Your Improv Brain – Details, episodes & analysis

Notes (feedback) can be confusing for some student performers because of communication differences. This episode discusses what teachers can do to help improve and resolve some of the typical communication issues around questions and notes.

Why can’t a student just ask for clarification? That can be loaded in some improv cultures (for now), and as such it can put a lot of burden on some students. Classes can be structured to make this a bit easier for everyone, while also still maintaining structure and accounting for time limitations.

Your Voice - Neurodiversity Survey

Please add your voice to this work! It’s better for the wider community when there is more input.

* Let me know what you have experienced as a neurodivergent improviser! Answer THREE QUESTIONS here!

* And of course, check out this week's survey here. Previous surveys are available here (including this one where you can provide your input on this episode’s subject - notes!)

* If you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts!

Thank you!

Become a Supporter

Follow this podcast for free anywhere you find podcasts or join as a subscriber (free) on this site, NeurodiversityImprov.com, or you can also choose one time support here (buy me a coffee button).

Paid subscribers get access to the full written archive of articles. Going forward paid supporters will receive written versions of this content, the podcast will of course remain free. Nice!

If written article access is something you'd particularly need to access and cannot financially afford, please let me know and I'll help.

Your support of any kind directly helps this content exist and continue and supports newer diverse voices in improv! Thank you so very much!

About

Created and episode written by Jen deHaan, an autistic + ADHD improviser.

Edited and produced by StereoForest.com. Join the StereoForest newsletter for all improv podcast and show updates at members.stereoforest.com.

This podcast is released every second week on Tuesday, on NeurodiversityImprov.com and wherever you find podcasts.

Plugs

Classes and free improv jams and shows: flatimprov.com. I do one-sided improv stuff so you don’t have to at Discount Improv. Check it out, it’s new!

Follow for updates:

* neurodiversityimprov.com

* members.stereoforest.com

* YouTube.com/@StereoForest

Join the StereoForest Discord and discuss this show and neurodiversity in improv!

Transcript

Button near the podcast embed on the episode page, on Apple Podcasts, or on the episode page at StereoForest.

Welcome to part two of this three-part series of episodes about receiving notes as neurodivergent improvisers. (Note: This episode is offered as an early release to supporters, and opens up to everyone on August 27! )

Getting notes can be hard for students, particularly when there is a communication gap between neurotype. This episode lists five reasons students might have to make this part of a session difficult, and some things students can try to make the process a little bit easier.

Resources mentioned in episode series:

* Neurodiversity & Improv Episode 13: Improv and being Misunderstood

* Double Empathy Problem: Autism and the double empathy problem: Implications for development and mental health

* THIS WEEKS Survey - direct link to StereoForest page for this episode

* General Survey page: on NeurodiversityImprov.com

Your Voice:

* Let me know what you have experienced as a neurodivergent improviser! Answer THREE QUESTIONS here!

* The current survey on characters in improv is linked here on NeurodiversityImprov.com too.

Become a Supporter

Follow this podcast for free anywhere you find podcasts or join as a subscriber (free) here: NeurodiversityImprov.com

You can get bonus content, early access, and more by supporting the show! Go to NeurodiversityImprov.com to become a paid supporter, join our community, and access additional content and resources and gain access to supporter only community channels. If this is something you'd particularly like to access and cannot financially afford, please let me know and I'll help.

You can also support this show AND other improv podcasts (and save money!) on StereoForest. There’s a special tier to access to both StereoForest and this podcast’s bonus content and save a bit of money joining both.

Your support of any kind directly helps these improv shows exist! Thank you so much.

About

Created and episode written by Jen deHaan, an autistic + ADHD improviser.

Edited and produced by StereoForest.com. Join the StereoForest newsletter for all improv podcast and show updates at members.stereoforest.com.

This podcast is released every second week on Tuesday, on NeurodiversityImprov.com and wherever you find podcasts.

Plugs

Classes and free improv jams and shows: flatimprov.com

Follow for updates:

* neurodiversityimprov.com

* members.stereoforest.com

* YouTube.com/@StereoForest

Join the StereoForest Discord and discuss this show and neurodiversity in improv!

We’ve all heard those sayings like “do not compare your chapter 1 to their chapter 6.” But that can be pretty hard to do. Especially when we get notes that relate to our brain wiring! Maybe we’re reading from, or writing, a completely different book.

