1. Punctuality- Get to your show on time. If your group or cast meets 30 minutes or an hour before the show starts, that is the time you should get there. Being late is unprofessional. There is a reason you are asked to get to a show at a certain time. You need that time to get ready for the show with your cast/teammates. If you are running late, you are putting undue stress on your cast/teammates. If you are chronically late you are showing disrespect for your cast/teammates and the work you are doing.
2. Pre-Show Ritual- You have to warm-up in some way. This can be a standard warm-up game, doing bits with each other, or simply checking in about how you are doing. Some people have specific things they do before each show, I often have a Red Bull and right before I go on I jump up an down. You should also develop a specific way you come on stage (like a particular song), a specific way you introduce your show, and a specific way you ask for a suggestion. Start the show before the show. The show starts the instant the audience can see you.
3. Your Idea- At some point give yourself permission to do what you want to do. Make a move and have it be exactly what you want it to be. If it's a sketch show, there will probably be at least one sketch where you are the focus, embrace it and drive it.
4. Someone Elses Idea- At some point laser in on someone else's idea. Lift it up, make it the most important thing you can, set someone up to look smart and funny. Feed them. This will make them look good as well as you look good. It'll also make you feel good. People love watching teamwork and joy on stage.
5. Pace- Have a sense of how the show is going, how long the scenes are, and where they are in relation to the beginning and the end of the show. Vary it up. Imagine a show like a song, sometimes you need to speed it up, slow it down, solo, or take it to the bridge. An audience loves variety, give them as much as you can.
6. Clever/Fun- Be clever. People love watching witty people banter about funny subjects. Also have fun and be stupid. Sometimes after an intense relationship or political scene, a fart scene really hits the spot.
7. Sing- In an improv show, think about doing a song either in a scene or as a group. Songs are fun and audiences give you a lot of leeway if they know you're improvising. They also go nuts for it. It's like a parlor trick, "Hey look! They're singing!" In a sketch show, whatever songs you may have, practice them and sing them well. If you can't sing, don't know how to sing, or don't have a good singing voice: don't sing. A scripted song can look terrible if the performers are uncertain either about the material or their abilities.
8. Physical- Get physical. Play animals or objects or the weather. Get on chairs, play inanimate objects, run in place. Varying up the stage picture and how you use your body, this will excite and engage the audience. Don't rely on this, we're not clowns or mimes. But be aware of what you're doing, change it up and then change it again.
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