improvarama

You put something where you knew it would be. Now you don't know where that is. And...go.

Can anyone really say yes better than a dog? Hardly. My dog friend (one of a few) Mr. Tubs is a champion say yes kind of guy, and he insists that I play just as unconditionally. When I enter my friend Judi's house, Tubs comes running to see who it is. When he sees who it is (me!) he retreats to find his favorite toy of the moment and trots to me with the offer to play. Say yes, human. Just say yes. If I'm preoccupied, his eyes say "say yes." If I say "not now, Tubbers..." he remains on point, ready to go, slobbering with anticipation, unable to conceive of a negative thought between me and yes. Say yes. Improv actors say yes. If you forget how, please...play with a dog. Just look at that face. There's no "no" in that face. There's no room for killing the scene. There is only keeping the playing alive. Say Yes to Mr. Tubs. Say yes to your improv partners. Say yes to life. -- doug smith Creativity Generator: Picture...

I sat in the back of the church, in what was now her office but was once the crying room, the place where people could be in church with their crying babies but be behind a glass wall. It was her office now. Not much need for a crying room. The church didn't see many babies these days. Mostly the few people who attended had gray hair. Or no hair. They walked slowly. And if they cried, it was oh so quietly. They did cry. Quietly. The minister was soft spoken. A kind man. A decent enough speaker but the rare paster who was truly a minister to the people and not an ego driven speaker. But he wasn't here. It's Tuesday. A parade of hopeful teens were getting their voice lessons, hoping to be on American Idol or some other talent show. Hoping to get into the high school musical. Hoping to set the world on fire and be famous. They didn't know the odds were slim and...to their parent's delight the voice teacher had a rep. She had a track record. She was more than a mi...

You don't have to be a star. You don't have to be famous. You might even stay happier if you avoid those two possibilities. Still, practicing improv will improve your world. It will improve your communication skills, help your self image, build team work, make it far easier to think on your feet, take the fear out of the unknown...and hundreds of more benefits. That's why I like this quote: "More of me comes out when I improvise." -- Edward Hopper And mostly, more good stuff! -- doug smith Creativity Generator: Think about a time when you had to improvise during an unexpected occurrence. Wild, eh? Now for two minutes list all the good that came of that improvising situation. See?