Improv is always growing. And it will continue to grow and change as we add our own voices and pass that knowledge on to new performers, taking what we’ve learned and adding to it. The path from Viola Spolin to you is really just the longest game of “Yes,and” in history.

As a performer, you’ll always continue to learn and grow. There will come a point when you stop emulating the ideas of the performers you admire and realize you have a voice of your own; a voice that can shape your personal improv and improv for all those around you.

And that’s awesome.

That desire to teach and coach and is a good thing, but before you start, take some time to think about what each of those mean. Teaching and coaching have many skills in common, but they are not the same thing. Ultimately, you have a relationship with those learning from you. It’s your job to know the best way to support their choices and make them stronger. But hey, isn’t that what improv is all about?

Helping a performer or an ensemble grow is just like doing a scene with them. There’s a lot of yes and, there’s a lot of listening and there’s a lot of support. And like those scenes, they work best when you know when to initiate and when to support.

Before you start…
Ask yourself the same question you ask yourself when you’re thinking about entering a scene on stage; “Am I entering this scene to help support it, or to make it about me?” If the answer is the latter, hold off for a while. Maybe now isn’t the best time to start teaching.

Teaching is Initiation
You know that specific excitement you get when you step on stage with a strong initiation? The kind you know your partner will support? Don’t just say yes to that question. Stop reading for just a moment and really think about that feeling. That’s a specific kind of excitement. That’s how teaching should feel. Your students are there to listen and grow from what you’re about to say next. And you’re excited to share it. It doesn’t matter if it’s their first day of Level 1 being exposed to the whole of improv, or week 4 of your hyper-specific Viewpoints workshop. It’s a chance to share your ideas with them. You’ve initiate the scene of their growth. What an awesome responsibility.

But like any great scene opening, the responsibility doesn’t end with words. You’ve given them the gift, you’ve planted the seed. And while they’re doing an exercise in your class, you can continue to shape that. But when the day is done, the knowledge is theirs. It’s their knowledge to add to the growing thing which is their own improv. It’s their knowledge to shape and fold into their own personal experiences. It’s their own way of Yes, anding your knowledge. And that’s a good thing. Because someday they will turn it into something even greater, and teach it to their students.

Coaching is Support
I asked you to ruminate on that specific kind of joy in initiating a scene. Now I’ll ask you to remember a different kind of joy. Think about that joy of stepping on stage with someone you trust ready to support them. It’s not about coming on stage with nothing. Not at all. It’s about everything Napier talks about in his book (and if you haven’t read it, go read it now). Supporting an initiation on stage is about having great strength and confidence, being grounded and prepared when that initiation comes. That’s another great feeling. And when you coach a troupe, that’s what you’re doing.

The first time you are asked to coach a team, it’s a pretty sweet feeling. You feel good because someone clearly respects you enough to want your thoughts. But this isn’t the time for telling. Now is the time for listening.

When a troupe asks you to coach them, they’re initiating. They’re initiating the growth of their group and they are asking for your support. In fact, for all this metaphorical comparisons between instructing and performing, this is the most literal comparison. Before you start coaching, spend an entire practice just listening. Sometimes a group has goals in mind, sometimes they don’t. This is the time to help them discover and refine the direction they want to head as a group. Listen to every member of the troupe, not just one. Your job is to hear all the voices and find the patterns and connections between their goals and abilities to help the troupe grow in the way that’s best for all.

Only then, when you’ve heard their initiation, are you ready to say “yes, and” and support their growth.

Balance in all things
As time goes on, you’ll be called upon to teach and to coach. Take time to figure out when each skill is needed. When you step in front of a group of Level 1 students, or a group of strangers at a festival, teach them what you know. Let them take it home with them. When your sitting in the living room of a team struggling to find it’s voice, help them find it and support them through coaching. This wisdom to know the best way to support the scene between you and the performers you’re helping will make all the difference in the world.

Keep teaching. Keep coaching. And for Pete’s sake, keep learning.

Currently Bill is an instructor at The Torch Theatre and producer for the Phoenix Improv Festival. He tours teaching and performing across North America.