It can be hard when our brains are so different in a word that’s constructed for a different (neurotypical) wiring altogether. And here we are up on a stage with everyone watching us. Yikes.

But… it’s possible to find our own way, with what we got, and succeed greatly. Yep, even in improv.

This episode talks about ways to commit hard to yourself, and what YOU bring to the table as a unique, neurodivergent, thinker. When can you let go and be yourself? When should you let go, commit hard, and break your hand on your desk in a meditation scene? (That feels specific Jen. Yes, it is, you. Learn more in the ep. SUSPENSE! Cheap ploy!)

And I also talk about the cases where our default wiring might not work how we’d like in improv scenes, and how to approach working around it (or otherwise adjusting) during the learning process.

There are Pros and Cons for EVERYTHING!

About this podcast & links

This podcast is hosted by me, Jen deHaan, of FlatImprov.com. You can submit your questions, comments, or even a voice note on the website. Find the contact form for this podcast at FlatImprov.com/substack.

You can also subscribe to this thing where you get your other podcasts - Apple, Spotify, Overcast, Castro, etc.

PLUGS: I have online improv classes starting in February at World’s Greatest Improv School (WGIS) that involves character stuff and a new form.

Character Point of View class:

The next Characters Only class covers character point of view (POV). You will be led through exercises to find your character’s philosophy quickly and effectively in scenes.

It will be FUN! You will learn stuff and get notes.

Improvised Morning Show form class/show series:

Do you want to develop characters for an improvised Morning Show? And put on an online show that streams from something that isn’t Zoom? Well… check out this new class and show series at WGIS!

Focus on characters, slick edit moves, and take part in a directed online show following a brand new form. Let’s get creative, experimental, and try new things! Six classes and FOUR SHOWS too! So you’ll get a great opportunity to sync up with the same improvisers for 10 weeks.

TALK AT YOU NEXT WEEK, IMPROV NERD FRIENDS!

Thanks for reading Improv and Neurodiversity - The FlatImprov Podcast Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This episode was inspired by a discussion I had with another improviser about fast and slow edit moves. They were told by a teammate to edit faster. The answer I gave them was a bit of an opinionated monologue infodump, and I was told I should turn that monologue into a podcast.

So here we are.

What we're talking about today is edit moves, with focus on the speed of those edit moves and what it might have to do with your neurotype (ALL neurotypes. This means YOU.) That once you are confident and comfortable editing, and the form and style support it, edit moves can be dictated both by how you process information (bottom-up or top-down thinking), and preference.

They are different ways of editing. You might do both, and they’re both valid - what’s your default? What’s YOUR preference? Does it matter?

Let’s get niche. Go listen.

This Podcast & Links

This podcast is hosted by me, Jen deHaan, of FlatImprov.com. You can submit your questions, comments, or even a voice note. Find the contact form for this podcast at FlatImprov.com/substack.

You can also subscribe to it where you get your podcasts - Apple, Spotify, Overcast, etc.

PLUGS: I have online improv classes starting in February at World’s Greatest Improv School (WGIS) that involves character stuff and a new form.

The Characters Only class covers character POV. Get drills in adding your character’s philosophy effectively in scenes.

And just announced a new class and show series where a new form will be introduced where you get to improvise a Morning Show! Focus in this series will be on character development, slick edit moves, and practicing in a new online show streaming format. Let’s get creative, experimental, and try new things!

THANKS FOR LISTENING IMPROV NERD FRIENDS!

Masking is a common behaviour for autistic and/or ADHD people (or those of us who are both). It's sometimes referred to as camouflaging, mimicking, or being a social chameleon. You might mask subconsciously - you might not even realize you do it! But it's essentially suppressing your natural reactions, responses, physicality or expressions in order to hide some of your natural behaviours or instincts. Your first reaction.

Masking can help you fit in with the crowd, make social connections, or avoid punishment at work or school. It can also be exhausting, among other things.

Masking affects your improv in good ways, and also some challenging ways. It affects the way you approach grounded characters and scenes, the way you do voice of reason, host shows, and of course… helps quite a bit with peas in a pod or character matching scenes!

