Improve Improv
I have been spending a lot of time with the president of my music association. We are in the same class which is slick. Communicating between us is easier than it would be in any other case. Recently we had recruitments – we added 6 new people to the team. We are now 17.
This Thursday, we had a general meeting to bring everyone up to speed. During that meeting, I was reminded of my inability to improvise, to be put in the spotlight out of the blue, and not fumble everything. I need preparation.
An example from my high school years is my participation in a debate in front of my whole year, which would have been about 300 people. That was scary. I had my text prepared, and I was reading it on the stand, but I had to hold onto it sternly to not shake too much. During the whole time, my knees were still going crazy.
As mentioned, this was with preparation, so it was doable. The difficulty was what came after – the questions. After presenting your points, the opposing team and the public get to ask you questions and/or debate your points. That's when I froze most of the time. I managed to mumble something incoherent in response but that was about it.
Back to the start, the president of my association is complementary to me in the sense that he tends to do well at improv – pulling out a rabbit of a hat is no feat for him. I would like to improve this side of me, but it is really difficult since the line between the learning zone and the panic zone is thin for me. I do not think I have it in me to start improv classes just yet. First I'll just start by trying to be more open to new things and simply force myself into discomfort.
This Week's Suggestions:
This is the game of life. It is fascinating. John Conway, an English mathematician, conceptualised the game. It's just white and black pixels on a 2-dimensional canvas, but the simplicity of it is what makes it so beautiful.
The video is in French but it has English subtitles. I had heard about the game earlier, but our association's graphic designer has decided to base this year's artistic design on the game, which I find just as fascinating.
🎶 "Zambesi" played by Eddie Calvert:
We have this whole album on vinyl and it is a true pleasure to listen to this whole album when you get the time. That being said, this song in particular is one of my personal favourites.
Till next week!
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