The Tao of Improv - Page 12


Rule No. 5: There are no mistakes. In a good improv scene, everything is incorporated, nothing falls to the wayside. A character's anger, someone's limp, the joke that falls flat, the imaginary cup that gets dropped, all get acted out and reacted to. You work with what others offer, and trust that you'll all somehow pull it off. Everything is grist for the mill. You see what evolves; focus on what's being created in the moment. Like poets, improv actors seek to connect the odd and seemingly out of place—concrete and cosmetics, aftershave and guilt.

None of us knew where this scene was going when it started—that Brad and my relationship would be close rather than antagonistic, that Ann would be selling cosmetics instead of delivering sand or being a dog, that we'd wind up talking about loss and grief instead of fraternity parties or ways to knock out one of the walls in the factory. While it turned out to be a pretty strong scene, it could have fallen flat, with each of us wandering around, not listening, staying safe, and doing nothing of interest.

It doesn't matter how it all "turns out" and what kind of story or characters evolve. All we're doing is practicing our skills, practicing being ourselves, and most of all, playing and having a good time. Some clients get stuck in their relationships and their lives because they worry about making mistakes or are haunted by past failures. Couples find themselves in stale marriages because they choose to stay in their comfort zone, and use routine and distance to replace spontaneity and confrontation. Some clients, and undoubtedly some therapists, become preoccupied with following what they imagine to be the one path toward the one goal. They scold themselves when they feel they've strayed, when things don't turn out as they imagined they would, rather than patting themselves on the back for taking risks and realizing that life is about the art of improvisation.

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