I know that improv is very different to a lot of different forms of comedy out there but there is one thing that is becoming more the ‘norm’ is acts posting show snippets and content online.

When I founded Punderstandably in 2017, hardly anyone was using videos as such to promote improv. So much so that as a video editor, I pushed my group to do it to stand out. We did parodies of film trailers, puns of the day and random videos – we even posted the odd clips from shows. We were a small group so no-one would probably paid attention to us but I pushed social media – we got likes, followers and shows that we probably would not of got otherwise. I even had someone come up to me at a show to mention the videos.

I always found video promotion important and was so shocked no-one else was really doing it and taking advantage. Just talk to my old improv members, they will tell you the amount I used to push the videos and how I wouldn’t stop to try and promote us.

Jump to 2024 and the world of Tik Tok and everywhere is saturated. Even acts that were huge and well established back when we were a team that ignored or didn’t like videos are now posting slips of their shows and content to get interest and ‘collect’ followers.

I went to a concert this year and I got annoyed. The support act spent most of their time singing with their back to the audience so that they had lots of content for social media to promote themselves.

Now, I know that improv is different to a ‘music gig’ but I am concerned just how much Tik Tok world is going to start infiltrating improv. I went to a well established improv night in London and for the first time ( i had been before) i actually noticed a person with the camera creating content. The players even mentioned them to the crowd, point out on stage what content they want for their socials.

This wasn’t something that was uniquely obvious but I found it noticeable as that was never the case with improv shows. For years on here I have been fighting and explaining why on many different articles why it can be important to record shows. I have had so many conversations with improvisers as well in the past where they have told me that I am wrong. It is funny how now it is trendy to be one of those people to do it.

The one thing I am concerned about is that improv will eventually follow this trend of making the camera obvious to get the best ‘footage’ and make the experience more immersive. I know everyone wants exposure which is great but think of the ‘audience’ experience.

Let’s go back to this music gig that I was talking about – when the support act came on stage, I was impressed with their vocal talents, However, from the second song onwards, the videographer and ‘social media’ took over – as an audience member I went from enjoying it to despising it and vowed to never pay to see the artist live at their own gigs.

Remember whether the audience have paid or not – they are there to see a show. They are your biggest source of exposure as the power of word of mouth is important and still works – especially if you perform in the same location all the time.

Whilst I still believe recording shows is a good thing and has beneficial factors (such as reviewing your performance, seeing what has worked, reactions, promotion etc) remember your audience and try and keep that magic alive. I am now keeping everything crossed that the new world with Tik Tok won’t kill live music or comedy shows.