The 6,000-Show Secret: What Improv Legend Troy Grant Knows About Confidence

The 6,000-Show Secret: What a Comedy Legend Learned About Showing Up

After performing 6,000 times, Troy Grant still gets nervous before every show. Here’s why that’s actually the secret.

Most people think confidence means never feeling nervous.

Troy Grant, founding member of the legendary improv troupe Four Day Weekend, is here to tell you that’s a total lie.

After nearly 30 years on stage and more than 6,000 performances, he still gets butterflies before the curtain goes up.

In a recent episode of The Susana Gibb Show, Susana sits down with her “fake husband” (they’ve done multiple commercials together) to talk about confidence, presence, and what it really takes to perform under pressure, whether you’re on stage or in a business meeting.

The Pre-Show Ritual That Kept Him Sane (Until Kids Happened)

Early in his career, Troy had a Saturday routine that bordered on sacred.

Rick Steves travel shows. This American Life on the radio. Solo meals at Luby’s to calm his nerves before showtime.

It sounds quirky. But it worked.

Then kids came along. The rituals disappeared. Life got messier.

But one habit stuck: sitting anonymously in the back row of the theater before the show starts, watching strangers fill the seats.

That moment, realizing people he’s never met paid money to see the show, still fills him with gratitude after all these years.

The lesson? Rituals help. But the real magic is remembering why you’re showing up in the first place.

Improv Rules That Actually Apply to Real Life

Susana pulls Troy into explaining improv fundamentals and they do it through hilarious mini-scenes, including one about mystery meat.

Here are the core principles Troy lives by on stage (and off):

1. Don’t Deny When your scene partner says something, don’t shut it down. Build on it.

In life? When someone brings you an idea, don’t immediately say “that won’t work.” Explore it first.

2. “Yes, And” Accept what’s happening and add to it.

Susana shares how this saved her during home renovation with her husband. Instead of “No, I don’t like that,” she tried “Yes, I see why you want that, and maybe we can do this as well.”

Game changer.

3. Establish Who/What/Where Fast Don’t waste time. Get everyone on the same page quickly.

In reality? Same thing. Clarify the situation before diving into solutions.

4. Support Your Partner Stop asking questions that put all the work on the other person. Contribute.

In improv, constant questions kill the scene. In business? They kill momentum.

The takeaway: These aren’t just comedy tricks. They’re communication skills that make everything smoother.

The Audition Disasters They’ll Never Forget

Every performer has audition horror stories. Troy and Susana swap theirs.

Susana’s nightmare: A swimsuit audition where her bathing suit was…let’s just say not where it should have been. The entire time. No one told her.

She still booked the job.

Troy’s disaster: An audition with Joel McHale where he accidentally sat on a prop cube meant to represent a car. Full stop. Complete reset. Mortifying.

Here’s the thing: both of them laugh about it now. And both admit they carried these moments way longer than anyone else probably remembered them.

The real lesson? We’re all disasters sometimes. The pros just keep showing up anyway.

That Electric Moment When Everything Clicks

Troy describes the magic of improv like surfing or skiing, those rare moments when preparation falls away and pure instinct takes over.

When a scene is clicking, everything else disappears. It’s just you, your scene partner, and the shared discovery of what comes next.

The audience amplifies it. The hush of attention. The roar of laughter. The thrill of everyone navigating uncertainty together.

He’s chased that feeling for 30 years.

And here’s what’s wild: it never gets old. Even after 6,000 shows.

How “Yes, And” Built a Company Culture

Four Day Weekend doesn’t just do comedy shows. They do corporate workshops.

Troy and his longtime partner Dave translate improv principles into business training, teaching teams how to listen better, collaborate more openly, and create a culture where ideas actually get heard.

Their workshops focus on:

Listening without planning your response
Being open to ideas that seem weird at first
Supporting your team instead of competing
Finding humor and playfulness in the work

Companies hire them because “yes, and” isn’t just for comedy. It’s for innovation, problem-solving, and building teams that don’t suck to work with.

30 Years, One Stage, Endless Possibilities

Troy shares stories about the early Four Day Weekend days in Fort Worth, the mysterious end of their lease, and the serendipitous opening of their Dallas theater, a space they fell in love with immediately.

He still performs alongside Dave after nearly three decades. They still find inspiration in younger cast members. And they still get energized by the unpredictability of a live show shaped entirely by audience suggestions.

No two shows are the same. Ever.

That’s the magic. And the terror. And the whole point.

Why You Should Actually Go See Them

Susana paints an irresistible picture: cozy couch seating, great drinks, unpredictable scenes, and the collective thrill of watching something be created from nothing.

You suggest a topic. The performers build an entire show around it. Right there. No script. No safety net.

It’s live creativity at its most raw and joyful.

And honestly? We could all use a little more of that.