I recently performed in a mixed improv show where one player slapped another one during a scene. The slap was there for a reason relating to the scene and it was a hard slap. The kind of slap that took everyone out of the scene for a brief second and made me think “that seemed really hard.” The player who was slapped did in fact get slapped very hard and the slap took her completely out of the show. She managed very bravely to not show it to the audience but was absolutely destroyed by it and even felt the pain reverberate for days after. She did have a long talk with the player after who was surprised by her reaction. For the record, he had no negative intention and claimed that in his group they slap each other all the time.
It got me thinking about whether a slap is necessary. I’ve come to the conclusion that unless you have previously agreed that it is ok and have practiced it, don’t bother. Save it. It’s not worth it on so many levels. And here they are:
1. The gag: yes slapping might be funny and consititues slap stick but it’s usually done as part of a script in a written sketch. The gag is planned to the bone and the timing works better when scripted. This is not the case in improv. There’s no script and the timing is usually lost.
2. Why boil any scene down to a gag like that? Real improv is about tension, suspense, letting the audience imagine the worst or the best because we can.
3. A slap is very uncontrolled. When we balance all the different things we do while we play a scene: character, relationship, story etc. it’s so much harder to control this slap. That’s why any physical force becomes very painful. The alternative is that the slap looks too weak and not believable. Getting it just right is an art that needs to be practiced and agreed upon by your group.
4. You might be playing a power game without even knowing it. This is very bad. You might have noticed I mentioned that the person being slapped is a “she” and the person slapping was a “he”. I asked another female improvisor about this and she mentioned that both times she’s been slapped, she felt it was a power game by the male improvisor to shut her up. Somehow using the improv stage that requires agreement and the gazes of the audience to prevent the person from doing anything about it. This might be such a subconcius thing, by the way, that the slapper is not even aware of it.
5. It hurts. Why do we hurt each other? It’s not worth the gag (unless you’ve agreed beforehand that you will do it). Don’t hurt your fellow improvisor, it kills the intimacy and sense of safety we need so badly to make up all the stuff we do.
6. The audience will notice it. We are so exposed and vulnerable on stage that the audience quickly picks up non verbal signals. If someone is in distress, the audience will see it and feel it and not enjoy themselves as much.
So in conclusion: A slap should not be part of the improv vocabulary unless you have a damn good intimate group that likes the masochism and is willing to hit each other despite all the reasons I mentioned. Slapping should be an opt in. That means you state and ask before hand if it’s possible and then hit someone super hard. If they are still ok, with it, go for it but honestly, I think you can do better, be more creative, fun, intimate and real without the slap. I’ve never seen an improv slap make a show worthwhile. Ever.
I have been in shows where people slap each other but they use a “stage slap”, in other words fake it. It works every time. Looks good from the audience’s point of view because they still see a quick, improvised reaction. And nobody gets hurt. In a scripted stage play, this is how actors would pretend to strike each other. So the audience is used to the idea.