PROLOGUE: The other day I was staring across my living room into the dining room and beyond where an imaginary black hole at the other end of the room was sucking my world into it. I just kept staring, hypnotically frozen as my world and all that awaits me today, tomorrow and in the future I acknowledged as part of the great unknown. Like most of you I was and still am trying to understand this crazy world and my place in it. Life has its challenges but it can also be an adventure. When you face the unknown, treating it as an adventure, the ride is always more rewarding.
After reading this weeks newsletter, I hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on how you can get more out of your work as an improviser as well as in your everyday life by facing and then embracing the unknown. This week I share some tips for doing so on the improv stage. I’ve included an improv exercise as well.
Improv Tips & Talking Points In this weeks newsletter;
Your Relationship with the Unknown
Do You Crave Certainty?
An Improv Exercise (One Step In the Dark)
Epilogue (Improv is a journey - a personal update )
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNKNOWN: Facing the unknown in business, at home and on the improv stage feels different in each setting but the underlying skill is similar. You learn to replace the need for certainty with the ability to respond. Isn’t that what great improv is about? In business you may want to take smaller bites and know that confidence comes from having a process, not from knowing the future. At home trade control for being present. People experience the unknown better when they have a routine and are flexible not when trying to be perfect.
On the improv stage no one knows where the scene is going until it reveals itself. Experienced improvisers don’t try to invent the entire story they merely notice what’s already true and make a clear choice and commit to that choice. The less perfect an idea in the scene is, the more interesting the scene becomes. This is especially relevant in long form improv. The audience isn’t watching to see whether you are predicting a particular ending or chasing a perfect idea. The audience are watching the improvisers on stage discover it together.
The unknown never disappears. What changes is your relationship to it. The unknown ceases to feel like a threat and starts to feel like a place where learning, connection and creativity happen.
DO YOU CRAVE CERTAINTY? Embracing the unknown in improv doesn’t mean being comfortable with not knowing anything. It means becoming comfortable with not needing to know right away and discovering the scene. When fear takes over and you notice yourself craving certainty, pause and ask yourself “What do I actually know?” “How do I feel about it?” “How can I justify what I know and/or how I feel?” Lastly, “What’s one useful action I can take now?” You can use the above words to sort out work meetings or navigating family life as well as stepping out on an empty stage.
LET THE FIRST UNUSUAL THING MATTER: If you walk out on stage and your scene partner says, “You’re late again.” You may not know why you’re late. Instead of using traffic as an excuse you might say, “I know.” That keeps the mystery going. The mystery becomes fuel for the scene instead of a problem to solve.
WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE INTERNALLY? When you embrace the unknown your internal dialogue changes. Instead of thinking with uncertainty, “I hope this works” “What’s the funny line?” “Where is the scene going?” Keep your inner thoughts exploring positively, “That’s interesting.” “Let’s find out.” “I’ll commit and see what my partner does.” The shift moves from negative to positive and instead of judging the scene and your scene partner you’ve switched to curiosity about the scene and your scene partner.
Capture the above thoughts with a simple mindset; “I don’t need to know the scene. I just need to know this moment.” Great improvisers rarely look like they’re steering the scene toward a destination. They look fully engaged with what’s happening in the moment, what’s happening right now!
When the unknown appears to be a black whole that just might suck you in you realize nothing is totally unknown and at the same time everything is unknown. You see the unknown is never completely unknown and the known is never completely known either. When the unknown looks like a black hole, it’s often because your mind imagines it as an absence as if stepping into the unknown means you’ll loose yourself. In improv you never step into nothing… There is always something to respond to.
The unknown is not an improviser entering the void but a forest about to reveal itself one tree at a time to the improviser. Don’t pretend fear doesn’t exist. Trust that the next truthful moment is enough to relieve that fear.
IMPROV EXERCISE / ONE STEP IN THE DARK: This is an improv exercise centered on facing the unknown that rewards players for committing before they understand. Improvisers learn to trust without knowing where the scene is going by making choices.
Two improvisers start a scene with no suggestion and no predetermined relationship. Every line must add certainty even if that certainty later changes. The only rule is that you must never ask a question that has the purpose of defining what the scene is. Avoid thinking in terms of “Where are we?” “Why are you here?” “Are you my brother, sister, lover? Embrace thinking that gives specifics and lays out emotional connections such as “I didn’t think you’d actually open the vault.” “You’ve gotten better at pretending this doesn’t scare you.” “Mom warned me this day would come.”
In this exercise as the scene unfolds not that when one of the scene partners feels uncertain then they must respond by making another concrete choice not by explaining.
See you on the big screen or in the pop corn line before the show. It’s your choice… Please tell a friend about this newsletter and encourage them to click the like (heart emoji) or subscribe button. For suggestions, comments, communications or inquiries about improv or my taste in socks, reply to this newsletter or reach out; ianclearspot@gmail.com -Greg
THE EPILOGUE: Improv is a journey…
LAST WEEK I was prepping for a house team audition. Our team was vying for a spot at a theater in Portland Oregon. Team We Willie Winkie (Scottish nursery rhyme - not my choice) came together at the last minute from a long form improv practice group I’ve been attending weekly over the past couple of months. The eight members of the team were of varying experience levels but I enjoy a challenge and my Friday evening was available so I was in. I’d signed on to have fun. Besides we were able to perform before a live audience as well as several judges. We Willie Winkie rose to the challenge and came together! This was especially impressive for us never having never performed together and due to the interesting balance amongst the player levels and energies present. We all pulled together for the 14+ minutes we were given. In the opening we were to glean facts from an audience members’ dream and perform three first beat scenes followed by a montage. Following our performance I felt that whether we are awarded a house team spot or not, everyone should be proud. Spots will be awarded in October.
THIS WEEK I fly to Tampa Florida from Portland Oregon for the Countdown Improv Festival (the largest solo, duo and trio improv festival in the country) where I’m performing a solo show Saturday evening as Johnny Toothpick: Bumbling Improv Gum Shoe. There are only two things Johnny Toothpick knows in this world and that’s gum and shoes (and maybe toothpicks…) The show should be fun! I encourage each of you to write me and share your improv adventures and what valuable insights and/or enjoyment you’ve gotten from those adventures!
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