The engine of improvisation is play, which engages us emotionally and physically as well as intellectually. Play is fuelled by curiosity. Being interested, on stage as in life, is more fun and more productive than trying to be interesting.
Improvisation provides us with the freedom to test new behaviours in a safe environment. It is life with a rewind button. When we drop the ball, all we have to do is pick it up again. By practising relaxation, playfulness and commitment, we improve our capacity to show courage, empathy and flexibility.
In an improvisation workshop worth its salt, new knowledge is generated by all participants and emerges from practice and observation. We come to realise we are more capable than we thought. What we carry from this into the rest of our lives is ours to choose, and for many people it has changed everything.
Be present to yourself, curious about others, and ready to let things happen moment by moment; observe your behaviour graciously and explore alternatives; practise lightness, stillness, and mutual support; notice habits, triggers, and limiting beliefs; be patient, and you will experience glimpses of ultimate freedom, which is freedom from oneself.
