Have you ever watched “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (If you haven’t seen it for a while, check out this episode featuring Robin Williams.) It’s a show that combines stand-up comedy with improvisation (and I do love it, yes I do.)
As a performer, I was trained to practice improvisation as the ultimate way of being creatively in the moment. When an improviser is on form and “in the flow”, the result is dynamic, adventurous, rebellious and unpredictable – but this entertaining craziness all hangs very carefully on a stable craft that makes us – as the audience – feel completely safe, despite the chaos on the surface. This is why “making it up as you go along” is actually a misleading description, because it’s not about marching in blind and simply winging it…
It’s about knowing the rules that work and then playing spontaneously within them.
Taking risks is so much easier when you know there is a safety net beneath you. It gives you the permission to have more fun being “in the moment”, and the courage to dance madly on the tightrope.
So if you want to be more playful and free, really engaged and wildly creative, why not try using the “psychology of improvisation” to help you? Here are 10 improv principles that will help to get you started: continue reading…
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