When I first stepped on an improv stage for a highschool ComedySportz league, I knew that I had found something important. For someone like me who is a inveterate thinker and a planner, this environment provided a way to get out of my own way and let my mind and imagination run free. Even though I never pursued improv to its full extant, I've always stayed in touch with it, attending classes here and there over the years and going to see shows when I could. I picked up Improv Wisdom because of a recommendation in Dan Pink's To Sell is Human. The title caught my eye. And it was well worth the read! Big Thought "Life is an … [Read more...]
Why Was That Brilliant?
Some of the most useful (and entertaining) professional development classes I’ve ever taken have been improv-comedy classes. Besides making me a little less unfunny at parties, I’ve learned some powerful and practical communication skills in these classes. One of them came from a brilliant teacher, Tim Whetham. (He was the teacher who pointed out on the first day of class that, “everyone is already good at improv, we do it 24 hours a day). In a class on performing an improvisational scene with a partner, Tim pointed out that your focus in the scene should be to validate the choices the other actor makes. In the heat of the moment it’s … [Read more...]