Oh my god, this book is lovely. It’s “about” how to teach improvisational acting…but it’s really about relationships, creativity, imagination, and trusting your own flow and instincts. So many interesting anecdotes and ideas for anyone who’s interested in creativity, dreams, or just becoming more socially and personally aware.
Two chapters I loved were on Status and Masks. The first looked at the intricacies of human interactions and how status plays out in everything we do at a very fundamental level. Keith’s insights into how high and low statuses play off each other can make you hyper-aware of your own status transactions in everyday life, and for me opened up a wonderful new social-sense.
The chapter on Masks is thrilling and looks at how Masks can bring us into trances, how our personalities can be overridden, formed, and solidified, etc.
Might sounds cheesy or pretentious, but Impro’s noticeably helped me trust and connect more with the creative dream space inside of me and given me tools for getting past artistic blocks and ruts.