Improv

12 Marbles
More of me comes out when I improvise.

Edward Hopper 
I'm not as good of a filmmaker when I know exactly what I'm doing. When I don't have all of my comfort foods (special effects etc.) with me then I get really, really insecure. That insecurity opens me up to any possibility. 
Steven Spielberg 
 

    My running partner is in an improv troupe. Last night my kids and I went to a G-rated performance of his troupe. My kids were thrilled to see their family friend up on stage and were tickled by many of the skits. All last night and all this morning I was treated to reenactments of their most favorite scenes accompanied by laughs and giggles.
    While I was sitting in the audience, I had a moment of horror as I pictured myself standing up on stage, being required to be funny and engaging on the spot and in the moment. There’s nothing that goes against my writerly sensibilities more than having to be succinct pronto.  Writing generally allows me to mull things over and edit ad nauseam. 
    My subconscious world extrapolated on with the fear…in my dream last night I was an opera singer in front of a large audience who were waiting for me to perform my aria. I was terrified because I didn’t have the singing voice but when I opened my mouth to offer what I did have, nothing came out. I was mute.
    I have a preoccupation with preparation. I hate to procrastinate and I feel good when I’ve completed my school assignments well before their deadline. I’m the opposite of improv.  Yet when I hang out with my running buddy, I notice a cool dynamic of being able to play off each other, building funny scenarios that will make us laugh, and generally being present in the moment with the desire to have fun. When I experience those moments of creativity, I wonder, “What would it take for me to be more comfortable with my ability to improvise?”


In her book, To Build the Life You Want, Create the Work You Love: The Spiritual Dimension of Entrepreneuring, Marsha Sinetar wrote, "Only the strongest egos escape the trap of perfectionism. To solve problems successfully, you must believe you can, must feel capable enough to improvise. Yet too many adults have been schooled away from their ability to experiment freely." Do you feel capable enough to improvise? Can you experiment freely? When things don’t work out, are you able to laugh?