I’ve been reading up a lot on mindfulness recently. Partly for personal development, but also it’s a bit of a buzzword that comes up a lot in corporate speak when employers discuss the qualities of good employees. To be mindful is to be in the moment, aware of the present, the ‘here and now’. Observing what goes on around you in a way that’s not judgemental, but takes a moment to absorb as much as sensory information possible, while at the same time acknowledging how you feel within yourself. It’s an activity that facilitates good decision making skills.
Being in the moment is what improvisers do on stage all the time. Back when I started doing improv I thought I was using the same parts of my brain for improv as I was for my stand up. Over time I realised this wasn't actually true. With stand up I think as fast as I can and plan ahead, my brain gets three of four gags ahead of my mouth, assessing material based on the taste of the audience that night, and knowing what I’m going to say. Improv is very different. It requires me to be in the 'now' all the time, no planning ahead, no looking for gags, just finding them. There's an old improv proverb which says something like; “don't bring the house, just a brick will do”.
Mindfulness is nothing new, it goes all the way back to Buddhist practices and is a form of meditation. Imagine you’re driving on a quiet road late at night or if you don’t drive, washing the dishes. These tasks don’t require your whole attention span, you can comfortably put your actions into ‘automatic pilot’ and allow yourself to focus on other things. What if you just thought about what you were doing in that moment and took time to notice all the small things you don’t normally experience, the feel of the steering wheel, or the clean plate in your hands, the sounds and the temperature around you. By practising awareness of noticing small things we are nurturing our attention span and allowing more information to come in through all our senses and in turn we become more alert and aware.
As a working stand up comic I'm passionate about how improv feeds into my night job and vice-versa. Written material delivered word for word is very different from going into the ‘now’ moment and each have their place. For every well written gag there’s also a ‘one time only’ ad-lib, or turn of phrase that is exclusive to that show and that audience on that night and has payoff laughter that cannot be recaptured at any other time.
For me one of main strengths of improv is how it translates so well to other areas of life, you really can take it with you. There's no arguing that doing stand up comedy, even for a short while makes a person more confident. With improv I'd argue the rewards to the individual are even greater.
With so many online social networking distractions, text messaging and screens invading our attention span everyday it’s hard to be mindful, and easy to be removed from the moment, how we feel, how we react, and how more emotionally detached we can become. By being mindful, and embracing our inner improviser we can make more use of the now, the real verbal and non-verbal communication that help us create stronger relationships and live happier lives. Improvisers know this, and you should too.
John Cooper 04/01/2015
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