When my parents came, they brought me Tina Fey's new book, Bossypants.
Now, I think anyone who knows me knows that Tina Fey is kinda my idol. And the book, though interesting, isn't anything amazing, but she does go into her time at Second City, an Improv Group in Chicago.
Her stories remind me of my own improv classes at the local community theater, and at NYU. I remember the first Improv class I ever took, learning the Rules of Improv, and dilligently writing them down in my little notebook.
What I didn't realize at the time, is not only are they great rules for Improv, but they're great rules for life.
The Rules of Improv
Rule #1: Agree and say YES. Always say YES. The scene will fall dead if you walk in and say, "What a lovely Cruise Ship we're on" and I say, "No, we're on the moon." That'd be stupid.
Rule #2: Don't only say YES, say YES, AND. Add something. "What a lovely cruise ship." "I know, did you see the pool of jell-o on the starboard side?" Your contributions are always worthwhile, no matter how silly they might sound in your own head.
Rule #3: Make Statements, Don't Ask Questions. If I keep asking, "Where are we?" "Who am I?" I'm putting all the pressure on you to make up the scene. Maybe You say, "What a lovely cruise ship" and I say "Especially for two convicted jewel thieves." Boom. Scene.
Rule #4: There are no mistakes, only opportunities. (That one was quoted from Tina). Fine, I say something really, really, REALLY dumb. Let's go with it, see just how dumb we can get, and that's gonna be really, really, REALLY funny.
I was always terrible at improv, probably because I was spending so much time writing in my little notebook...now I'm just trying not to be terrible at life...;-)
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