Emergent Village
Improv is play – simple pretending. Think of what works best when kids are at play.
Here are three examples of how little children tend to play together:
Example 1:
Girl: I’m a Princess!
Boy: No, you’re a Wizard!
Girl: No, I’m a Princess. You’re a Prince.
Boy: You’re ugly and stupid!
Girl leaves weeping.
Example 2:
Girl: I’m a Princess!
Boy: Ok, I’m A Wizard.
Girl: No. You’re a Prince. You have blonde hair and green eyes and you live in a castle and you have white horse and…
Girl won’t shut up. The boy grows bored (and annoyed.) He leaves.
Example 3:
Girl: I’m a Princess!
Boy: Yep, and I’m a Wizard!
Girl: Are you a good Wizard?
Boy: Yes, and I’m here to warn you of something terrible.
Girl: Oh no! Quick, come in my castle. It’s over here.
Boy: Ok, but hurry.
They play like this for hours, telling an impossible story, laughing together and becoming friends.
If you have spent time with kids lately, you’ve probably seen a real-life version of each of the three above scenarios. An underlying premise behind improvisation is, not only that play is important, but that there is a better way to play. A certain style of play is more mutually fun and meaningful. This style of play (Example 3) is centered in the concept of Agreement.
Rule #3 – Agree and Accept.
(Late to the discussion? Learn about Rule #1 and Rule #2.)
When I teach kids (or adults) to improvise, this is the biggest stumbling block. Non-agreement is the easiest way to spot an amateur improviser. Here’s an example of a typical scene with two adult students during a first level improv class:
Guy: W’sap?
Girl: Nothing.
Guy: You come here to get your fake ID?
Girl: No. I don’t need a fake ID.
Guy: Yes you do. You called me and told me.
Girl: I don’t even know you, how could I call you?
Oh the agony of bad play! Put me out of my misery… fast.
The above scene tells me that I am dealing with two insecure actors, afraid to trust one another.
Here’s an example of how two professionals might play the same scene:
Guy: Psst. Jenny. Over here. I got your fake ID. (He waves it above his head.)
Girl: Put it away! The cops will see you. (She looks around and walks to him, whispering.) They’re all over the place.
Guy: Uh, yeah. It’s a police station. You got the payment?
Girl: Yes, $20 of Chick-fil-a gift cards, just like your text said…
You get the point. There are some rules at play we haven’t discussed yet in this short scene, like heightening, raising the stakes, etc. But this scene works because there is agreement. The first scene lacks agreement so it, professionally speaking, sucks.
You have to agree and accept to be a good improviser.
The second you don’t agree, you weaken the story and fail your partner. We call this saying Yes.
Yes is always the right answer in improv.
Saying Yes means that we are constantly affirming the reality that we are creating together. If my partner tells me that I’m a doctor, then I’m a doctor. End of story. I can be any kind of doctor I want to be until one of us specifies, but I am a doctor:
You: Doctor, we have a problem!
Me: Ok, nurse. I’m ready to do brain surgery right this time.
OR
You: Doctor, we have a problem!
Me: Please, my friends just call me Dre. Let’s just get this track down.
Here is a BAD choice:
You: Doctor, we have a problem!
Me: No we don’t it’s all under control.
Or an even worse response –
You: Doctor, we have a problem!
Me: I’m not a doctor, I’m a blind cowboy.
You can’t play with anyone until you agree with them!
As improvisers, we agree. Because it is the best way to play.
Agreement does not mean that we agree that the other person is right.
It means that we agree that what is happening is really happening. We agree on reality.
We may completely disagree what our scene partner does, but it doesn’t matter. To deny the reality of our pretend world makes it vanish into awkward meaninglessness.
There are at least four reasons why people don’t agree in improv (and life):
1. Hidden Agendas.
This is the biggest reason younger improvisers have for disagreeing. An actor will think before the scene starts something like, “I’m gonna be Tarzan.” Then he walks on stage and his partner leads with, “Doctor, we have a problem.” The amateur will instinctively say, “No.” Because he thinks he is Tarzan. But only he knows he thinks that. His partner made him a doctor, so he’s a doctor. The reality we live in is mutually created moment by moment. Nobody except all of us is allowed to be the writer the story.
2. Self-absorption.
If you don’t hear your partner, you can’t agree with her. If you don’t watch your partner, you can’t tell a story together. Your partner matters more than you do in any scene. You can’t play without her. The more fun she has, the longer you get to play together and the better story you tell. In short, it’s never about you. You only exist to serve the story and the other storytellers.
3. Fear.
Unfortunately, we tend to say “no” when we don’t know what else to do. People are watching. Our partner may be struggling. So we take over, ignore everything we have created together and try to save face. It never works. You will look desperate. Better to agree and fail together, then disagree and die alone.
4. Pimping.
The best improvisational comedians aren’t trying to be funny. They are trying to be in the present and tell a story. Funny comes from being real. In every scene, there is always the opportunity to tell a cheap joke at the expense of your partner. (We call this pimping for obvious reasons.) You can pimp your partner by selling them out to get a cheap laugh. And the audience will laugh. Once. But you killed the scene before it started…and you damaged the trust of your partner because you were selfish.
This thinking has gone way beyond a hobby or a job for me. Agreement is my life philosophy. It doesn’t mean that I have to agree with everyone’s opinions. Lots of people are wrong about lots of things.
But it does mean that I have to agree to reality.
Especially in matters concerning God, Jesus and the faith.
For instance, my denominational heritage (Christian/Church of Christ) tends to interpret most all of the Bible “literally.” Let’s take a less controversial story like Jonah. I now think it is clearly allegory. I was taught growing up that if I think that way, I am “on a slippery slope” to heresy. At some point, through study and contemplation, it just screamed out to me that the reality is that parts of the Bible are meant to be allegorical. Do I really think some guy was physically in the belly of a fish for several days – not only surviving, but writing and memorizing Hebrew poetry?
No. I don’t believe that actually happened. The point is that I had to overcome my hidden agenda, self-absorption, and fear to see the reality that was there all along. I was also pimping the book of Jonah – selling it out for a quick and easy interpretation. Now I am free to play with a brilliant piece of literature.
I see a lot of issues boiling up in and around the church that are divisive. Some of them have yet to reach their climax. It’s not going to be pretty when they do. What I see, often on both sides of any given hot button topic, is a lot of hidden agendas, self-absorption, fear and ruthlessness. This makes honest discussion (let alone unity) impossible. Until we can agree on what is actually going on in the world, we can’t work (or play) together. We can’t agree until we shed our agendas, egos and fears. That’s hard to do. It means vulnerability. It means, not just that I might not get my way, but that I certainly will not get my way.
But we could find our way together.
That’s what an improvisational Christianity looks like to me.
Are you ready to say Yes to reality?
Even if it paralyzes you with fear?
Even if it takes away your power?
Even if it is the harder road?
I had planned on sharing my list of the“realities” that I think we are ignoring. But I would love to hear yours instead. I’d also love to see if we can practice respecting each other’s concept of reality within these very comments.
How long can we play together before defaulting to the age-old time-tested Christian practice of the “No” we call excommunication? It will be an interesting experiment to find out. (I was excommunicated again just yesterday on my friend Kurt’s blog – but not by Kurt.)
What do you think? What is the reality we are currently living in? How do we get past our agendas, egos, fears and comfortability to joyfully play together again in the world we all share?
@JoeBoyd blogs daily at www.joeboydblog.com.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In