THE IMPRO MYTHS

IMPRO MYTH ONE


Your mind analyses the elements of a scene in order to arrive at the thing you must contribute.



This is the most prevalent myth, Mr Jones, and the use of games and controlling strategies, that rely on cultural expertise, fosters this myth. HOWEVER. It is a myth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A better way to arrive at the knowledge of what to contribute to a scene, is to feel your way into it. FEEL. Don’t look directly at it. This isn’t about emotion. Emotion a different area. You must feel. Stop thinking. Feel your way in the dark. Work with the your lack of knowledge, not your possession of knowledge. The analogy is with driving a car. You feel it. You drive with the seat of your pants. It is instinctive.

So guideline, not rule, is to feel. It you start thinking, try and observe yourself doing it, and them remind yourself to feel.

And this means feeling simple things. Like for example, feeling hot. Or feeling your uncertainty. Feeling your unsure-ness about what to do in a scene, could well be a good starting point for a scene. It’s an illogical thing, that uncertainty can be productive of certainty. But there it is. And when people say, “But I don’t know what I feel!” then of course, that is what you feel. This boredom. Frustration. Doubt.

IMPRO MYTH TWO

To be good at impro you must be witty clever and talented.

Well Mr Jones,this is the socially conditioned view of impro based on all the ideas we have been imprinted with by the competitive, judgemental, goal orientated world, we have all grown up in. Much better to just understand that this is not the reality. It is just a very one-dimensional view of life. A very self-obsessed view. Talent is indeed a wonderful thing, but it often has the negative effect of making people over value one area of their lives, causing an imbalance. Picasso was a good example. No one can deny his power in creating images. He was though not good at relationships, even with his own children! Also talent is really very misunderstood. It helps to shift the focus and see it in terms of extra self awareness, relating to a certain area. In short, Mr Long, impro can be whatever we make it. Whatever we bring to it. It is up to us.

IMPRO MYTH THREE

Impro is so frightening it can kill you!

Hear is our fear of losing our coolness coolness! Mr Jones! writ large for all to see. We are terrified of stepping out of the comfort zone. The known. And this really is just ignoring reality in a head strong stubborn way, for no matter what fight we put up, or resistance we have, life will eventually force us out of the known, the comfort zone, and the intelligent thing is to go to meet it, and not passively wait till it comes crashing down on your comfortable head!!!!!!! OUCH!

IMPRO MYTH FOUR

You can progress up through the levels with impro getting more and more sophisticated as you go along.


What important to understand here, Mr Jones, is that on the one hand you can become more fluid in changing your intensity, and consequently be a better improviser, but impro itself is a zen thing. It will always be the stupid silly thing it was when you first did it. There’s a book called ‘zen mind beginner’s mind,’ and this the impro mind. It always a beginners mind, even if you are very quick fluent and proficient at doing it!!!Doh!!!!!

IMPRO MYTH FIVE

Impro will help you in other areas of life.

Finally!!! Mr Jones! A myth that is true!!! I knew we’d get there sooner or later, Mr Jones!!! Yes. Whether it a job interview, the need to chat up the opposite sex, creative writing, or whatever, impro can and will help in these and other areas. Hoo-ray! Success at last!!!