What makes good Improv

The first thing that comes to mind about good improv is creativity. A good improv presentation has several good ideas mixed into one presentation. Without creativity or ideas, improv falls flat. Another important aspect is listening to your team mates. If an idea is given and no one recieves it, people stand around looking at each other wondering what they should do. I have experienced this various times when we are doing the improv games in class. I will not listen to other peoples ideas and build on them, and then other people will not build on the ideas that I give, even if they aren't that good. But once the idea is recieved, then it can be built on to make it a better idea, or it will give enough time to the team to think of a better idea. Improv is not something that can be easily done. Because of being taught that their is always a right and wrong answer, people get scared of giving ideas because they don't want to be stared at for saying the wrong answer or giving out a bad idea. There can be either a lot of confidence in a group, or a lot of fear of running out of ideas, but once the team realizes that even though their only idea is a bad one, if they work with it, they can build on it and either make it better, or think of another idea. Once you get the hang of improv, it becomes second nature. But its getting the hang of it thats the hardest part. I personally have noticed how I am mostly instilled by fear and do not have a lot of confidence when it comes to acting. I am good and doing things by the book, such as following a script, or paying attention to detail when it comes to staging. But creativity is something hard for me because I have been taught not only in school, but also in church that their is a right and wrong answer. My biggest challenge for this unit of improv will be breaking out of that mentality of having bad ideas or that their is only one right answer. Once I am out of that mentality, improv will become much easier for me.