Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up

by Patricia Ryan Madson

Our goal is always appropriate action, doing what is needed.

calls a “secret service,”

try this: Change some simple habit.

try this: Change your daily schedule by one hour and see what happens.

try this: Go home a new way.

[the twelfth maxim] take care of each other

try this: Become a guardian angel.

With shared control you must constantly wake up to the moment and act on that information.

It’s always my job, if the job needs doing and I am there to do it.

Those who “drive” (always control or dominate the situation) and those who “wimp” (fail to contribute or accept responsibility) are making improv errors.

Keep adjusting to how it is rather than how you’d like it to be.

Try Giving Yourself Away.

give voice to any positive thought he had.

try this: Consider others first.

try this: Do something kind for the planet.

W. A. Mathieu’s wonderful resource, aptly titled The Listening Book, provides a treasury of simple games and exercises for those who want to be better listeners.

try this: Listen as if your life depended upon it.

These five rules are essential for the successful entrepreneur, he told me: Show up on time. Be nice to people. Do what you say you’ll do. Deliver more than you promise. Work with enthusiasm and passion.

Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings,

[the thirteenth maxim] enjoy the ride

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. —THICH NHAT HANH

I have a friend who can turn a trip to Disneyland into work with her obsessive need to see and do everything in an orderly fashion. On the other hand, cleaning out the attic or garage can be a playful activity, if you

It takes so little to create the context for human play. First, we must be in the same room physically so that we can touch each other. It is useful to have a few rules to follow (or break) and a willingness to make mistakes together. Having a guide or teacher helps, but isn’t necessary. What creates natural laughter? The unexpected, the spontaneous, giving without thought of return, falling down and getting up, being playful, being silly—these things can bring joy. Create a space where there are no wrong answers. Hang out there. Invite some friends. Improvise.

try this: Make up the words to a song right now and sing it.

it takes so little to produce a lot of pleasure: the human presence, playing together, making mistakes, solving riddles and problems, laughing, getting it right, getting it wrong, singing a song.

try this: Play games together.

How Many Uses for Thi...

try this: Spend one whole day giving away smiles to everyone you encounter. Smile at yourself in the mirror, too.

try this: Schedule an event that is all about fun.

Bill McKibben, “Finding Meaning in an Age of Distraction: From the Personal to the Political,” Thirty Thousand Days: A Journal for Purposeful Living 9, no. 3 (2003): 1.

Ackerman, Diane. Deep Play. New York: Random House, 1999.

Bernardi, Philip. Improvisation Starters: A Collection of 900 Improvisation Situations for the Theater. Cincinnati: Betterway Books, 1992.

Impro for Storytellers.

Improvisation, Inc.: Harnessing Spontaneity to Engage People and Groups. San

Radical Presence.

Improvisation for the Theatre