Success and Improv

Every Tuesday evening, I go through the same feelings of anxiety and dread as I had experienced for many Tuesday evenings.

I go to a beginner comedy improv class.

If you think I have a bad case of the nerves now, you can imagine the cold sweat and nausea I had last semester.

You may also wonder why on earth I will want you to consider signing up for a comedy improv class… No, not because “misery loves company” and I don’t get registration commissions either! I want you to consider signing up for a comedy improv class because comedy improv teaches you “Three Secrets to Success.”

I didn’t take comedy improv for these success secrets. In fact, these secrets dawned on me only recently. I took comedy improv because I lived too much in my head, which seemed to think more about last week or next week than right now. Standing in front of an audience with absolutely no clue what I was going to do would force me into the present.

The first time around, I wasn’t thinking about what lessons I could learn from improv – I was busy convincing myself to go to class instead of faking an illness and staying home that evening. Pre-class nerves weren’t just “butterflies in my stomach” – they felt more like a swarm of angry hornets disturbed by an illegal dog fight taking place in an underground subway, which is why the first secret to success that I learned from comedy improv is to Take Risks.

Take Risks
Every time I go to class I’m taking a risk. I can’t “prepare” for a role or “rehearse” my lines. The audience members give these to me, and most of the time, they don’t know what strikes their whim anymore than how I will fulfill a request. Like the time when I was the wife of a colonel who called her husband “Colonel”, or the time when I was an air marshall who drop kicked any suspicious looking passengers and threw out my back in the process.

Have you ever noticed that when you’re put in a dangerous situation, your senses sharpen? I put myself in an emotionally precarious situation when I’m in comedy improv. I risk screwing up big time and feeling embarrassed. My sense of hearing becomes heightened. The extent of my preparation is to Listen Carefully. I listen to the audience as they tell me who I was and what situation I was in. When I listen so intently, I become “here, now” and fully present.

Success demands that we take many emotional risks. We risk stepping out of our comfort zone. We risk opening our mind to a new way of thinking. When we risk, we have to really listen to what the situation is giving us. There is value in introspection and reflection. However, if we lived inside our heads all the time, we will miss many opportunities.

“Yes, And…”
In comedy improv, we work with a partner. Accepting whatever our partners give us is a foundation of comedy improv. Did my partner just tell me that I am a eighty-year old rodeo clown reminiscing about my go-go dancing days? Yes, And hand me my diamond cane, sonny, I’ll show you how these big clown shoes make my show girl finale.

A very common response in beginner improv is denial. When a partner tells you that you’re a piece of furniture and you say, “No, I’m not,” you have just denied this gift – this opportunity – that you’ve been given. Denial also cops you out from engaging your creativity to do something with this information.

Success is often a few “yes, and”‘s away, but most of us are too busy denying opportunities that come disguised as obstacles to say “yes, and let me see where I can take this.” Yes, I’m moving out to the West coast where I had no job contacts, let me see how resourceful I can be. Yes, I’m starting a business based on this feeling in my gut, let me see where I can go with what I know. Yes, I’m up here shaking in my sandals not knowing what role you’re going to ask me to play, let me see what I come up in the blink of an eye.

Show Up
Showing up is half the battle. When I give into nervousness and fear, I skip a class, and I spend the entire evening knowing that I really wasn’t “feeling ill”, I was feeling fear. Every time I showed up, I was glad I did, even if there were scenes that I thought I should have done differently or said funnier things. Last semester, for the last class, we put on an “improv showcase” and opened it to the public. Half the class didn’t show, including individuals who seemed to be so creative and talented!

We can all show up when things are easy. Showing up when it counts – when it’s an even bigger risk – is a test of courage and character.

Success requires showing up. More people are successful because they showed up consistently rather than because they were more talented than others. Showing up is about persistence and tenacity. Do you think success is an art? Then take it from the poet Robert Frost, who said, “The best way out is always through.” Or is success a triumph in the business battlefield for you? Then take it from Winston Churchill, who said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” Show up.

If you don’t feel ready for improv, practice stepping out of your comfort zone. Practice saying, “Yes, and…” the next time you face what looks like an obstacle. Practice showing up. But if you really want to experience these lessons to success, sign up for a comedy improv class.