So, can I take a second and point out something ridiculous I noticed about myself?
I teach improv and encourage improv students to take risks, let go of perfection, and live in the moment. Hell, you’ve probably heard that Improv Playground speech before we play games…every week.
Every week.
I share these thoughts every week.
But, here’s a little bit of truth I realized today: I don’t practice what I preach. I don’t practice my improv lessons in my own blog posting. I have a lot of ideas about blog posts, but never post them because I don’t meet my arbitrary threshold of “insightful,” and “funny.“ I’m nervous people won’t enjoy the ideas, so I don’t post anything. And that threshold shifts on how I’m feeling every day. I think about how long the blog post will be, and if it’s not long enough I think, “Well the SEO experts have always suggested blog posts need to be X number of words…so if it’s not X number of words I Shouldn’t post.“
Sound familiar in improv?
It’s the same as sitting offstage, refusing to try. Performers can have that voice creep in and whisper, “Improv experts say your contribution should be of X value. If you can’t do that don’t play.“
But…improv is play. Improv is just showing up and trying, being supported by a team, and discovering some amazing stories….and this blog should just be about showing up and sharing some stories. Maybe the stories are helpful, maybe it makes you smile….or maybe not…but at least I’m trying to create, and not sitting on the sidelines thinking, “I wonder what would have been.“
I think I’m getting to that place in life where I’m hearing that “I wonder what could have been,“ in the back of my mind…and I don’t like it. Time to change.
If I’m telling people to take risks onstage, I should take some risks too.
So, first very silly mini post….
THIS TRUCK
I thought this was such a fun example of taking an accident and making it THE important feature. A simple design, but the car accident becomes the standout element. I bet this driver does improv, because improv is all about taking those “mistakes“ and weaving them into the story so they become beautiful and valuable to the scene.
Have a great day! See you next week at Improv Playground!