Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up

by Patricia Ryan Madson

Blocking comes in many forms; it is a way of trying to control the situation instead of accepting it. We block when we say no, when we have a better idea, when we change the subject, when we correct the speaker, when we fail to listen, or when we simply ignore the situation. The critic in us wakes up and runs

the show. Saying no is the most common way we attempt to control the future.

The habit of excessive planning impedes our ability to see what is actually in front of us. The mind that is occupied is missing the present.

Substitute attention for preparation.

Substitute attention to what is happening for attention to what might happen.

When we give up the struggle to show off our talent, a natural wisdom can emerge; our muses can speak through us. All of our past experience, all that we have ever known, prepares us for this moment. We are overflowing with images, ideas, words, thoughts, and dreams. The trick is to stop choosing and to welcome what is there. Allow yourself to be surprised. Accept what you see completely. Finally, beyond acceptance is appreciation and thanks. For the improviser there are no wrong answers or bad gifts.

Discover the freedom that comes when you trust that you have what you need. Remember, there is always something in the box.

habit is a great deadener. Simply changing where we do things can have a positive effect.

The improviser focuses on making that idea into a good one, rather than searching for a “good idea.”

Judgment, preferences, and the filter of values can quickly crowd out first thoughts.

We are clever at rejecting first thoughts. “That is uninspired or boring”; “I don’t like it”; “It is too revealing”; “Somebody else already said that”; “I’m afraid of where this will lead.” It is easy to build roadblocks for whatever your mind generates. Don’t give in to this. Seize that precious first thought and honor it. Soon this way of working will become natural to you.

Giving up on perfection is the first step; the next is to stop trying to come up with something different. Striving for an original idea takes us away from our everyday intelligence, and it can actually block access to the creative process. There is a widespread belief that thinking “outside the box” (some call this the

goal of creativity) means going after far-out and unusual ideas. A true understanding of this phrase means seeing what is really obvious, but, up until then, unseen. “The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes,” said Marcel Proust.

Do what is natural, what is easy, what is apparent to you. Your unique view will be a revelation to someone else.

Try thinking inside the box. Look more carefully.

Do it naturally. If there is something important that you need to do, approach the problem as though you didn’t need to do your best. What is the most obvious way of solving it? How would you proceed if finding a solution was “nothing special?”

Instead of asking, “What do I feel like doing?” substitute “What is my purpose now?”

While we may bemoan a blunder or miscue, the real question to ask afterward is not “How on earth did I do that?” but rather “What comes next? What can I make of this? What kind of a bonus might this be?”

Raise your arms in the air, smile, turn left and right. Say “Ta-dah!” brightly. Then look around and see what needs to be done next and do it.

If you can’t get out of it, get into it.