One of the most important things I’ve learned from improvisation is to act instantly and instinctively on opportunity.

In improv theater, when you’re observing your teammates in a scene and you sense an opportunity to add to the scene — you don’t even have to know what you’re going to add, you just get a sense that the time is right and the scene will gain energy from your addition — you jump in. This did not come easily to me. I am by nature, an observer, a describer of the narrative, and I have to work hard to stay out of my head, trust my gut, move on instinct. (more…)