Superpowers unlocked: Adaptability and Risk-taking

Welcome back, friends! In the last post, we discussed the skill of listening. Now that a few weeks have passed, I have unlocked new improv superpowers! Read more below to learn about them!

Shawn adapting to me and Megan's height.

Adaptability

In class:

During a scene with my scene partner, Evie, we got the suggestion puppy, so Evie immediately got down to start petting a puppy. I thought of the word bolt like the dog in the Disney movie Bolt. So, to add to the scene, I go up to her and say the dog she is petting looks like Bolt. I didn’t know where it was going to go after this, but I definitely did not expect her to ask me for coffee. Internally, I was taken aback because it felt very out of place. However, I made sure to “yes, and” even when I was uncomfortable and didn’t imagine the scene going there. It helped not to deny my scene partner and keep the scene going. I learned that it was easier to shift than I thought. I thought not doing it the way I initially imagined may lead us to a dead end, but really, it opened other doors that I just hadn’t thought about. Now I think I am more creative and spontaneous in those situations because I try not to think as far ahead. And now, after experiencing that, I’m much more comfortable allowing my creativity to take over and continue to grow.

Evie and I in the "puppy" scene as described above

My favorite game that we have played so far in class! This is the change game. In the video, they explain the rules and also demonstrate how to play the game. This game forces you not only to adapt, but also to transform completely. You may be going one way with the dialogue, but this game forces you not to plan ahead. You have to be creative and think outside the box, making it really funny for both the audience and the improvisers.

Future:

I believe that improv has greatly improved my collaboration skills. I am a big collaborator and do well working in groups; however, as a talkative and high-energy person, my voice may be louder (and therefore my ideas) than those of some of my quieter coworkers. When working on a project at work, it is essential that everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas. That starts with listening and people knowing that their shared ideas will be heard. Since I often express my ideas, I am usually pretty open-minded, but I do think I can hold bias and view my ideas as “better” than others at times. Improv has helped me realize I do this since I’ll have an idea for a scene planned, but if my scene partner takes it another way, it is very uncomfortable to say, "yes, and", because I wanted to take the scene my way. However, since I had to accept my scene partner's offer, I saw how amazing our scenes ended up, even if I didn’t plan for it to look that way in the beginning. Through practice in this discomfort, I started to see everything as a “gift,” and in a professional setting, these other ideas can lead to an outcome even better than you imagined. The issue is that if you are so set on your plan, you can hear others’ ideas without actually listening to them. In a job where I collaborate on projects, taking others' ideas and genuinely listening to them is a very important skill to take from improv into my future career, as it will lead to more successful projects.

My classmate Megan and I are performing a two-person split monologue, where we act in different scenes based on each other's monologues. This game requires a lot of listening and collaboration between the improvisers.

Risk-taking

Real world to in-class:

In academics, I took a risk by withdrawing from a class last semester. It was an algorithms class where the current professor taught the class very abstractly and in a way that left me very confused. Others said they would take the class in the spring because the other professor was better. The only issue was that I was taking Computer System Fundamentals in the spring, and people told me it would be hard to take the two together. If, for whatever reason, I didn’t pass the following semester, I would be behind in credits. I decided to deeply consider the decision after the first midterm, which I knew I did not do well on, after taking it. I followed by asking myself three questions: if the first part of this class was hard, then will the rest of the class be hard?, if the first part of this class was hard, did the professor have something to do with it?, if the class is hard, and next semester is said to be easier, then what should my reaction be? After taking improv, I realize this is a perfect alignment with the principles of heightening, exploring, and reacting at the top of your intelligence.

Heightening in improv asks, “If this is true, then what else is true?”

Exploring in improv asks, “If this is true, then why is it true?”

Reacting at the top of your intelligence in improv asks, “If this is true, then what is my reaction?”

(UCB pg 112)

I heightened, explored, and acted at the top of my intelligence by withdrawing from the class. Though it was a risk, the principles of improv showed up in a real way through assessing a situation and considering what my next action should be based on the questions above. This allowed the response I had to reflect the situation the best.

Objection Game that improves your skill of heightening and exploring by forcing you to come up with arguments and rebuttals based on a suggestion from the audience

From class to the real world:

At the beginning of scenes, specifically a monologue, it can feel like a bunch of risk. A monologue is a short true story or anecdote, usually inspired by audience suggestion (UCB pg 94). During some monologues, you may have a specific idea in mind of a story you want to tell, but the riskiest scenes are the ones where you have no clue. The suggestion the audience gave may spark an idea, but a small one. You might only imagine the place of your scene or who you are, but beyond that, you have nothing planned. And that is the point of improv; however, with a scene partner, there is someone else to help build this world with you. But in a monologue, it is only you. It feels like I’m asking a lost man for directions. But somehow, every time I felt that way, I found a story. Specifically, there was a day when my suggestion was bank, and the first thing that came to mind was robbery. However, I didn’t necessarily want to be a robber, so I went with someone who was trying to ask for money rather than steal it. And in that moment, I  couldn’t think any further; I just had to start. It feels like jumping off a cliff with no parachute, but you hope that there is a body of water to catch you below. This ended up being one of my favorite scenes I’ve done. I ended up playing a character who wanted a loan to start an education program for underprivileged kids, but their credit score was too low. And specifically, the old lady at the desk kept turning them down as many times as my character lashed out and yelled. 

In my professional life, I'm currently in the process of applying for jobs and taking risks, such as in improv, which applies when putting myself out there and applying for roles. I think most people suffer from imposter syndrome, and when applying, you may believe it is a risk because you're unsure if you're a good fit for the job. But the same way with improv, you just gotta do it. Even though you don’t know what’s going to happen, it’ll all be figured out as you keep going, just like the improv scene does.

In this video, the guy on the left said he couldn’t tell if the scene was improvised or scripted at times, due to how in control the guy on the right seemed on stage. I got this comment from my classmate Evie after my adaptable monologue. An adaptable monologue is the same as the earlier definition of a monologue, but the audience can ask you to change different things in your story, like your emotion, status, or conflict. I added this clip to show how you may not know where a scene is headed, but if you're confident, the audience will feel that. The same principle applies to a job; even if you have imposter syndrome, show up and apply with confidence, because employers, like the audience, will perceive you as being in control.

My class is divided into two groups, collaborating on what word we should say next, so that both groups can say the same word.

Going forward

In just a few weeks, I have acquired skills that I have found helpful in various areas of my life, including school, basketball, and my future profession. Going forward, I hope to continue improving my listening skills, as they are the foundation for many skills we continue to learn in class. I hope you stay along for the ride so I can share the amazing skills that improv is teaching me, so you can improve your day-to-day life, too. Until next time!