Westfall is founder of Improv Comedy Delivered in D.C. and the exclusive teacher of improvisational comedy at the DC Improv. He has taught, directed and performed improv for over 12 years.
How did you get into improv?
The short answer is that comedians are kind of screwed up. The long answer is that I saw improv on this television show about 15 years ago, and I thought, “I have to do this.”
What’s different about it from standup?
Improv is collaborative. In many ways, it is more like theater than traditional standup in a traditional club. It’s one limb of a much larger body.
You coach a lot of business clients. How do the skills translate?
To do improv well, you have to listen — if you don’t, your scene is going to go off the rails really quickly. What people discover in my class is how well it teaches people to actually, truthfully listen rather than pay lip service to “listening.”
What do you want to be doing in five years?
Teaching improv isn’t my only job. I work in advertising … ideally, what I’d like to see is these two worlds meld.
How might that happen?
There’s this exercise that I teach — “Animal Ad Agency.” You pick an animal at random, and you pick a household item at random. Zebras and spatulas, [for example]. You market spatulas to zebras, and the first two words have to be “Yes, and …” “We could call a spatula this name,” [for example]. What I tell my students is that this is eerily similar to the kinds of improv I go through with my clients.
What’s the improv scene like in D.C.?
The improv community in D.C. is thriving. … There is somewhat of a glass ceiling — talented people [come here] to take the next steps … to New York, Chicago. It makes other cities, other areas realize that we are a breeding ground for talent.
— David Sherfinski
