Everything is improv

Improvisation theatre teacher, Keith Johnstone, astutely claimed that every interaction on stage is about status. Who’s up? Who’s down?

The analogy is powerful. Because once you see it, it will change every interaction you have going forward.

The interaction with the boss, the exchange with a teacher, the run in with your neighbor, attending someone’s retirement party, getting pulled over by a police officer—all exchanges in status.

We think improv is about being spontaneous working without a script or a set of instructions. But we are wrong. It’s about the exchange of status.

Life is improv. Everything is improv.