Came for the improv, stayed for the friends

Here’s something we often hear or read: As you grow older, it gets harder to make new friends.

Sure, you occasionally meet new people - colleagues you actually like, short-lived holiday buddies, party encounters -or even unsuccessful dates-turned-pals. But maybe you feel that gone are the days when you didn’t have to take out your agendas to plan your next hangout. That everyone just seems too busy. Perhaps you’ve made some big life moves but didn’t find the right people along the way.

Maybe you’re often left at the first friend’s date stage.

We think we broke the code.

You know where this is headed: Improv is actually a very, very good way to make very, very good friends.

Arguably, any community of interest or hobby will do the job: You’ll probably find your people by going to the gym (provided you go back), getting into a feminist knitting club, playing in your local volleyball team, or joining a cult (don’t join a cult).

Yet there is something special about improv friendships.

In an improv class, you’ll find other people who get high on creativity, spontaneity, and laughter. It’s a space where connections can bloom and grow because they are very child-like: they’re rooted in the shared moment of exploring unscripted, unpredictable, and wonderfully chaotic worlds. Once you’ve seen someone pretending to be successively a haunted tree in a magic forest, a defective ninja, and a flight attendant with a fear of heights - there’s no going back. What it comes down to is that what makes for great improv also applies to great friendships: trust, listening, presence, celebration and a sense of shared mind.

And let’s be honest: most improv scenes make a great ground for one of the key features of a friendship: never-ending, constantly repeated inside jokes that no one else thinks are hilarious.

And yes, it is slightly ironic : by doing something inherently ephemeral... you might make some long-lasting friendships 🌻