The Weird Sisters (and Brothers)

I've always felt like a little bit of a weirdo. It was a struggle to find people who could deal with my particular brand of weirdness. When I started doing improv, I realized I'd found people who would never let some obscure reference go uncelebrated. People who were amazingly intelligent but decidedly not boring. People who could quote Shakespeare in one sentence and rattle off a series of fart jokes in the next (if they quote the right plays they won't even need two sentences!). I had found my clan. 

For a while I just believed I found a lucky group of people in the Nashville Improv Company (I did, but that's beside the point) and that surely this magical kind of human didn't exist anywhere else in the world. Then as I went to festivals and took workshops and met people who have made improv their lives, I started to think that improvisation just attracted tons of awesome weirdos.

But now I look at some of the students I've taught and how far they've come and I know that some of us have weirdness jn our nature, but all of us have spent time nurturing that special kind of silliness that your can only find in an improviser. Nothing is ever too strange for us. The porridge will never be too hot or too cold, it's always just right. It's not just acceptable to be weird as an improviser, it's highly prized and strived for. I'm exceptionally proud to have found so many brothers and sisters in weirdness and I can't wait to convert even more people to our ridiculous religion.

 

Making Stuff Up

The things that you make up are the bones of improv. When you get on stage armed with a suggestion (whether audience based or not) you are about to be pulling improv bones out of thin air. Isn't that incredible?

Invention is often cited as one of the more intimidating aspects of improv, people think that their brains simply couldn't supply a useful idea on the spot. For most people the issue isn't about a lack of ideas, it's about not being able to recognize the good ones that are popping up in their heads. Here's a hint: any one of those ideas that shows up is better than standing there waiting on the perfect one. Your motto is any port in a storm and you've gotta dock somewhere (anywhere) before your ship capsizes.

I've taught kids and adults for several years now and the difference between how a young person's mind and an adult's mind works are staggering. If I ask a six year old to say the first thing they think of they will blast out the word "fart" or "alacorn" without any hesitation. With an adult there will be nearly a full minute of hesitation. We learn to judge ourselves and our ideas as we grow older. We toss out the things that are embarrassing or that don't seem immediately important and that is a huge detriment of our creativity.

The beautiful thing about improv is that it teaches us to value the stuff we make up. It teaches us to commit to even the silliest idea that we have because with enough thought and care even the most ridiculous scenes can mean something and say something very important.