I’ve been going through a phase of non-blogging lately. I am not feeling particularly inspired to write anything about my life. I guess it seems pretty vanilla after returning from Thailand. But, I like vanilla, so I’ll try to jump back in again.

I taught the beginner’s workshop at the Staircase tonight. My topic was “positive acceptance,” which is a basic building block of improv. It was a pretty big class, which I usually ended up splitting into two groups for manageability. There were some challenges… new players, and a couple with learning disabilities. But, it all worked out ok. I think people had a good time. The exercises that stress positive acceptance usually end up being pretty fun, and having unexpected results. I was slightly worried how the “Make up a Performance Piece” thing was going to go, because it can be pretty weird and artsy. But this group was well warmed up for acceptance, and the improvised performance pieces were a blast to watch. It hammers home the point that our society teaches us to say “no” faster than it teaches us to say “yes.” And in the end it all boils down to trust. When you can build an atmosphere of trust within an improv group, it quickly demonstrates how fun “yes” can be.