My improv coach, Jill Alexander, has had everyone on Cakewalk study a piece of American history. Why? We are taking a shot at “Getting a Life.” We aren’t abandoning our study of improv as an art form, just pressing pause. Jill wrote a blog post for the blog over at U.S. Rock and Roll that I think explains it better than I can:
Beyond exposing yourself to as many ideas about improv as you can wrap your brain around, you can become a better player by Getting A Life.
Yes, pursuing further knowledge of the art is both noble and worthwhile. But you’ve got to do something besides just improvise. First off, you’ll starve. Secondly, your existence will fold in on itself and collapse. No joke.
The best improvisers I know are those who are well informed about the world. Having a general knowledge of current events, history, and literature will afford you a wealth of information that you can tap into if only to get your lizard-brain started. Your more evolved improv-brain will take over from there and fill in the blanks.
Listen to NPR. Pick up a newspaper. Read a book. Oh, and before you get that tattoo of your theater’s logo, hold on a sec. You’re an improviser, right? I bet you can think of something more original…
And so it shall be. Just for kicks I typed in the word “cults” into TED, the smarty pants website with talks from professors and experts all over the world imparting their knowledge to internet surfers. I found an ex-Moonie talking about what was scientifically going on in her brain when she was a part of a cult. I had a nerd parade brain explosion inside my head after seeing this:
My favorite quote:
These easy ideas to complex questions are very appealing when you are emotionally venerable.
