Monday, September 15, 2008

Is it easier to know you can't do it or just do it?

I was thinking about our conversation on Saturday night and it got me thinking about my time at Stevie Rays. I was surprised to realize that there were so many things that I couldn't do until I just did them. I remember struggling in class to jib for languages. I could not do it and in fact I was sure that I would never be able to. Eventually I drew that structure on stage and of course I did it. I could say the same thing about almost any structure. I can say that about traits as well. I never thought I could play overly confident or use accents or stretch too far beyond me and of course at times I have done them all. My point is that I was so sure that I could not do these things that I did not try. Only when I was forced into these situations did I realize that I was free to do anything. A wise person once told me that in Improv you are free do be anything including being more than your concept of self. This gives us the freedom to do as Jason always says and not only be uncomfortable on stage but continuously challenge our comfort zones which will certainly make us grow.

1 comment:

Jeff said...

"Only when I was forced into these situations did I realize that I was free to do anything."

I agree with this. One thing I enjoyed about the past two shows was not seeing a setlist ahead of time. With prepared setlists, sometimes you (you in the general sense) see you are in a structure that is not one of your favorites. You may feel a kind of dread as that part of the show draws near. You may not get overly excited about it. Subconciously, you probably sabotage your efforts, as a result, before you even hit the stage to play.

When you have little idea what structure you will be in next, that can be very liberating. You just get out there and do it without having much time to think about it. Your name is called, and BAM! You find yourself on stage (sitting behind the wheel of a large automobile...oh wait, sorry). And if all goes well, you start reacting.