Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up

Fear is a matter of misplaced attention. Focus on redirecting it.

If something is not to your liking, change your liking.

If you can't get out of it, get into it.

Trust your imagination. There is always something in the box.

The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes,” said Marcel Proust.

Insecurity is normal. Count on it.

In the act of balancing, we come alive. Sensations change moment by moment; sometimes we feel secure, sometimes precarious. In the long run we develop tolerance for instability. As we come to accept this insecurity as the norm, as our home ground, it becomes familiar and less frightening. We can stop trying to flee from the wobble. And sometimes this sense of being off balance is exhilarating and reminds us of the impermanence and fragility of life, nudging us to appreciate each imperfect, teetering moment we are alive. Perhaps, like surfers, we can come to feel the power of the waves, the majesty of the elements, and a sense of our own place in this swirling universe.

By stabilizing things you defeat the point of the exercise. Stay with the uncertainty, please. Really, it’s all about the struggle.

rocky terrain is unavoidable and may even be the path to something wonderful. “We can count on chaos,

The most consistent road to unhappiness that I know comes from turning a blind eye to reality. We do this when we wish potato chips weren’t fattening and eat them anyway put off doing the bills just one more day live an unhealthy lifestyle, fail to heed warnings on the label (or don’t even read the label), or focus on our partner’s shortcomings and spend time trying to talk him into doing things our way.

Writers write to discover what they have to say bringing to consciousness what they already know. It is the same with speech: speak to discover what you want to say. Sculpt, correct, refine, and redirect your thoughts on the fly as you speak. Authentic speech includes lively editing as part of the process.

To respond to a question or start improvised scenes, begin immediately using the first words that come to you. Trust your mind. Your first thought is a reasonable starting place; it is good enough. Don’t hesitate. Once you begin speaking, you have something to work with and build on. With the first-thought method it is as if the idea selects you rather than the other way around. The improviser focuses on making that idea into a good one, rather than searching for a “good idea.

All starting points are equally valid.

A good improviser is someone who is awake, not entirely self-focused, and moved by a desire to do something useful and give something back and who acts upon this impulse.

Nike’s snappy logo “Just do it” reminds us that it’s unnecessary to be motivated, get ourselves together, or even feel like doing it. The key is to get up and go.

I cannot do All the good That the world Needs But the world Needs all the good That I can do. —JANA STANFIELD, “All the Good,” Let the Change Begin

The world of improv is a portal into mindfulness and magic.

We make mistakes, sometimes whoppers. We correct them or we capitalize on them.