An Introduction
Just about ten years ago I was co-facilitating a training session for a large high-tech company in Paris. While the participants were engaged in an assignment, three or four of my co-facilitators and I...
View ArticleComplementarity as explained by Neils Bohr
I was recently reminded of one of my father's favorite stories. He told it whenever an explanation seemed to be too pat, a new report too simplistic, a conversation to narrow. The more I think about...
View ArticleMore on "Improvisational"
Why the "Improvisational" storyteller?Improvisers make up stuff - scenes, songs, stories, sometime full-length plays. On-the-spot, collaboratively, with virtually no pre-planning, building only with...
View ArticleThe "Yes, And" Rule
In improv we say "everything is an offer". What that means simply is that anything - a word, a gesture, a memory, a facial expression - is something that can be used and built with. Improvisers talk...
View ArticleThe Story in Their Head
A couple of days ago, I got a letter in the mail from my insurance company saying that our coverage was about to lapse. It seems our agent had omitted a certain form in our application.Now, I had been...
View ArticleFraming the Story
The other day I was expressing regret to a friend. After listening patiently and compassionately for as long as she could stand it, she finally said, "Look, the Past is Prologue. What are you going to...
View ArticleAssuming the Story
My grandfather had a beagle named Major. My mother had given it to him as a present after her mother died, and as a 5-year-old I loved him. He and I were about the same size, and had the same level of...
View ArticleIf I had the Courage...
A colleague of mine, Marni Gillard, a storyteller, and teacher of storytelling skills, who is working with high school in Schenectady, recently asked the students to complete this sentence:"If I had...
View ArticleFeeling around for Data
I recently decided I'd better figure out this Twitter thing. Although I've taken to "Facebook", I haven't really be able to get my mind, or more accurately, my logistics, wrapped around Twitter. Still,...
View ArticleJolts, Exercises and Frame Games - When and How to Use Interactive Learning...
We use improv and story a lot in workshops designed to do everything from enhance leadership potential to increase sales skills to build teams to facilitate strategic planning to solve problems and...
View ArticleYes-anding the Genre
My Capital District, New York-based improvisational theater company, The Mop & Bucket Company has been playing with genres a lot recently. Sometimes, that takes the form of the classic short-form...
View ArticleMilking Feedback
Actors practice a slew of skills that can be usefully applied to our everyday "performances". Of course, those skills include how to use their voices and bodies effectively. They also include listening...
View ArticleIf you build it... in 24 hours! Part 1
wThis past weekend, I had the great privilege and pleasure of participating in the Capital District/Berkshire 24-Hour Theatre Festival. A co-production of WAM Theatre, The Mop & Bucket Company, and...
View ArticleWeaknesses as Strengths - 24 Hr Theatre Festival Lessons Part II
During last November's TEDxAlbany event, I was privileged to hear a talk by Casey and Corey Wright entitled, "Winning With One Hand Tied Behind Your Back". In it, the brothers share examples of people...
View ArticleGenius - 24 Hr. Theatre Festival Part III
One of the things that it takes to create within such pressure and limitations is faith. And creative faith can take a number of forms: The faith that SOMETHING will happen. The faith that mistakes are...
View ArticleEmbracing the Chance to Fail - 24 HR Theatre Festival Part IV
Best-selling author of "Tribes" and many other books, Seth Godin, entitled his blog post today, "How to Fail" (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/04). He discusses the pitfalls of working too...
View ArticleImprovising the Permanent or Maybe Capturing the Improvised
A few months ago - okay about a year ago - I contacted the publisher of my 2001 book, Training to Imagine and suggested that perhaps it was time for a revised, updated edition. He enthusiastically (and...
View ArticleThe Circus Bow and other Lessons From the Big Top, Part 1 - Celebrating Failure
The circus was in town this weekend, and I spent possibly the best Mother's Day ever accompanying my 7-year-old to her first circus experience. Her palpable delight ranks as the highlight. Here was a...
View ArticleLessons from the Circus, Part 2 - Support
It is hardly news that it takes a lot of back-room planning, prep, attention and support from many many people to make the stars of the show shine. But this truth bears itself so nakedly at a circus...
View ArticleTips for Facilitating Improv (and Other Experiential Activities) in...
At the Applied Improvisation Network's (appliedimprov.net) 2011 annual conference in Baltimore this month, a bunch of us got together to explore the nuts and bolts of choosing, running and debriefing...
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