Five weeks into my improv comedy course, and something has finally shifted. The scenes are no longer just exercises; they're starting to feel like small, living stories. This week was the toughest and most rewarding so far, so I'm documenting it in detail — partly for my own memory, partly for anyone wondering what an improv class actually feels like from the inside. ## The Big Lesson: Stop Trying to Be Funny Our instructor opened the session with a sentence that hit harder than I expected: "The audience laughs at truth, not at jokes." I've been spending half my brainpower trying to invent clever lines mid-scene, which means I'm not actually listening to my scene partner. This week we drilled listening exercises where the entire goal was to respond honestly, not wittily. Paradoxically, those were the scenes that got the biggest laughs. ### The "Yes, And" Refresher That Actually Stuck We've covered "yes, and" before, but week 5 was when it clicked. The difference between mechanically agreeing and genuinely building on your partner's offer is enormous. A useful way to think about it: your partner hands you a brick, and your job is to add a second brick, not to admire theirs or swap it for a better one. ## Exercise Breakdown Here's what we actually worked through in the two-hour session: - **One-word story**: The whole group builds a story one word at a time. It forces you to surrender control and trust the collective. - **Emotion rollercoaster**: Scenes where the instructor randomly calls out new emotions, and everyone must shift instantly. Great for noticing how much of a character lives in the body, not the words. - **Three-line scenes**: Quick-fire openings where you must establish who, where, and what within three lines. Brutal but effective. - **Slow-motion commentary**: We performed a mundane activity (making tea) in extreme slow motion while narrating inner thoughts. Ridiculous, and a surprising masterclass in commitment. ## My Personal Struggles This Week I'll be honest: I bombed in at least two scenes. My biggest problem is **denying** — negating my partner's offer because my panic brain wants to steer the scene somewhere "safer." If someone says, "Welcome aboard the submarine," and I reply, "This isn't a submarine, it's my kitchen," I've just killed the scene's momentum. I did exactly that once and felt the whole thing deflate instantly. The second struggle is over-talking. When I'm nervous, I fill silence. But silence in improv is often where the good stuff lives — a beat of hesitation can be funnier than any punchline. ## What's Starting to Work Some habits are finally taking root, and I want to record them so I don't lose them: 1. Enter the stage with a physical choice first — a posture, a walk — and let the character grow from the body. 2. Name things early. Specificity ("my landlord Gerald") is funnier and easier to build on than vagueness ("my landlord"). 3. Treat mistakes as gifts. If I call my partner the wrong name, that's now the scene's reality, and possibly its funniest element. 4. Watch the audience's body language, not just their laughter — leaning in means a scene is working even when it's quiet. ## Looking Ahead to Week 6 Next week we begin longer-form scenes, which means sustaining a character for several minutes instead of a quick two-minute exercise. I'm nervous but also excited — the training wheels come off soon, and apparently there's a student showcase not far beyond that. For now, my homework is simple: say yes faster, talk less, and trust that being present is funnier than being clever. If week 5 taught me anything, it's that the funny takes care of itself when the honest comes first. ## Related reading - [Fourth Week of My Improv Comedy Course: Finding My Voice on Stage](/blog/improv-comedy-course-journal-week-4) - [Halfway Through: My Improv Comedy Course Journal, Week 6](/blog/improv-comedy-course-journal-week-6) - [Laughing Through the Fear: My Improv Comedy Course Journal, Week 3](/blog/improv-comedy-course-journal-week-3) - [Week Two of My Improv Comedy Course Journal: Learning to Say "Yes, And"](/blog/improv-comedy-course-journal-week-2) - [Making It Up as We Go: A Beginner's Guide to Improv Comedy](/blog/what-is-improv-comedy)