Canberra Improvention (even though it hasn’t officially started). Last night, after watching a new format improv try out, Â Heidi and I were talking about fear and I was trying to articulate what I was nervous about. Of course we are nervous; about performing in front of such brilliant improvisers, in front of a local audience (will they get us?) and running our workshop (does it have any validity? will participants like it?) So, I struggled to find the underlying cause of my fear, and now that I have found it I can say it and it will go. I am nervous about being found out as a con-person, a trickster, a busker. As a somebody who says they do but doesn’t. The best part about these ‘fears’ is they are all the things you need to be an improviser. You are a busker, a trickster, a con. You are making it up. I feel so much better now.
Anyway, now that that is gone, I want to say why I think improvisers are lucky. We are lucky because we are always looking for the possibility. We are lucky because we default to yes. On stage, and in life, because we are so used to it. We are lucky because we allow ourselves to get over the moon with excitement, and we allow ourselves to shout our excitement out loud. Look at the facebum page to see what I mean.
So, lucky improvisers, I am ready to play.
I wrote this letter today.