FTW

At the end of last night’s class, JR asked us to get with a partner and work out an improvised scene. Improv is my favorite art within the art–probably because it’s what I’m best at. I live for improv. I used to be a part of a live improv comedy troupe here in town…

Anyway, I was partnered with Noelle–a skilled actress who is just about to start working on another film. Improvised scenes for the sake of this class have allowed us a little time to set up our scenarios in advance; they aren’t quite as off-the-cuff as the live shows I used to do, where the audience shouts directions and you literally have no time to think or prepare. Noelle and I set up a scene where we were best friends, and I would meet her at a coffee shop and tell her that I lied to everyone about winning the lottery.

The exercise went well, but JR could tell that I was holding something back, and called me out on it. I had been searching for the answer to Noelle’s question as to why I lied, and all I could do was play with my plastic cupful of ice. (Noelle knew that wherever I went, I always got an ice water and gulped it down right away.) I wanted to suck and crunch the ice in that cup, but it wasn’t real.

We ended the improv in silence.

Later, after I was home, the why came to me. I was thinking about the lottery, and how life can sometimes get so boring and tedious. If we aren’t careful, we can lose our sense of humor. And if we really aren’t careful, we can forget what it’s like to feel. But what feels good?

Winning feels good. 

And I wanted to know what it was like to win something.

I flashed back to Charlie Sheen’s unforgettable Winning/Tiger’s Blood interview, and a smile came to my face. That’s because I realized that there are so many ways to win. You can win with humor and you can win with honesty. You can win with love and you can win with courage. You can win with intellect and you can win with integrity. You can win with silence and you can win with forgiveness.

The improv is over, but I have sympathy for my character and that lie she told to win friends, attention, and excitement. I’ll go so far as to say that humans need these things. I just wish my character realized that she had all of these things already without having to lie.

In this business, it’s said that you’re only as good as your last performance. I guess that depends on what you consider your last performance. Luckily, if your last scene was subpar, there’s always another one around the corner.

You’re not supposed to chew your ice, I repeated to Noelle.

It’s bad for your teeth.