Improv can save the world!

It was a spring day back in 1996 that I began my training in improvisational theater (improvised theater, improv, what have you). Many of my friends had suggested that I’d be good at it, and I was looking for something to do as I had recently transplanted to Portland Oregon. It was a great way to meet new people, and I thought taking a class would be fun. It was definitely both of those things, but as I continued on with more classes, I discovered that there was much more to this than I had ever imagined.

This art form deals with numerous things: performance, spontaneity, humor, relationships, society, culture, creativity, collaboration and cooperation. I went into it thinking it was just about how to be funny spontaneously, and when I learned what goes into making that process work (and work well), I discovered a somewhat elaborate, elegant, and dynamic system developed and refined by numerous practitioners over decades.

Some of my non-improv friends likened my involvement in improv to almost cult-like devotion, but they discovered that it neither blinded me to my situation nor made me inaccessible as cults tend to do. In fact, quite the opposite, it began to make me acutely aware of things (interactions, situations, relationships) in the moment, and I began to feel more present in all of my life’s dealings. This effect is something that is typically sought through things like meditation and prayer, but it wasn’t religious. However, there have been numerous times where the experience of improvising created a sense of psychological, intellectual and emotional uplifting, as well as an uncanny and inexplicable sense of connectedness amongst participants.

As the years of improv experience began to accrue, opportunities to perform in ever more interesting situations arose. Meanwhile, I began my training as an anthropologist. One of those interesting situations was being involved in a number of international festivals of improvised theater that brought individuals from different countries together into collaborative ensembles that created wonderfully entertaining and moving theatrical pieces that were fully improvised. At points, we even improvised shows while only speaking in our own native languages, and these shows were as funny and entertaining as any of the others we did in English. These experiences inspired me to study improvisational theater as an anthropologist by concocting a unique interdisciplinary degree through Portland State University. Many of the insights and ideas in my classes came out of the research and writing that emerged from the masters program PSU allowed me to pursue.

It is my experience with improvised theater as a performer, teacher, and scholar that have led me to make the brave and optimistic proclamation that “Improv can save the world” because, ultimately, it is our legacy as a species, and it is our ontology as people. To come to a better understanding of one of our prime assets, our ability to take present situations and adapt to them in a beneficial manner, is not only of paramount importance but could also lead to a way through the challenges mounting for human beings in the 21st century. This is patently optimistic, if not preposterous and a little insane considering the scope of such a proclamation. Welcome to the realm of improvisation; a place of endless potential and exploration where all good ideas come from, albeit sometimes from preposterous and insane beginnings.