Working out our creative muscles

In my classes recently we've been working on object work.

It's got me thinking about what we do as improvisers and it’s the title of one of my favorite books about improv. We’re creating SOMETHING WONDERFUL RIGHT AWAY. Unlike with scripted material, or other work, in improv we are literally creating something out of nothing. And for many of us, even those who’ve been doing this for a long time, this can be challenging.

For whatever reason, throughout our lifetime we train ourselves to shut off our fantastical imaginations.  Sure, creativity and imagination are celebrated in the workplace… but it’s bridled imagination.  Exploring what high tea would be like with the Queen of Zambia on Mars would not go over so well in a room full of accountants looking for a solution to a 2014 tax problem.

And we all know the ridicule and condescension that comes when someone "disapproves" when we creatively express our imagination. The disapproval of others leads us to be fearful of acting out our imagination, being creative, or having fun when it's deemed inappropriate.

What we do as improvisers, however, is different. When we walk into class, when we step on the stage, we can drop our fear of condescension and ridicule. We can celebrate our imagination. We are tasked with the wonderful challenge of celebrating and building our imagination. It’s like a muscle we can work and train – but to do that it has to be unleashed.  Our classes, our workshops, our rehearsals and our time on stage all serve to help us work out our creative muscles. 

We also learn that we're doing it TOGETHER. The rule of agreement, of Yes And, in improv further fosters our creativity. We don't have to worry about whether what we do is "right" or "wrong" because we know that it's going to be accepted by our scene-mates. They are going to take what we say or do and go with it. It's the most freedom we can experience. Why can’t there be a refrigerator in the middle of the desert? SURE! Mice in your pocket, a Tilt A Whirl at the zoo, whatever - we can make it work. We are masters of creation, the Yogies of imagination.

To be that free, to have such an unlimited playing field, to be able to do anything is scary. It’s the opposite of what we’ve been taught, of what we’ve learned of what is “right.” But it’s also incredibly rewarding. We are kids playing in our back yard. We are the Muppet Babies going on an adventure in the nursery, and it’s wonderful.

The amazing thing that happens through this process is that working our creative muscles in unlimited spaces enables us to work them in our relationships, in our work, in our lives. Just like stretching at the gym helps us feel better when we wake up from a nap, working out our creativity makes us more productive in our lives, and I think it makes us a little more fun-loving across the board.