Generosity
Attention is a precious commodity, and I love watching people giving each other their full attention In improv, this happens all the time. It’s this quiet, generous act that keeps me coming back for more. When people give each other their full attention, something shifts. There’s palpable sense of shared presence. In those moments, we’re […]
Just show up
“The world is run by the people that show up” has a lot of truth to it. It’s not possible to influence or change anything if you’re not involved, and yet many of us struggle to show up consistently in life for things that matter most. So I thought I’d share a few insights and […]
Just presence
This post is inspired by a class I took with John Cremer, one of my favourite improv teachers. Classes with John feel incredibly alive. Permission is granted. People take risks. People share. And the scenes speak for themselves. John once said that you could sum up his approach to improv in one word: presence. So […]
La Wronge
An all-star improv cast bring you an improv experiment you don’t want to miss! The La Ronde is a classic tag-based format where we see snippets of the lives of various characters, each the hero in their own story. What happens when you push those boundaries to their breaking point? Add story telling, monologues and […]
An improviser calls
We are all improvising, all of the time. It’s what makes life happen in real-time, and it creates a world full of choices, options and possibilities. And yet are we improvising well? Are we taking life’s opportunities? Are we bringing other people with us? Are we being here & now when it matters? To improvise […]
Beyond the art
Improvisation covers a number of art forms from jazz, dance, and contact improv through to improv comedy and theatre. It usually makes us think of talented, clever people who have some kind of extra ability to do things without a plan, script, or musical score. But it’s more than an art form. The ability to […]
The high wire
One of the main things that holds people back from taking an improvisation class, and a more improvisational approach to life, is fear and anxiety. As learning designers and facilitators we are SUPER tuned in to this. Cultivating trust and safety is the essential first step in everything we do. We all know the feelings […]
I know.
Jill Bernard’s Cute Little Book of Improv has a memorable idea: that we all walk around with imaginary placards that say ‘Perpetual self-doubt.’ This was true for me for a long time and cost me in quite a few opportunities not taken, relationships that didn’t grow and roads left untravelled. Doubt has it’s value of […]
Momentum matters most
Improv connects ideas and feelings to create momentum. Momentum is something we can choose to increase or decrease, and we have skills and tools for that. Yes helps to create momentum. It can take some effort to keep on connecting ideas and feelings with ‘Yes, and’ x 100 but the payoff is exponential. You get […]
Improvising in flow
Improvisation is about flow. What is all this about flow then? According to flow researcher and author Stephen Kotler: “Flow is a state of rapt attention where action and awareness merge. Time speeds up or slows down. You feel and perform your best. You are present in the moment without reference to a separate sense […]