By Matt Mike Elwell, ComedySportz

1. Americans who take classes often see themselves as consumers of an experience, and then I am paid to provide it. An improv student does not become an improviser until he makes a personal commitment to seeing himself as such and taking a conscious responsibility for his own performance.

2. Improv can be seen as a way or path, even a spiritual path. Someone who invests himself in the principles of improvisation can enjoy a life filled with generosity, warmth and fun.

3. The core values of the improviser are love, playfulness and discipline. Chief among these is love. The prerequisite for all these is courage. The prerequisite for courage is peace of mind.

4. The improviser must act on the personal level. There is no give and take; there is only movement and stillness. When your partner moves, be still, when your partner is still, move. To do more than this is to invite yourself to judge your partner.

5. To the improviser who works on the personal level, there are four basic principles:
----- 1. Breathe thoroughly.
----- 2. Extend with courage.
----- 3. Keep mind and body together.
----- 4. Swing on one thing.
(these are simple revisions of four aikido principles, nothing new here.)

6. When the scene fails, each improviser has failed. When the improviser fails, look to a failure to live the principles and the values. When the improviser succeeds, look to see them all lived well.

7. The audience matters. They are the barometer of success. Do not look for the quantity of their laughter, feel their energy. Their reaction is also governed by the four principles

8. Go back to the Death Star. Rescue Han and Lea. (Alright, I don't usually mention this one, they just kind of get it.)

I throw these out there to see how other people are teaching, and to find out what you all think. If you're already performing, you probably already have a system of understanding improv that works for you, so this will look unimportant. But does it help someone who's new to feel a deep personal connection to the work that they can draw upon when terrified by the moment they face the audience?