This episode covers the intersection of masking and peas in a pod scenes in improv, after a bit of an infodump about what masking is, and why we do it. I hope it makes sense. I don’t know if it will, this stuff is weird and imposter syndrome is real.

A future episode will infodump 2.0 about how masking affects voice of reason and grounded scenes, and I think it’ll be more useful than this one maybe.

This Podcast & Links

This podcast is hosted by me, Jen deHaan, of FlatImprov.com. You can submit your questions, comments, or even a voice note. Find the contact form for this podcast at FlatImprov.com/substack.

You can also subscribe to it where you get your podcasts - Apple, Spotify, Overcast, etc.

PLUGS: I have a class coming up TOMORROW called Get Setup: Only Elf on a Shelf Scenes at WGIS. There is ONE spot left at the time of writing. Learn more at http://weeg.is/862! There’s one more in February getting character reps in POV. Check out the workshop at http://weeg.is/903.

THANKS FOR LISTENING IMPROV NERD FRIENDS!

Very excited about this ep! This week I am joined by Sabrina Banes, an improviser who has a condition called misophonia.

Sabrina Banes is an improviser and Tarot reader who lives in Brooklyn with her two cats, Shumai and Althea. She currently performs with her longform indie teams, Jace Spam and Dolly Lana, and with her Improv College narrative house team, Oops! We Fell In Love. Find Sabrina online: Instagram and Linktree.

In this episode we discuss what misophonia is like to experience, how it affects scene work and classes, and how to find your voice when you need to seek access needs and accommodate yourself. Sabrina has great advice to offer in this episode.

This podcast is hosted by me, Jen deHaan, of FlatImprov.com. You can submit your questions, comments, or even a voice note. Find the contact form for this podcast at FlatImprov.com/substack.

One plug: I have a class coming up in a week called Get Setup: Only Elf on a Shelf Scenes at WGIS. There is ONE spot left at the time of writing. Learn more at http://weeg.is/862!

THANKS FOR LISTENING IMPROV NERD FRIENDS!

If you are a bottom-up thinker, there are certain techniques in long-form improv that might work better if you try to do top-down thinking instead. Why would you do such a thing? And When?

Game and second beats might be challenging to a bottom-up thinker. You need to get used to wrapping up a bunch of details into a single idea, gist, or synopsis regardless of what direction you think in. The synopsis is where top-down thinkers start! Maybe it’s faster doing top down for this?

This episode includes a couple different examples of when I think I probably take more of a top-down approach as a life-long bottom-up thinker.

I also detail a pretty quick way to do a second beat using a form of visual thinking (hyperphantasia), since we were talking about it. Selfish tangent, that, maybe. But it’s in there too.

You can submit your response on my website at FlatImprov.com/substack. Or send me questions, topics to cover, gripes and complaints, heckles, or responses to an earlier episode using voice or text. Do it!

Bottom-up thinking or bottom-up processing is common way for autistics to process information. It’s wired into our brains and affects EVERYTHING. How does this type of thinking affect doing improv scenes, especially when it comes to plots? In particular… when you weren’t expecting a plot, and suddenly things get plotty?

Bottom-up thinking affects how we follow sets, pull in information, process, and make decisions. So if we’re trying to follow plotlines but are focused on the details before the big plot picture… what happens now?

I talk about these things in this episode.

NICHE TOPICS! GRANULAR TOPICS! I GOT ‘EM!

Also I think I sound rather Canadian-accent in this episode! Nailed it, even, maybe?

The sense of being perceived is all about the activity you are doing when you are being looked at by other people. Having strong feelings about this kind of perception is common particularly with the autistic neurotype. And it can sure seem illogical or contradictory at times, too.

And… people look at you in improv… a lot!

Learn about what being perceived means to neurodivergent improvisers. What is it? How does being perceived work for humans in an improv class, and on an improv stage? What could make being perceived easier?

NOTE: This post is written as a blog post here on Flat Improv.

I don’t think most of these podcast eps will be this long. Yikes.

Contact me at FlatImprov.com/substack - send me a message!

Send a text-based or voice note to the podcast above! Let me know if you have topics you want covered, a question to ask, a comment on a previous episode or in general. Let me know!

This episode details what neurodivergence is, and why it’s relevant to improv. I include a couple of examples in there. Check out the transcript tab on this page to see the text version of this episode.