Improv theatre

“Suddenly we understood that every inflection and movement implies a status and that no action is due to chance, or really ‘motiveless.” – Keith Johnstone

Everything we do involves status. Who’s up and who’s down? In improv, you throw the ball in the air and see who catches it. You say Yes to what happens next. Steve Carrell in his role as Michael Scott beautifully demonstrates what happens when we are consumed with status:

Improv scenes die when the ball is not shared. No one wants to play catch alone. If you are not giving, you are taking. The game is then over.

There is no infinite game here. The only way we play the infinite game is to continue to throw the ball in the air–keeping the game going.

It turns out, this is more than just improv. When you see it, you can’t unsee it.