The Anatomy of Stupidity

Here's a question to everyone: What is improv?

I'll give you a minute. Or better yet, I'll just tell you.

Well, we can view improv on three different levels. The first level is the actual performance level—getting out on a stage or whatever and perfuming games or scenes. One of the most basic, yet crucial points of improv is that there is no scripts. No prior planning whatsoever. Us actors are quite literally jumping in front of bus, with no idea what's going to happen. OK, we don't LITERALLY jump in front of a bus (that's stupid), but you get the idea.

On a higher level, improv can be seen as a way of life or a way of opening mind for examination. Being in a scene is like breaking the floodgates that surround your confidence, emotion, fear, etc. etc.. As a blogger and improv actor Jochen Rick put it, "For many improv players, improv is therapy and knowledge."

ON AN EVEN HIGHER LEVEL, improv could be scene as a break of from our conscious adult selves, and a falling back on to our inner child. As children, we constantly played imaginary games or acted in imaginary stories, all of which were made up on the fly (see the connection?). As time goes by, we lose that wonder and creavity, but improv allows us to reach back and feel that creativity we had as a child. We become children again, or at least, are able to see ourselves as children and play off that (kinda like old Bruce Willis movie, The Kid, except with a lot less drama and daddy issues).

So you see, improv can be a life-changing or thought provoking experience.
Or, it could be a lot of people who just love being able to let there inner stupid out.
X-D

If you want to learn a bit more about improv, check out Jochen Rick's webpage/blog. Its got some good stuff: http://home.cc.gatech.edu/je77/1