From the person who tends to put things into two categories – here’s Part Two!
In my previous post, I described the ExploreFlexSupport model for categorizing the key skills needed to “do” improvisation. Today I’ll describe two more categories that really comprise the essential attitudes of improv. I call these The Now! and The Wow!
The Now!
An improv performer must be fully present in the moment, must give complete attention to who and what is going on around her, and must listen as if her life depended on it. Similarly, a Daily Improviser must Be Here Now – that is, must not get stuck in the past (obsessing over past failures or resting on past laurels) or the future (which usually translates to worry or a mania for controlling the course of events). As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”
The Wow!
The Wow! is simply about remembering to say to yourself, no matter what happens: “Ain't it fun?” An audience can quickly tell if an improv performer is forgetting to have fun and is just going through the motions - or, at the other extreme, is overly anxious about “doing it right." And no matter whether you, the Daily Improviser, are in the middle of a huge success, a crumbling debacle, or just a mundane wait in the express checkout lane, the Spirit of Play is just an “Ain't it fun?” away. (Hey, that rhymes! Totally unintentional! Ain't it fun?)
The Now! and The Wow! are more about attitudes than about skills. Each of them is really a decision that anyone can make in answer to the question: What mindset will I put on today?
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