The Rules of Improv Can Actually Help You Deal with Donald Trump

Improv comedians live and breathe the philosophy of accepting ideas, character offers and people as both important and valid—even when what’s being said is completely insane and ridiculous. It's probably more likely at this point that Donald will spawn monsters when his hair gets wet after midnight than actually become president. But when it comes to enduring all the traumatic verbal garbage he's spitting out, I can’t think of a more appropriate tool than improv for surviving a Trump-heavy election.

Here’s a little improv coaching to get us to November 8th.

Validate them, even when it hurts

From building walls to cat calls, there’s a lot of gross things happening that could lead normal, well-adjusted people to write off all Trump-friendly Republicans in general right now. But calling them nuts and hating them back (or in recent extreme cases, burning their North Carolina offices) is not only extremely undemocratic and dangerous, it’s also goes against improv fundamentals. 

Try to remember that everyone’s ideas are valid. There is reasoning behind everyone’s point of view, no matter how awful and messed up it might sound to you. Accepting Donald’s right to exist as a cartoonish super villain will give you peace of mind…and help you appreciate the contrast with more grounded presidential character options.    

Demand more specifics

Most solid improv scenes are full of details that help flush out relationships; give an audience context of what’s happening; and get across a character’s point of view. If you look for these specifics in the current election build up, you’ll figure out two things. 

First, when it comes to policy and realism, our floppy-haired friend is not a fully flushed out, three-dimensional character (and generally speaking, you want characters that understand specifics when they’re trying to lead the free world). The second is that if “build a wall” and “grab her by the p***y” are the only clear point-of-view character statements your party’s candidate has made, you’re in trouble.      

Recognize the status battling

Trump deserves some weird credit for making a classic improv status move in the second debate: he made a choice to position himself directly behind Clinton during her time to speak. This is a really strong improvised status move, Donald! When verbal offers failed him and he began to lose his ability to affect the outcome of the debate, he made a *physical* offer, mirroring the predatory high-status movements made by animals when they’re about to attack (or worse). It makes him a gross human being in reality, but from an entertainment point of view, really great scene work.  

Edit the scene

All things must come to an end, and like an improviser on the sidelines in a montage of open scenes, it’s nice to remember that we all have the power to affect what’s happening. That means having the power to “sweep the scene” when this is all too much. To change the trajectory of the dialogue. To pivot the discourse. We’re all* involved in this process, and we all have the choice to sit it out…or to tag in.

(*Except for me. I’m Canadian.)