Let’s do some improvisational comedy!

by Lindsay

in case you wanted to see it again — here’s the youtube video with Liam Neeson doing some improvisational comedy…

A quick note on education, improv, and Gottman

by Lindsay

The Gottman reading this week emphasized the need to “turn towards” (listen, respond positively) and “accept influence” from a romantic partner — which we now can see is also important when interacting with an improv partner, or really anyone we care about.

How can we apply these insights to education?

A long time ago when I was doing research on comparative education, and specifically, primary education in Japan, I read something that struck me very strongly.  The ethnographer studying Western and Japanese classrooms noticed that contrary to what Westerners might expect, Japanese elementary school classrooms are often extremely loud and chaotic (to a Western eye).  Many children (often 30 or more!) are doing different activities, talking, socializing, moving about the room, all the while the teacher circulates and takes part here and there.  An American classroom might instead be rather quiet, with students working earnestly and individually, and the teacher supervising.  The researcher noted that American classrooms emphasize small class sizes, control and quiet for the sake of the teacher, that is, his or her sense of power and authority, and corresponding psychological satisfaction.  In contrast, the Japanese kindergarten teacher is more harried, has to run around and play with the kids, and may need to shout to get their attention — but the kids are having fun, and are not “cowed” by the overweening authority of the teacher.

Should teachers turn towards, and accept more influence from students?  What would happen?

Flexibility (from Savannah)

by Lindsay

Hi everyone!  I’m posting this for Savannah because we forgot to invite her to the blog in time for this week’s posting, but she sent her post to me by email, so here it is!  :-)  – Lindsay

*****

The tenets of improv and of good relationships (according to the reading by Gottman) show the importance of flexibility to getting along in the world. And by flexibility, I mean easy-goingness and the willingness to let things be a little out of your control. Sure, you are living your own life, and you should definitely have control over it… and studies show that believing you have control over your own life makes you much happier and less anxious. But in order to succeed in a world WITH other people, you have to recognize that other people have ideas too, and listening and working with these ideas is important, whether you’re fostering a romance, a friendship, or a good improv scene. “Saying Yes” corresponds with Gottman’s advice of saying “Yes, Dear”, and sharing control of the decision-making. One of the most exhilarating parts of improv is not knowing how your scene will turn out or even where you and your partner are in the scene until you establish it together, one at a time. I wouldn’t necessarily say relationships are like this, but if you think about it, every time you converse with someone, each sentence they say could change what you’re talking about, or what your friendship/relationship is like, or how much you know about them, or what your plans are for the afternoon. And being willing to listen to what they say and possibly accept it is being flexible and opening yourself up to new opportunities.

When you have nothing to say…

by Lindsay

I didn’t have any ideas for what to write about on the blog today, so I decided to write about that!

Last week, Neeti was having trouble with the “Disaster Outside” game that we played because she said she didn’t have any ideas.  Actually, I believe she said that “no ideas are coming”.  Which is an interesting perspective because indeed, we often wait for ideas to come as if they are gifts from the white stork, like babies falling out of the sky.

What can you do when you don’t have any ideas, but you’re supposed to have one?  This may be the essence of understanding your own creativity, and maybe anything that seems simultaneously self-generated and external to the self.

What I mean by simultaneously self-generated and external to the self is that things like ideas, motivation, energy, love — all are internal to you, your mind, your self — so they have to be on some level self-generated.  On the other hand, we also have to acknowledge the role of others and the environment, all the external influences on the self, that play a role in making that aha! moment of inspiration, motivation, or passion.

From Marily’s research on motivation, I’ve learned that it’s often easier to change what’s going on outside the self than it is to change what’s going on inside.  But that doesn’t mean that what’s going on inside isn’t a rich source, so don’t be afraid to fully confront what’s inside of you when it seems like maybe there isn’t anything at all.  Just by looking at my own lack of ideas, I’ve already written nearly 300 words!

Commitment and follow-through

by Lindsay

Earlier today, I nagged everyone in the class to please come to class tonight!  We have had a lot of absences and people who say they are going to come… not come.  Which is sad for everyone!  It’s also a somewhat ironic circumstance for me because I am usually the one coming late, not showing up, and generally being pretty flakey when it comes to other engagements and obligations I have.

Marily and I did go see an improv show over the previous weekend and one of the teams was called “Five Deadly Improvisers”.   When they came on stage, though, there were only four of them!  Imagine how crappy it feels to have your team of five suddenly become four in a competition setting.  It reminds me of something that is commonly said — most of one’s success in life comes from just showing up.   This is a lesson I have to constantly remind myself about.   I’m the first person who would rather go home and put the covers over my head when I’m having a bad day.

