The Key to Successful Improv

According to Stephen Nachmanovitch, improvisation is simply a natural tendency, a mere by-product of existence. So the question then becomes why the hell is it so hard to improvise on stage? Why does theatrical improvisation not come naturally-at least in the sense of coherent action? Yet it is so damn simple, out in the real world where the stage lights and waxed wooden floors are nowhere to be found.

And the short answer to those puzzling questions would have to be thought. Yes, that pesky little behavior often referred to as thinking. It is to improvisation what too much fiber is to a senior citizen's digestive tract. Too much thinking constipates improvisation, preventing it from moving forward. As Nachmanovitch noted, surrender is the only way to allow improvisation to have a chance at succeeding. Surrender is the laxative...alright, enough poo analogies.

Nevertheless, the following line brought back memories of a time in my life when I unknowingly ignored my natural inclination and allowed pesky thought to take control until I came to my senses.

"A walk, following your intuitive promptings, down the streets of a foreign city holds rewards far beyond a planned tour of the tried and tested."

I was in Rome at the time. The day had included a five hour tour through the Vatican, lunch at a god awful café that served its pasta in a microwavable dish, cellophane still attached-to seal in the "freshness", I presume-and a dinner at a mock American buffet. The entire time I was going along with the group because I thought that would be the best thing to do, but I knew better yet decided to ignore my instincts.

As I pushed the over-peppered pasta around my plate in the hellacious establishment known as Autogrill, the urgent need to use the restroom came over me. I ascended the tall staircase to the bathroom. Water was everywhere, measuring about a half-inch in depth. I closed the stall door behind me, covering the toilet seat in nearly a roll of toilet paper. Once seated, I noticed a directory of transgender prostitutes. The sense of urgency again returned, but this time I needed to get the hell out of there.

Of course, the task of exiting the bathroom stall was far more difficult than it needed to be. The door was stuck, forcing me to use my entire body to bust through it. After I freed myself from the hellhole that was the Autogrill bathroom, I slipped and fell down the tall, narrow staircase. As one could imagine my mood was sour at this point. I had enough of doing what I thought was right.

The group then proceeded towards The Pantheon. Ancient cobblestone streets lined with elegant cafes led to the giant square in which The Pantheon was located. For the first time during my stay in Rome I saw real street performers. They were nothing like the wretched bamboozlers who didn't earn their money, but instead begged for it. They were musicians; a guitarist and a violin player, cranking out melancholy tunes using instinct as their guide.

I threw a couple Euros into their hat and decided that I would follow their lead by following my own lead. To Hell with the group. Following them only caused me pain, both physical and mental. Instead of embarking on another mind numbing tour through the Pantheon, I decided to sit down at a café, order a beer, and watch the festival-like environment that was Pantheon square. It was at that moment when Rome finally stopped being a vile place, populated by scum and religious zealots-at least totally. It was the point at which I replaced thought with simple action, and I am forever grateful for doing so.

And I believe that is the core of Nachmanovitch's theory of improv: thought is dangerous and only hinders the performance. Mark Twain once wrote, "Circumstance is man's master-and when Circumstance commands, he must obey; he may argue the matter-that is his privilege, just as it is the honorable privilege of a falling body to argue with the attraction of gravitation-but it won't do any good, he must obey."

For improv to be successful, one must obey the circumstances that they encounter, for good or ill. As Nachmanovitch put it, improvisation is not a matter of ability or creativity, but of surrendering one's mind and body to the properties of the scene. In life improvisation is a natural and unconscious result, but on stage improv requires work. We must consciously detach ourselves from both awareness and thought as a means of achieving a primitive state where instinct is the driver and we are merely the vehicle.