If you do Improv, you should do Kudos
Whether you’re teaching a class, running a rehearsal or just finished a show
Kudos combines two of my favourite things — calling people out and giving them the spotlight. And Kudos makes improv feel even better.
How to do Kudos
Kudos is a simple exercise. Gather everybody around in the circle; anyone can speak up at any time. You give Kudos to someone in the circle for something they did, a moment you shared, or a feeling you had.
“Kudos to Amy for that funny scene with the giraffe…”
“Kudos to Bob for taking care of me during the exercise
“Kudos to Charlie for making me laugh and laugh…”
Make the Kudos about the other person; give them the spotlight instead of humblebragging about yourself. Thank them publicly for bringing you joy during the workshop, or the rehearsal, or the show. Make sure everybody else knows they’re a good egg and praise them in public, so they can’t get away with being a good person unsung and unseen any more!
Kudos as simple as that: giving thanks. The Kudos-giver learns to be grateful. The Kudos-getter gets thanks, but also, their actions are validated and seen. Someone noticed something they were doing, and praised them for it. That’s a a valuable moment.
Why you should give Kudos
A lot of improv is ephemeral and passing. Scenes are short, everyone laughs, then you cut and move on. You learn that ideas are disposable, and to be ready to kill your babies[1] and move on to the next idea.
Kudos brings back the best. In the very best traditions of Improv, Kudos makes a special moment even more special by making it a callback. There’s a magic to having a funny moment get an even bigger second laugh when it’s called out and people remember it.
Kudos is also kindness. So much of improv is about practicing and doing the work of improv, but for a team sport[2], we don’t really practice taking care of each other, or give praise when we cover up for each other. Kudos says: I appreciate when you did this, it helped me, I felt good.
(For a cynical person, Kudos is the perfect way to manipulate your fellow players into taking better care of each other, and sharing the love. Haha, suckers!)
When you should give Kudos
Give Kudos at the end of a class. Give everybody a moment to recap their favourite moments from the class.
If you’re the instructor, you should make sure everybody in the circle gets at least one Kudos. You may have to kickstart it the first few times, until people get it. It’s also good practice for your memory.
If people are just recalling the last few exercises, give Kudos from the warmup and before the break to jolt their memory. Classes can be long and you might have built up to a Big Finish. Let them give kudos for the middle struggle.
A class that gets good at Kudos becomes very tightly knit. They learn to say thank you, and they are reminded what they did that helped someone.
Give Kudos at the end of a show. Shows are emotionally wrought and wreck people anyway. Giving Kudos helps to centre people again, calm them down, and in case it’s a bad show — makes people feel better.
Give Kudos at the end of a rehearsal. Rehearsals are hard work, as you practice what you do in a show — and since you’re practicing for the real show, may as well practice giving kudos too.
Give Kudos at the end of a Blog
I learned how to do Kudos from Prescott. He used to do it at the end of a show, possibly because he’s a love-the-world hippie, but probably because it helped remind people of good behaviour and positive habits.
I outright stole it as the perfect thing to do at the end of a class. Doing Kudos at the end of a workshop serves as a reminder, a recap of the best moments of the class, and some of the exercises and concepts.
Doing Kudos lets everybody get together for one campfire-circle moment before they head off in their separate ways. And doing Kudos teaches people how to watch out for each other, and what to do to earn more Kudos next time.
I have learned many Improv exercises and games, but Kudos has got to be my favourite. To do Kudos well, you need to use every scrap of Improv skill: paying attention (listening is important), memory, justification, presentation. You need to make use of all the core ideas of improv: making your partner look good, sharing focus, being giving. And ultimately, doing Kudos well makes everybody leave with a smile.
Isn’t that the point of Improv?
[1] Kill Your Babies — Improv idea. Instead of falling in love with your own ideas, be willing to relinquish it to go in another direction during the scene. More ideas, better ideas are on the way.
[2] Improv is a team sport — No one individual ‘wins’ in improv; the only way is the entire cast wins together (and the audience wins a wonderful show.
This is inspired by a 30 Essays in 30 Days Challenge.
