Improv Wisdom

I've fallen in love with a gem of a book, Patricia Ryan Madson's Improv Wisdom. Madson is a retired professor of drama at Stanford University, with lots of credits in the areas of improv and creativity.

Less than 150 pages, the book is a quick read. It is organized by principles of improvisation that, when applied to everyday living, make for a better life. My copy of the book has numerous pages dog-earred with sentences underlined and notes in the margins. A few of my favorite lines:

"A good improviser is someone who is awake, not entirely self-focused, and moved by a desire to do something useful and give something back and who acts upon this impulse."

"Consummate improvisers are marked by their generosity, courtesy, and abililty to watch out for the needs of their teammates."

"The practice of improvisation...teaches [us] how to be in harmony with one another and how to have fun."

"Showing up is the key principle when we offer service to others. So often it is our presence alone, rather than some special ability, that makes the difference."

"The improviser focuses on making [an] idea into a good one, rather than searching for a "good idea."

"Never let an hour go by without giving credit to someone...Cultivate a generosity of speech."

"A constructive response to a mistake is to notice it, acknowledge it, and, if possible, use it....a mistake is just an unanticipated outcome giving us information."

In addition to her wisdom, Madson has provided exercises to strengthen our improv muscles--games to play with friends, small experiments in living differently, and new thoughts and beliefs to try on.

Postscript: Madson and I connected as a result of this posting. She's a lovely woman. A mutual friend points me to this YouTube video when she spoke as part of the Authors@Google series.

Comments

[tanya]

i just wanted to say that your above post on improvisation has arrived in my "in box" at a perfect time today. I am at present trying to find a new job, (I have an MA in design) and my career to date has included me working on many different types of projects (but not always as a "straight designer"). Right now I am having difficulty defineing myself (in a way that other people seem to need me/in a way that is true to me).... but your post hopefully i think might help. I don't like takeing anything for free - so just wanted to say thank you for this posting - "thank you", tanya

[Carol Ross]

Hi Tanya,

What a delight to know that the posting was just what you needed today. Thanks for that lovely feedback and your gracious acknowledgment. My payoff is in hearing how this blog can help others.

Be well.

[Patricia Ryan Madson]

Few things please a writer more than to learn that their work is hitting the mark somewhere. Thank you for mentioning Improv Wisdom in your blog and for helping spread the word about the book. Tanya's comment above strikes a cord. Improv reminds us to trust our own voice, to listen to that sense within of what really matters. "Pleasing the man" . . . well, that can be a losing game. Each day matters and why not make today one filled with appreciation for others . . . and for ourselves? I sense you really understand this. Let me recommend a remarkable blog: http://37days.typepad.com You will find her writing inspirational.
Warm thanks to you, Carol.
Patricia Ryan Madson