Mistakes Make it Real: Life in Improv (YOH8)
The Year of the Hummingbird Series: August
Sabriya Dobbins, Founder and Life Discovery Expert
Late again… is this me now? Can’t get time together? In my defense, it was pouring rain outside as I drove far across town to find this Improv studio in the cut. It was a part of town I had never seen, and I was very nervous because I saw no cars. Finally, after looping the parking lot of this building full of businesses, I found one with a ton of cars. This is it! I walk inside…no looking back, Sabriya!
Immediately, I enter the small building to a room of people in a circle yelling out random words, and my first thought is, OH GOSH, did I get scammed? Is this a cult?! Haha, I'm totally kidding, but I did feel a little weird as I had no idea what was going on. Kindly, after a few minutes of “chants,” laughs, and claps, the teacher welcomes me and has me introduce myself. He quickly explained to me what I missed and shared a bit more about the game I was getting myself into.
I have just entered my first Improv class, and I am yelling like a wild woman, saying random words like “zoom,” “short,” and “figerero (spelling is out here, haha!).” Who am I?! What is happening? Somehow, this game loosened me up, and I realized that this is a really free and artsy space. I can let loose, and I can breathe a sigh of relief as the walls of being “Put together Bri Bri” can come down just a little bit.
The instructor says to the group that he wants us to do another activity again, but he wants us to mess up. Come again, sir?! He quickly explains that if we noticed, the times that we messed up during the activity happened to be the most real yet the most vulnerable. The most human parts of us are the most relatable to one another and to the audience. He repeatedly reminds us that the art of improv is about being yourself in the real world, representing the humanity of people. So around we go, and I mess up-- A LOT. Not on purpose but because I gave my whole self, and I realize that part of what makes me, me…is the mess. It’s a beautiful realization, yet a little scary, too.
Mistakes make us real. And they are funny too. They are spontaneous and unplanned.
After a few other icebreaker activities, we begin the 1:1 scenes of improv. This is the stuff I see in the movies! Basically, it is where you are given a random, real-life scene that you must re-enact with another person that you don’t know. I am given a scene about going to a timeshare convention and running into the “guy” in my scene. I guess it was better than a fake date, as I know my hubby would not have liked that! To my surprise, the other actor had no idea what a timeshare was, so the scene did not go as I expected it to, at all! He spends the whole scene trying to “share time” with me while I run around like a mad woman playing a character who feels like she is in the Twilight Zone. Low key, it was a little more real than acting, as I had no idea what to do. I kept insisting to the other actor that I was just here for my “Free vacation,” the typical scam of timeshares. It was such a silly experience, and it showed me how uncomfortable I can be outside of the boundaries of mental health and business.
Have I become a robot to accommodate to my reality? Sometimes, I find myself staying in my lane because it’s safe. It is easier to stick with what I know. What about letting my hair down? I encourage my clients to do this, and I need to as well!
Staying in my lane makes me miss out on the “other me.” Same for you!
Another activity involved yelling out words related to a random topic posed by the audience. For example, I yelled out: “Bathroom supplies” as an audience member. The people on stage were randomly pointed at by the instructor, and they had to call the first word related to the topic that came to mind without stalling or repeating that of others. I got out in the first round! I could not believe it because that is my talent! I am good on my feet! The girl before me called out the same action movie I was thinking of! All I could do was laugh, and I was not even a bit embarrassed. I liked this me coming out. Not afraid to lose and not afraid to face the possibility of being embarrassed.
We spend our whole lives avoiding being embarrassed. It is the mortal punishment of humanity. We must refuse to accept undue embarrassment. Most things are NOT worth being embarrassed about.
Speaking of other me, the next activity involved singing. We literally had to go into the middle of the room, and we had to sing random songs until we were tagged out. I was mortified at first about the idea of ever singing in front of people; however, when people joined the person in the middle of the circle in song, it was no longer scary! I found myself excited to catch times to jump in. Who is this chick? I was excited to sing in front of people in my horrible singing voice. I tagged in at least four times! It was so cool to see everyone connect to the songs and bond.
Music brings us together, after all.
The last activity involved a series of role plays and human sculptures, much too hard to explain. I think the biggest lesson I learned through those activities is that I had hidden my “on-the-spot self.” The girl who is completely unorganized, open, and silly, had been placed away too often. She was nervous to come out, and I felt that shyness in my gut. She was very familiar as I believe she existed in my life growing up, yet she had been put away as an adult and rarely came out to play. Even when she came out, she was brief and tapered.
Why can’t all of the me’s exist in peace? All Bri, Bri’s matter!
One of the scenes I had to act out resulted in me breaking character. I was laughing and totally not sure where to go next. I felt the perfectionism in me tap on my shoulder. I ignored her. She backed off. The group laughed, and we moved on. Who cares? Maybe I need to break character more in life! We are a series of characters meant to be broken.
The best way to describe my first improv experience was like unzipping myself for a moment, airing out my soul and putting it back into my body. My soul has so many parts. All of these parts matter, and they have a place in the world. My whole self matters. My whole self is valuable. Improv reminded me that proverbial humanity is funny. We are naturally hilarious as people, and we are all awkward beings, combing our way through society. I played with a bunch of strangers. They said some wild things. We laughed. We got lost.
I invite you to try Improv. If you find yourself stuck inside, maybe it is time for a breather.
P.S. Pilates update. I am still doing it! It is going so well! I LOVE Pilates!
Thank you to Nitro Theater for helping me build a more loving relationship with mistakes and reminding me that my showing up as myself in life is enough!