Now a little background: when I was in
Chi-town doing improv, I was also going to grad school at the same
time. These two educations I was receiving simultaneously is,
hyperbole aside, probably the single most important thing that has
ever happened to me in my life. What was great about both of those
schools is that while we did focus on specifics needed in each basic
education, both had teachers that encouraged and espoused critical,
independent thinking. It is not merely enough to teach students what
is now – we must also teach them how to find the next what is. In
grad school, emphasis was placed on analyzing problems and errors in
judgment, or science, or ethics (or sometimes all three) and thinking
about what they mean in the bigger picture, and my improv education
taught analysis, creativity, self-reliance (and how to intersect all
three). What I got out of the combined experience was the capacity
to reason independently. I've found this exceedingly important as I
remember a lesson my high school science teacher taught: there are
two types of people who will not excel in this world, those who can't
follow instructions, and those who can only follow instructions.
San Diego has been a tremendously
frustrating city because the majority of the improvisers “in power”
have no interest in innovation, and actively discourage other
improvisers from independent work. An actual lesson that one of
these teachers gave: some people try to continue doing improv outside
of the theater after completing workshops, but no one ever finds any
success, so don't even bother trying.
(While we're on this subject, two
actual things I have been castigated and admonished for: “doing
other projects”, and “motivating and inspiring players” (direct
quotes). The first is because that theater doesn't endorse anyone
else doing anything not within its own walls, and because they don't
trust players who may have questionable allegiances, whatever that
means (and also because you're trading on the implied authority of
the first theater in other projects). The second is because, as it
was explained to me, when I started doing longform in the SD, I
motivated and inspired a lot of these previously shortform only
improvisers into wanting to do more longform. That however came at a
cost, as those players were now skipping regular rehearsals and
showing up for shows tired due to conflicting interests with their
other projects. Neither of these things are made up, because no one
could make up that kind of logic.)
Now if a particular theater wants to
run itself like the KGB, stamping out perceived enemies of the state
who just want to do more improv, there's not much anyone can do to
stop them, but I can still object to the attitude they take,
especially towards younger, newer improvisers. This kind of
discouraging, negative, and selfish view towards the craft stifles
creativity, originality, and invention, not to mention breeding
bitterness and animosity. As teachers, we have an obligation to
encourage and engender improvisers to find and embrace the cutting
edge. Teachers in Chi/LA/NY don't take a “go away, this is mine”
mentality, they understand that the craft is more important than the
individual (and also if you're good, you don't need to be defensive)
but also that the next generation of improvisers are the ones who
will solve the next piece of the puzzle. Try new things, see what
works and what doesn't, build on what's been previously discovered,
and add your contribution to the growing archive of knowledge –
that's what science has done, and that's what most improvisers have
done too.
If we are not teaching and – dare I
say – inspiring and motivating our students and fellow players into
pursuing more work, we are doing a grave disservice to them, not just
as improvisers, but as teachers and human beings too. We are gravely
failing our charges by not promoting independent work. Self-reliance
and independence are noble character traits, not criminal trespasses.
(And to the teacher and coach who told me to not bother
trying, the group I started just celebrated it's fourth year.)
