I went to an improv class last night
It is genuinely one of the most fun experiences I've had. There were 11 of us.
There are no physical props; all props are imaginary. So our instructor, C, says "I have a red ball" and pantomimes, and then she throws it to someone, who catches it. And we go around the circle, saying "Reed, here's the red ball; M, here's the red ball" throwing it to one another.
C grew the red ball & shrank the red ball and eventually I ate it and then conjured a blue ball. C then shifted us to ... you smash (or whatever) the object and turn it into a new object and throw it to the next person. A paper airplane, a flower, a Dove was turned into a fly, etc etc.
Then we did a game "Zip, zap, zop" which was surprisingly more fun than it sounded. One person says "zip" and makes a hand motion toward another person in the circle (like a clap but one hand goes forward, the other comes inward). The target then "zaps" to another, who then "zops" to the next, and we go around zip/zap/zopping eachother. It's funny when someone messes up & zaps after a zap; we chuckle and just go with the flow.
Then we clapped at eachother in a circle. You make eye contact with your direct neighbor, then you clap at the same time. Your neighbor can either then clap at their other neighbor or clap back at you. You can then clap at your other neighbor or risk getting caught in a clap-back war. We had all been loosening up the whole time, but this game is where I feel like we all really started to get on the same wavelength. Again, this was surprisingly fun, despite its simplicity.
Next we get into two different lines. The person at the front of each line steps forward onto the "stage". One asks a question, the other responds with a question, and back and forth question & question & question. If you make a statement or freeze up, then you go to the back of the line. This was, perhaps, my favorite. A was asking really deep questions which was fun. My first encounter was with C (instructor) who played, like, emotionally distraught and defensive.
I was pretty good at the questions battle - the second time I made it up there, I cooked & defeated multiple people, finishing with "Have you .. ever . hit ... a baby?" LOL. Later in the evening, I would be self-conscious about this - was I trying too hard, maybe I should have made more room for other people, failed on purpose, got too competitive. It seemed like the vibes were all good, and I'm just doing an anxiety. (I was not self-conscious about the hitting a baby question; that was so funny.)
But I did learn from this experience, and some from the reflection. Some of my questions were out-of-the-blue, off-topic, didn't follow my sparring partner. C talked about this later in the session too. And in the future, I want to try and build more off what my partner is saying/asking rather than just competing my little heart out. I would also like to bring more emotion into it the way C did.
While the anxious voice in my head is fairly self-critical here, my thoughtful voice is not. Literally my first time ever doing formal improv. It's good that I'm learning. It's good that I'm looking back and thinking "Oh, this is what I could do differently." My anxious voice is not so easily sated, but that's okay. It will pass.
The next game was the same as the questions-game but we did statements instead. I liked that one less. Possibly because I was making statements about myself, on a topic I feel a little insecure about. Also because of the too-competitiveness and self-criticism I mentioned before. Also the questions were just, idk, fun. I just liked the questions.
Then we chatted about improv for a few minutes before the next game - also talked about bears some because I leaned on bears during the statements & because I love bears & because I had bear facts I wanted to share LOL. I also happened to be wearing a bear shirt. (E also favorites bears, and A also had a bear fact to share)
So, the next game we all stood in a single line, shoulder-to-shoulder. I forgot the first prompt, but it's essentially the same as the second. The second prompt was "Having sex with me is like [verb], _______". All of us would shout out a verb and then whoever's leading that round would choose which verb to go with. "Cooking" was good. "Driving" was excellent.
So when one of us thought of something, we'd clap and step forward and say "Having sex with me is like driving, I forgot where I was going." (I had a good one and I stepped forward and I literally forgot what I was gonna say, and then this came out which actually worked pretty well lol).
(Edit: OH! The first prompt was "It's not you, it's me" and then we'd say something with regard to a chosen category. Like, E said, for 'animals' category, roughly "It's not me, it's you, I can BEARly stand you")
After this game, we got back in circle for a bit of debrief, and for planning. I'm hoping we do some one-on-one improv next time, where we play out scenes a bit more. Other ideas were floated, and I'm not sure what C landed on.
Then it was time, we were done. Most of us stood around for the next 30 minutes, until the library actually closed, just chatting with eachother about who knows what. I talked with H about meditation and psychedelics. I talked with M about the gym, and M invited me to the Library's new monthly chess club. J talked about a maker-space they participate in. Oh! speaking of "they", there was actually one other enby there, and that made me happy.
I've never done formal improv before. One Bestie & I will improv sometimes on the phone - one of us answers doing a bit, and the other plays along. I played a short Pathfinder (D&D-ish) campaign and that was improvised role play. I've played imaginary with kids. I think those small bits of experience helped. But this was a whole nother level of improv and fun. The vibes with everybody were so good. And I can't wait for next time.
Next time, in the post-improv chit-chat, I want to be better about asking questions (I'm a yapper and M was asking me questions, and I was not doing well at returning the favor. H was also a yapper, less an asker, and so I didn't have the same concern with H). In the post-improv reflections, I want to be less focused on myself - I remember a lot of things I said/did, and much less of what other people did; I want to change that. During improv, I want to build off what my partner is doing (I did a fair bit this time, but I want to more!)
I was so nervous about going. I decided I would go when I saw the sign at the library last Wednesday. Several times, I had to talk myself out of skipping it bc I was nervous and shy about it. I can be bashful. Just, like, admitting that there's a thing I want to do and that I want to meet and hang out with other people is ... something I often feel insecure about. Huh. I think I'm often bashful about positive emotions. But that's a thought for another day.