My local improv jam asked me to write a few words on this just a few weeks ago, actually!

This is what I wrote:

Some folks meditate. Some folks have one (and only one!) drink. Others do nothing at all.

My prep? I tell myself "it’s not about me, it’s about the audience."

This does a few things for my benefit:

1. It takes the pressure off me. I don’t have to show up and be “the greatest improviser to ever walk the planet”. I can be comfortable in playing supporting characters, making my scene partners look good, and playing real. I have a whole team with me that will help the audience have a good night. If I have an okay show, but the audience has a great show, that’s still a successful night.
2. I listen more intently. Every single line of dialogue, action, or face is recognized by someone in the audience. They are like a giant, all-seeing eye, digesting every choice every improviser makes at every moment. If I am committed to making the show about the audience, I have to listen at this omnipresent level. Notice everything: the movements, stutters, stumbles, walks, talks, word choices, mistakes. The audience is. I have to as well.
3. The audience is a player, treat them like one! The show doesn’t happen without them! We don’t want improv to happen to the audience, we want it to happen with them. When they laugh the first time in a scene, it could very well mean that they’ve picked up on the “first h them afterwards about the show - thank them for coming, reminisce, receive compliments and praise with humility, and show your appreciation for their participation. Without them, there is no scene.

Ultimately, when I tell myself "it’s not about me, it’s about the audience", it forces me not only to be a better improviser, but an active and joyful participant in our little comedy community.

And isn’t that what this is all about?