you pick up, put down, or otherwise interact with objects in the environment. You don’t just snatch objects out of the void—you must go to them to pick them up. If you establish something in the room, remember where you placed it so you can go back to that spot if you need the object again.

You don’t have to do very much with either of these, but you have to be thoughtful about them. Why? Well, because…

The audience sees everything

Just like the improvisers on stage, the audience doesn’t know what’s going to happen. They pay attention to everything because it might become relevant later. But all they have to do is watch—they don’t have to do any of the improv work of maintaining character or narrative. Their cognitive load for noticing and remembering is much less than yours.

So, if you’re not specific and precise with your details, your hand and body movements may confuse them into thinking you’re holding onto something different from you intend. If you’re sloppy with your placements—like walking through a space where there’s supposed to be a table, or grabbing something from stage left that you put down at stage right a few moments ago—they notice.

“Mistakes” like these aren’t necessarily fatal to your improv scene. Audiences are patient. They understand it’s improv and they can usually figure it out eventually. But they knock the audience out of their trance. Their brains flag the inconsistency, and in that moment they’re not engaged with your story. If it happens a lot, they may even begin to judge your performance.

Make sure they can see you

When working with improvised objects and activities, be sure you’re always angling yourself toward the audience. They need to see your body and hands to “read” you. (The technical term for this is “cheating out”—turning at an angle so the audience can see your front.)

This is especially important when you’re working with furniture or appliances in your environment. Most real-world kitchens, for example, have the sink, countertop, and stove in a triangle formation. On stage, playing that design would turn you away from the audience sometimes. It’s better to place each of those across the front of the stage so the audience can see you at each station.

The audience doesn’t care about placement logic. They only want to know what’s in the room and what you’re doing with it.

Even if your character is being secretive with an activity, you need to do it in such a way that the audience (and your scene partners) can always see what you’re doing.

Be obvious

When holding an improvised object, follow your natural impulse for what you’d do with it. Improvisers sometimes feel pressure to do something “unique” or “original” with an object to avoid being boring. But if your unique idea isn’t a common experience for how the audience thinks about that object, it makes your activity harder to read, and more likely they’ll guess it’s something else.

If an object can be used in multiple ways, start with the most obvious and then move toward the less common.

(Read this previous article for more on being obvious.)

Add detail

When working with objects, improvisers sometimes get stuck in a “movement groove.” If it seems their scene partner isn’t getting what they’re doing, they will keep doing the same movements, but slower and more exaggerated. Which often adds to the confusion rather than solving it.

Find ways to add details by changing the activity slightly. For example, if you were using a screwdriver, you could change the bit to fit a different type of screw, or exchange it for a ratcheting screwdriver. You could have a toolbox beside you and pull out other tools to show you’re doing handiwork.

Adding detail also makes the activity more visually interesting. Though be careful about doing this too much when you’re in the background of a scene, because you can easily distract the audience.

Trust, then improvise

I’ve found that reluctance and lack of confidence over object work happens because we feel we have to spell everything out for the audience. But audiences are smart. You have to trust that they understand. Commit strongly to your details and placements, and they will fill in the picture for themselves.

Yes, sometimes they may get it wrong, or they may not get it at all. But remember object work is only one part of the scene. Your characters, relationships, and actions all add context that may fill them in eventually. And very often, they don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing—as long as you’re committed to it and engaged, they will follow along.

Sometimes, your scene partner will misread you and may describe the action as something different from what you intended. But this is improv—trust that you have the skills to work through these situations and keep the scene going.

And remember this: you always have dialogue as a last resort. Generally, we want to avoid narrating our actions because the dialogue sounds unnatural and distracts from the story. But if it’s essential your partner (and the audience) understands, you can always talk about it: “This screwdriver isn’t working right. Have you seen my good one?”

Keep practicing

If object work feels uncomfortable, that’s normal. You can learn to feel more comfortable with your discomfort by practicing off-stage.

Muscle memory practice is great for this. Whenever you’re handling a real-world object, put it down for a moment and repeat the same movements with an improvised version. You can do this anytime, all day long, and it builds your skills quickly.

Over the years, I’ve heard audiences gasp, scream, cry, and collapse with laughter, all through physical moves with no one saying a word. When it happens, it’s the ultimate in improv magic. I wish you great joy in discovering it for yourself.

A reader suggested this article. If you’d like to read my thoughts on any physical improv topic, please get in touch!

Things to Try

Exercises, scenes, and practices to work out your physical improv skills.

• [SOLO] Five Things. Choose a location or a container. (Container examples: a bedroom dresser drawer, grandmother’s purse, high school locker.) Then discover and pick up five different objects from that place. Try not to think ahead—it doesn’t have to be funny or even logical. Just reach out and grab something. Remember placements—find and pick up the object from a deliberate spot, and put it down the same way. Try testing your memory by putting down and picking up the objects in different places. (Thanks to Paul Vaillancourt for this exercise. Check out his excellent video with 4 other solo improv exercises.)
• [SOLO] Clothing Trouble. Choose various types of improvised clothes. Practice putting them on or taking them off. Look for small “trouble” details like pulling on fabric or working with zippers and buttons.
• What are you doing? Players work in pairs. Player 1 asks the other: “What are you doing?” Player 2 replies with any activity; for example, “I’m digging a hole.” Player 1 plays that activity. Then Player 2 asks, “What are you doing?” Player 1 replies with a different activity to the one they’re currently doing. Continue back and forth. You can also adapt this for a large group in a circle. Discuss how players use different approaches to playing an activity, and how you can vary your details.

More from Improv Illusionist

​Newsletter Archives​

​The Improv Illusionist book - Preview and order info​

​Emotional Safety Resources​

​Improv Exercises for Physical Skills​

​Improv Books — Reviews & Recommendations​

​Improv Podcasts — Reviews & Recommendations​

News and Links

​How To Make At Least 50% Of Improv Shows Better​
While we’re thinking about what the audience sees, it also makes sense to think about what they hear. Lloydie makes the case for speaking up loud and clear when you perform.

Book Review

Improvise Freely
​by Patti Stiles
(Get it from Bookshop.org *)
(Also available in French, Italian, and Spanish versions.)

A brilliant reconsideration of the so-called “rules” of improv, such as “Don’t ask questions” and “Always Yes And.” Stiles shows how several well-known rules actually confine improvisers and limit their creativity. She also offers alternative approaches for freeing performers and creating safer improv environments.

• Pros: Thoughtful and practical ideas from an internationally respected improviser and teacher.
• Cons: Some background experience or understanding of improv required. Absolute beginners may have a little trouble.
• Best for: ALL improvisers, regardless of experience level. (Should be required reading.)

* Affiliate disclosure: If you buy a book through this link, I get a small percentage. Thanks for supporting me AND independent bookstores. (Note: at present, Bookshop.org only ships to the US and UK.)

Do you have any feedback about Improv Illusionist? Send me a message or just reply to this email. Seriously, I read everything and respond to nearly all of it as my schedule allows.

That’s all for this month. See you again on October 1st.

Ex nihilo!