Make Your Partner Look Good
Also known as Support Your Partner, The Golden Rule of Improv
Ensemble ethic: every performer's job is to make their scene partners shine, not to get laughs at their expense.
Known for
- Codified in Truth in Comedy as a Del Close commandment: 'A truly funny scene is not the result of someone trying to steal laughs at the expense of his partner, but of generosity.'
- Framed as the improv equivalent of 'love thy neighbor as thyself.'
- Counterpoint: Napier argues that excessive deference ('I'll just support') leads to weak improv and over-polite scene work.
Connected to
People
Concepts