Dare to Fail!
If the average human gained 24 pounds during the pandemic how much weight are the lizards gaining around my house? That would be the question “if” I were not writing about improv. Then again it is also a question that is very improv appropriate. How so you may ask? Life is one big continuous improv scene except when you are in the scripted moments and those moments are few like basically your time reading stats on last weeks widget sales to your boss.
I’m going to explore dare to fail! This concept translates simply to, no matter what your improv level, challenge yourself to do better, grow your game, and improve your life!
Heck, dare to fail doesn’t just relate to improv. It’s a challenge to try new things and reach new heights. Yeah, you hope you don’t crash the plane but to not crash the plane you need to know how to fly, right? With the concept dare to fail you also take the plane up as high as you can before it sputters and the engines give out. Hopefully you're wearing a parachute. That parachute is having the gumption to take a chance and knowing everything is going to be okay on the other side. Unless of course your parachute doesn't open. That is an altogether different line of exploration...Just know you will be fine!
THE REPTILIAN PETTING ZOO
There was this lizard that I feed blueberries too for months. I'd open my back door and step out on the porch and the lizard would then appear out of the bushes and head in my direction. I’d be waiting near the outdoor fridge. I’d disappear inside grab a knife and slice a juicy blueberry in half putting it down for the lizard. Eventually the lizard would come running over and jump on my foot or take the blue berry halves out of my hand when I stepped outside.
I’d made a friend, and eventually a backyard pet. Then after months of meeting outside my backdoor the lizard disappeared and was gone for nearly eight months until one day it showed up again. Two visits later it once again disappeared. Soon other lizards began to pop out of the bushes, not my friend, but others. They’d watch me from afar. Some were substantially bigger, some smaller but none would ever come all the way up to me. Some would be curious but would then throw themselves off a piece of furniture or from a wall nearly committing hari-kari to avoid me if I got too close. The lizards appeared to be curious but fearful.
Sometimes I’d leave blueberries for them to nab when I had gone. There were two main takeaways (1) lizards have unique personalities like humans and (2) the lizards that had seen for themselves or been told by other lizards that I was a non threat. Still the lizards were not willing to fully immerse themselves into the scene, the one unfolding with me on the back porch.
Ah ha! You must have known stage terms such as “the scene” were coming. After all this is an improv concept I’m exploring here. We’re not on National Geographic.
Now, the lizards did have an excuse to be somewhat fearful of me as I am a rather large creature compared to them and we humans do tend to be a violent species. However, like many new improvisers who are unsure of themselves they’d either been told or seen that I could be approached to achieve their goal of obtaining food. Still, they hid or ran from the opportunity to interact.
New improvisers hide, run from the emotion in the scene and sabotage themselves. Even if they overcome these obstacles they usually don’t address the truth of the scene because humans are taught not to take chance and not to give 150% to a relationship because it’s dangerous. In improv it’s okay. Dare to fail! Take a chance. Be the best that you can be in the scene and whatever happens it’s over in a few minutes and you’ll live to fight another day… You’ll also learn something about yourself in the process.
