OK. Be honest with us: How often have you answered “Busy” to the question “How have you been” lately? In the hustle-bustle of our lives, it is easy to feel like productivity has replaced abundance and that distraction has replaced excitement.
Today we’d like to talk to you about our collective saviour: FUN.
Fun is not merely « being entertained ». American journalist Catherine Price defines it as a state of combined playfulness, connection, and flow. This holy trinity of fun happen to be of the founding elements of improv. Whether you've done it for a couple of weeks, attended improvised shows, or been performing for years, you've probably witnessed these three things at play:
🤸♀️ Playfulness : Improv brings our bored inner child back to life. Our improv life usually starts with playing a bunch of games, with no focus on the theatrical performance. We may first want to get them right and 'play the games correctly'. But soon, we realise it's only about unleashing the part of our spirit muted by adulthood: the spirit of play.
🪢 Connection: a lot of improv principles involve the relationship with one another. Listen actively. Make your partner look good. Keep eye contact. React to what's being said. Embrace each other's ideas. Connection with fellow players may actually be the cheat code to good improv.
🌀 Flow: Flow state is rare in a time of overstimulation - being fully immersed and engaged in an activity where time seems to stand still. The spontaneous, off-the-cuff nature of improv requires high presence and commitment. When fully immersed in a scene, we take our make-believe so seriously that it becomes life itself: we're in flow.
At SPARK, we CONSTANTLY talk about fun. That’s because we truly believe that fun is the main element of more joyful and abundant life. We think that fun re-energises us and that aliveness trickles down to every aspect of our individual and collective existences. That it creates momentum for meaningful relationships and care for the world. And it turns water into wine. It heals the sick. It washes our sins. IT’S A MIRACLE! 🙌🏾 ALLELHui….
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