For the past few months, I have been performing at a local improv theater on weekends. It has been a surprisingly freeing and creative outlet, and I know I need a different (and longer) post to talk about how improv has changed my life.
Tonight, I just want to talk about one of the favorite lessons I have learned from improv: letting go.
If you know a little about long form improvisation, you know that the people on stage make up everything as they go. It is a great example of instantaneous creativity, where the brain and the heart meet in an amazing moment to create multiple scenes out of thin air. On stage, I get to become a devoted, yet abusing wife or a girl in an inappropriate relationship with her cousin. It is quite magical. I highly recommend it to any fellow introverts who think their words don't always matter.
I was in a scene this past week, and I was called to play a character I am not used to being. Again, if you know a little bit about improvisation, you know that the first rule is to say: "Yes, and.." , so that's what I did. I played the character and had a blast! It was very rewarding. Once I got home, though, I kept thinking about ALL the ways, I could have played that specific character better. If only, I had danced more, if only I had said more words, if only I had said this one extra line, if only I had not been afraid to BE the character. It bothered me all night.
When I woke up the next day, I realized, that the moment was gone...It was too late. I could not go back to that night, and play it again... I had to let go of that moment. I had to let it go. It was a terrifying feeling. Yet, it felt empowering to realize that even though the moment was gone, I made the most of it. I played it in the moment, and it was time to let it go. It was a great reminder for me, because as I confessed in my last post, it it is hard for me to do that in my so called real life (Kudos to you if you caught this reference to one of the best TV shows from the 90's).
When I get on stage this coming weekend, it will be to create a new moment, a new character, a new version of me. And whatever happens, once the moment is over, I will have to let it go.
eed
