Improvisational Comedy. Being the spontaneous person that I am, I fell in love with this form of expression after watching my first episode of, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" on Comedy Central. Upon entering college, I discovered that my school had an improv comedy course, which I immediately signed-up for, and managed to enroll in all of my four years of undergraduate education (it could be retaken for credit as many times as you wanted). It was through this course that I learned some of the greatest lessons, which I carry with me to this day. My reason in penning this article is to describe the rules of improvisational comedy, and how I've applied those rules to life AI (After Improv).
Improv Rule #1 : You can not deny whatever you are given.
When you enter a scene already in progress, you have to accept the situation that you are confronted with. For example, if you are the last actor to enter a scene, and someone says to you, "Well, well, well! What do we have here? It looks like a turtle," then you were a turtle. You couldn't say, "Well, no, actually, I'm a bull." I have found that in real life, you can't deny the situation with which you are presented. You have two options: you can be unhappy about the given situation, and sulk, or you can work to alter it.
I am currently employed as retail sales person. This is the situation which I am living in. Rather than accept that as my reality, I am attempting to change it through writing. True, my writing may turn out to be horribly uninteresting, but there is always the small chance that someone out there reading this might see the small flicker of creative genius in it, and their perception could stand to alter my reality, thus improving my situation.
Improv Rule #2 : Take chances often, and commit to and embrace them.
In a scene, it's perfectly acceptable (and often encouraged) to take a chance by going out on a limb. Once an actor does this, he or she must commit to the often-times outrageous decision they made. In a popular improvisational game called, "Superheroes," the scene starts out with one actor on stage, who is given a superhero name, as well as a crisis to thwart. The actor is joined on stage by the other actors one at a time, and as they walk on-stage, the superhero who is already on stage names them (often times, the name given to the next superhero will include their super-power, such as "Really-Likes-Gravy Man").
While playing this game during one of our rehearsals, a member of my college improv class said, "Boy, am I glad to see you, Swartzeneggar Man!" as I was entering the scene. This was a huge leap of faith on his part, as he was assuming first, that I knew who Arnold S. was, and second, that I could do a reasonably good impression of the Governor. Fortunately for him, I actually do a hilarious Arnold impression, and the scene was a success. It even led me to create my own improv game, called, "Ask Arnold," where I stood before the audience fielding questions from them in a press conference-style setting. It became our most popular skit, and it all started with one person taking a chance and having faith in someone else.
"In life, those who take great risks reap greater rewards." I read that in a fortune cookie once, but I believe it to be true. I try to go out on a limb every day, at least once, and I know that it will pay dividends one day. The key is committing yourself to taking calculated risks, and following-through on those risks.
Improv Rule #3 : If you are having fun, your audience will have fun.
No lesson that I learned through improv is greater than this. I have made it my goal to have fun in whatever I do. Even going to the dentist (tell me it's not hilarious when the dentist starts up a conversation with you when he's got both of his hands in your mouth). The key to living a happy life is to enjoy every second of it, even the parts that aren't supposed to be enjoyable. The concept of "fun" is all in your head. If you tell yourself that something is fun, then it becomes fun. I have a blast paying my bills every month ("Easy come, easy go!"), picking up after the dog, even going to work everyday. Make it a point to find the humor in everyday situations, and life will be a lot more spontaneous and fun!