Last week, Saif told us that if we’re going to start walking during the game in which a certain number of people HAVE to be walking, we should really commit to walking.  The natural extension of commitment is follow-through.  REALLY start the action, and wholeheartedly continue to do it.  This is difficult because it’s often safer to be tentative, to not commit, and to renege on following through when things don’t work out.

Which isn’t to say that in all circumstances in life you should never give up, flake out, and not show up.  In improv at least, I do think this idea of committing to whatever it is — a scene, a character, a line, an act — is key, especially because other people are there, counting on you.

The hidden benefits of listening

by Lindsay

When we talk about empathic listening, typically we focus on the benefits to the person being listened to. That person will feel more understood, cared for, and special if we give him or her our full attention and listen with empathy. Of course, that benefits us too, because it strengthens our relationship with that person, generates goodwill, and encourages them to listen to us with equal commitment.

There is also another benefit to being the empathic listener, which I only really thought about yesterday. I tutor high school students in SAT preparation and college admissions. As a result, I hear a lot of whining, complaining, and also legitimate gripes about being a high school student from these people that I halfway consider “my” kids. When I help them with their college application essays, I also get to know them really well: their families and histories, their activities and interests, their anxious dreams for their futures.

It makes me happy that many of my students seem to really like me and get a lot from my work with them. More than anyone, they get my full attention when I am with them. It’s maybe sad that the reason I can marshall so much care and attention is that I know I’m being paid to do it; but I also do care for real.

What I realized yesterday was that when I listen to my students, I am 100% not thinking about my own work or problems. I could have been working on my dissertation for hours and hours before I go to meet a student. But when I am with them, I don’t think about myself anymore. That is such a relief! To think that for an hour or two, my problems are not so important! It’s like a burden temporarily set down and forgotten.  A break from being me.  Not that that is so bad, but you get the idea.  Now, the question is, could I (should I?) bring this kind of “no self” listening to my interactions with other people?

Something I never, ever thought I would do

by Lindsay

When I met Saif a few years ago, and he told me that he did improv, my first thought was “YUCK”.

Being the diplomatic and polite person that I am, I immediately told this stranger that I hated improv. Being the diplomatic and polite person that he is, he simply smiled and asked me why. At that point I realized I was being rude, so I didn’t tell him the truth. I tried to take my foot out of my mouth, but words like, “stupid”, “pointless”, and “pretentious” were going through my mind. Needless to say, I never imagined then that he and I would be collaborating on an improv class now.

Who is this person that I am now, who can do things that the person I was just a few years ago would never think of doing?

At the risk of sounding dramatic, I have to say that doing a PhD has changed me dramatically. It broke down my pride, confidence, and sense of direction in life so completely that I’ve had the (actually wonderful) opportunity to almost rebuild myself from nothing. Part of that is recognizing that some of my previous opinions and preferences may not have been correct. Saif helped by inviting me to his shows, and getting me to talk about what I liked and didn’t like about them. I love the elements of intellectual challenge, creativity and openness; I hated the sense of self-congratulation, cleverness or self-conscious sophistication that I sometimes felt from the performers.

I still remember an improv-like exercise that I did a few years ago, called “Samurai”. In this game, we had to pretend we were Japanese samurai using our arms as swords, and fight with an entire group of forty+ people, one by one, in a large classroom. The gimmick was that we had to move in slow motion and act extra dramatic. Oh man, I almost vomited. I hated it so much. I ended up being a terrible sport and sitting it out in the back. I was irritated with myself for not being able to do something that I was asked to do in class. But I was also irritated with the instructor for asking me to do something for which I saw no purpose.

Though I wish that I could trust others enough to believe in the purpose even when I don’t understand it, the truth is that knowing the purpose of improv exercises has helped me tremendously to appreciate them. Conversations with Saif and Marily about creativity, confidence and empathy have really helped my mind see, ironically, why I should let go of my mind a little bit sometimes.

This post has no thesis, except to encourage you to look very closely at the moments when you feel uncomfortable or unwilling, and see what you can learn about yourself from those feelings. Also, honor those feelings–don’t reject them. If you are like me, and a little more analytical, do what you need to do to make the class work for you — even if that means doing things that aren’t maybe in the spirit of improv, like arguing, justifying and analyzing.

We will see what Saif says about this.