Impro Thought of the Day: Greatness as an improviser is a direct function of listening.

Greatness as an improviser is a direct function of listening.

Impro Thought of the Day: Saying "oh, that's weird" in neutral is not a reaction by the character...

Saying "oh, that's weird" in neutral is not a reaction by the character, it's a comment by the actor.

Impro Thought of the Day: There are two ways to live...

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”

- Albert Einstein (via Alan Marriott)

Impro vs Ego

A recent workshop with the great Patti Stiles, set me thinking about the Ego and the performer. Something that's fascinated me since I first realised the Ego doesn't come about through being overconfident (as it seemed), it comes from fear. Patti reminded us of how the Ego is the nemesis of Impro and pointed out the ways it tries to thwart the noble Impro on its quest to tell the best stories it can.

• The Ego is what makes an improviser do what he wants to do rather than what the scene needs.
• The Ego makes the actor go for the gag instead of the story.
• The Ego is what makes us hate getting notes from our fellow players and treat them as attacks.

The Ego is created and nurtured by fear and mistrust.

• A performer without an Ego will jump on stage and make you look good without even thinking about it.
• A performer without an Ego is concerned with presenting the story to the audience and not looking for their moment to shine.
• A performer without an Ego takes a note as a suggestion to try a new path or a helpful insight into performing habits.

Fellow travellers, we must join forces and fight along side the hero impro in its struggle against the forces of Ego. We can only do this together, for when we think as a team and are concerned with the welfare for all the other members of our merry band just as much as for ourselves, only then can Ego be defeated.

Impro Thought of the Day: The hero Impro has many helpers, but one true nemesis: Ego

The hero Impro has many helpers, but one true nemesis: Ego.

Impro Thought of the Day: The best improv happens when you lose yourself in it.

The best improv happens when you lose yourself in it.

Impro Thought of the Day: The best scenes...

In movies, the best scenes of all time aren't scenes where people explain the story, but scenes where we really see the relationships between the characters. So it is in improv.