Seriously, Phil - I think you might be good at it. To me, you have a quiet, dry sense of humor. Like I said, I think you'd be good.

quote:

Originally posted by Leslie B:
Seriously, Phil - I think you might be good at it. To me, you have a quiet, dry sense of humor. Like I said, I think you'd be good.

Try TheatreSports/Improv Phil,
it's a bit easier to start with (as you are not alone on stage and you don't have to learn your lines), but still scary as hell.

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scary as hell

"Scary" is so interesting. Riding a rollercoaster, for example, can be scary as hell, but it can also be big fun. It's that frisson of fear that makes it exciting.

It could paralyze one person and energize another.

Summer of '05 I decided to do a lot of stuff that had previously seemed a bit daunting -- like a couple of high ropes courses, climbing a 40' rock face and then leaping into the water below, walking over 36' of hot coals, running some BIG rapids, rappelling down an 85' cliff, and a bunch of other stuff. It was fantastic! If it hadn't been a bit scary, it would have been pointless.

And waaay back when I was about 13 I wanted to get over that fear of public speaking that so frightens many, if not most, people. So I volunteered for every book report at school, every opportunity to stand up and talk at my church, and anything else that would get me up in front of a group. In a way I "forced" myself, but you know what?

I think now that if I had been doing it because someone else thought I should, THAT would have required "forcing" myself to do it. But because I I did it SOLELY because I wanted to acquire that particular skill and be comfortable speaking, it wasn't forcing at all. Maybe that's a key part.

And the whole experience brought me great results. I've never again been nervous to stand up and speak -- in a small group, to a seminar audience, to 15000 people in a big arena, or even through a bullhorn in a street demonstration (not my thing anymore).

Now here's my main tip if you're considering taking on a challenge that frightens you a bit: When there are others doing the same thing, volunteer to go first!

That might seem somewhat counter-intuitive because some of us would like to put off the scary event as long as possible even though we've decided to do it. But what I found out is that if you go first, you don't have to stand there and watch everyone else do it while you get more and more nervous. You're done! (So then, if someone else sort of freaks out, you can be encouraging instead of thinking, "Jeez Louise, what am I getting myself into?"

Challenge yourself. It's FUN -- and afterwards, you'll see things much differently.

Theatre Sports is the fun kind of scary.
Though I don't do it anymore.
Getting up on stage, not knowing what would happen wasn't scary anymore. It got routine.
Now I teach it to other people. And to see their excitement when they just let go, don't think and have fun is great.

What are theatre sports?

It's improv theatre.

You get up on stage, not knowing what would happen and ask the audience:"I'm going to sing a song for you. What would you like this song to be about?"
Or, I'm going to play a scene, Where should this scene take place, what era or what should happen in the end?

Usualy it's two teams playing and the audience selects the winner. The team they enjoyed the most.
But sometimes it's a long form, like a full blown improvised musical.
This improv group improvise on location:
http://youtu.be/dkYZ6rbPU2M

Everytime I watch this clip, it makes me happy.

Made me smile as well. Again I say, we are living in a MOST interesting time. I wonder what historians will say about the era of spontaneous singing and dancing in the the most unlikely places???

Kinda late in the discussion...but as an older mom who did a lot of things I didn't want to do, and who really really tried to do them with good intentions...not quite gratitude...but cheerfully, efficiently....no procrastination....I gotta say I absilutely LOVE doing only things I feel like doing. I hit 50 this year...life's too short. Unless you catch a buzz or get some satisfaction from accomplishment, which is something I almost never feel...I don't bother with anything but the bare necessities and that which makes me happy.

And I am still considered a very hard and happy worker by many. But I becoming less so every day...LOVE it!