"The Fun and Power of Improv!"

I've been taking improvisation classes for years. 99% because they are just fun.

But it's been a huge boon to my performing and personal life, I have to say.

There is a concept in improvisation called "Yes and...." Meaning a person says something, you agree and move forward. It's very very unnatural. Mostly we want to argue. See you are reading this and arguing already.

I first noticed using this technique with my friend Pat as he was promoting his business at a conference, where he rented a table as HR people walked around seeing what was available for company picnics.

A lady was picking up his brochures and he said hi (of course) and noticed she was from Campbell. He said, something like, you're in Campbell, have you tried xyz restaurant downtown? She said, yes, that was great, I've been looking for a good Japanese restaurant... he said, I like ... yzx, it's was the best priced food...

I can't replicate the conversation but I noticed it was so friendly. It was obviously sales but so friendly non the less. My conversations tend to go...do you know any good Japanese restaurants? "I don't eat there, I'm still holding a grudge from World War 2"

It might get a short laugh but it stops the conversation dead in it's tracks. Where would the conversation go from there? Pat's conversation goes from food, days off to are you planning an event we can help you with, to here's my card, give me a call.

With kids while performing, I can agree and take the "conversation" in a crazy place. The kids scream, "hit your head", I say "ok" and start hitting myself. It's just funny because what normal adult in their lives would ever just start hitting their head.

I do a routine in my show where I have one of the children start the show by standing in front and yelling "start the show". This is easily a 5 minute routine in my show. Why 5 minutes? I have the child up there and start adjusting their head, their arms to start the show. They will move to a more comfortable position and I move their arms head back. This almost always becomes a game between the clown and the kid, the audience howls as the kid moves and I fix them.

This is an example of saying yes and. I can easily just ignore the kid, tell them to hold their arms in a certain way. I go with it. As a character I can get more and more frustrated but I keep trying to adjust the child because that's where the child is leading me.

It's a silly little example but saying yes is very funny and powerful.

Here's a giant mistake I've encountered over a long time of performing. People describe their show as improvisational. Wrap your brain around this...improvisation has some very strict rules.

I've taken classes for years and it's a very difficult craft. Performers tend to get quick easy laughs by saying no. See example above about not eating Japanese food because of World War 2. Saying yes, is tough. Improvisation is setting up a routine and going with it.

Here is a video of me interviewing Mary at a very small library in San Ardo, a town with no sidewalks in Monterey County, California. I hope it's a good example of saying yes and making the kids laugh.