Improv

When I saw the movie Yes Man a few years ago, I enjoyed its spontaneity. The basic plot is about a man who starts saying yes to whatever opportunity life presents him. It’s a movie that leaves you with a lot of energy when it ends, but since real life is different from a movie, I always treated it as something valid in theory but not in practice. 

That was until last October, when I saw an improvisation show where each idea brought up by any member on stage was followed by the others. This kind of interaction led to situations that were paradoxical and often hilarious. 

At the end of the play, I decided to enroll in an improvisation class; something that I had seen only in some American series. I was fortunate enough to find a great group of people who were also making their first attempt at this unconventional way of acting. 

In the past, I had done some theater, but I never liked the fact that the whole year was spent memorizing a play. Instead, the peculiarity of improvisation is that it is all made up on the spot, so you can train only your ability to make things up. The only ingredients one has to bring on stage are energy, emotions, and ideas. 

Coming back to Yes Man, the greatest teaching of this year of improv is to always respond with “yes, and...” This means to always accept what the other person is proposing and build on top of it. For example, I might enter the scene planning to play an old aunt in a grocery shop, but if the other person says, “Take the life jacket, brother, this ship is sinking!” I just reply, “Sure! Let’s try to reach that iceberg.” In short, say yes and act accordingly. 

I particularly enjoy the classes because they’re useful in real life too; after all, what is more life-like than being thrown into a completely random situation and trying to overcome it? Better to be ready to think outside the box. 📦