Worth Getting on Stage?
At the end of some shows I wonder “was that worth getting up on stage for?” If I have to ask, it probably wasn’t a good show, but it was my fault. I chose to not say yes and to not do anything. I chose to be comfortable and not try anything new. At the end of my life, will I ask the same question?
If I had said no and just talked instead of acted, my usual pattern before studying improv, I would not have had salt tea on the floor of 12 Kashmiri immigrant boys’ home. I would not have spent an afternoon at Reorgi’s family’s home in Kaza. I would not have been fed rice balls in the living room of a teacher who spoke no English and was politely kicking me out of town in Nagano.
Saying yes, and doing instead of just talking, are the twin engines that help create an interesting life or scene. I know people say that you don’t need to literally always say yes in a scene if it’s something your character would never do, but I think it’s more interesting to see that character do what they in a million years would not do. Same with real people.
