Lives In Progress

IMPROV RULES

There is a great uncertainty in improvisation experiences that can be very uncomfortable, but the fact that everyone involved has agreed to this discomfort makes it transformative, both in the creative process unfolding and for ourselves. There is no way to predict what will play out. And because the experience is being created in real time, through the interaction itself, no one is really in control. This is a radical departure from the structured worlds in which most of us live and work. When others are also willing let go of some of their self-protective layering we have an opportunity to become more aware of mental structures and defenses and at the same time experience what life might be like if we were able to be less encumbered by them.  
      An article in Harvard Business Review  “For A More Flexible Workforce Hire Self-Aware People” links higher self-awareness to the capacity to be flexible and shift in response to changing situations. Change is constant, uncomfo…

A delay on the train has me running late for a meeting on Morton Street in Manhattan, in need of a coffee. Desperate need, although I have already abandoned my plan to sip it leisurely in the Starbucks a few blocks from my meeting while I prepare. Getting the coffee is not negotiable, hence, the rush. The heel of my sandal gets stuck between two cobblestones as I race through an intersection at a speed no one should be moving in those shoes on that street, carrying an oversize, overstuffed bag. I go down in a spectacular splat as sheet music and notebooks and snacks fly absolutely everywhere, and it seems like every person in every shop, park bench and car is laughing at me. And judging me. Of course. judging. The cacophony of car horns from drivers further down the block, no doubt instantly angry about a hold-up they are unable to see the reason for, heighten the urgency with which I scramble my things together. No injuries, thankfully, except for my ego, which urgently screams out …