A
collection of
quotations on Improvisation, alphabetical by source.
"Improv cures
what ails americans."
--- Liz Allen,
improv olympic
"Many
people
have the idea that to improvise you have to get up on a stage and 'make
it up.' While it’s true that that’s the bulk of it, it could also
be said that the bulk of driving is pointing the car, so let’s allow
five-year-olds to do it. Bad idea. To master the art of
improv can take many years, and a great understanding, not just of
improv’s tenets, but those of many different disciplines. Because
there are fewer parameters than any other performing art, one must be
prepared for anything that comes your way. That includes forays
into the worlds of writing, directing, design, dance, music, singing,
mime, stage combat, and especially acting. Once you’ve got all of
these down, then you can say that improv is easy."
--- Jeff Catanese, Improv
Review
"Faith
handles the ultimate
incongruities of life, humor handles the more immediate ones."
---
William Sloan
Coffin, Jr
"We
discovered that not only
does improvisation provide a way to understand what it takes to be
spontaneous
and innovative, but exercises used by actors to develop their skill can
be adopted by business as a means to experience and enhance individual
and organizational capacity to be innovative and responsive."
--- Mary Crosson,
from an
article Improvise to Innovate at ImprovInBiz, >>Connect
"The
focus of
Improv leads
to conversers being present, meaning they exist in the here and now.
The
acceptance in Improv leads to the speakers’ connection, meaning each
becomes
part of a co-creation team. The distance between the communicators is
thereby
no longer a gap to be closed. It becomes a connector, filling the space
between bodies like a see-saw connects the two riders on either end.
Each
is dependent on the other for flow and movement. This synchronicity of
focus and acceptance is what results in full body listening."
--- Izzy
Gesell
(from a guest
article in
the Conversation Matters e-newsletter. >>To
subscribe)
"More of me comes out when I improvise."
--- Edward Hopper
"For
the
skilled improviser,
however, time slows down (rather like in The Matrix). They see a
palette
of possibilities in front of them and make instant connections, using
what
they have."
--- Julie Sheldon
Huffaker,
Brad Robertson, Gary Hirsch and Rob Poynton in
the
article "Improv Culture: Using Practices from Improv Theater to Help
Organizations
Evolve Successfully Over Time", OD Practitioner, Vol. 35, No. 3.
"Improvisation
is the expression of the accumulated yearnings, dreams, and wisdom of
the soul."
--- Yehudi Menuhin
"The truth is
you can acquire any quality you want by acting as though you already
have it."
--- Joseph Murphy
"Only
the
strongest egos escape the trap of perfectionism. To solve problems
successfully, you must believe
you can, must feel capable enough to improvise. Yet too many adults
have been schooled away from their ability to experiment freely."
--- Marsha Sinetar, To Build the
Life You Want, Create the
Work You Love: The Spiritual Dimension of Entrepreneuring
"When
used
appropriately,
games can raise personal awareness and neutralize the fear, anger, and
other negative emotions associated with change. Interactive exercises
give
participants a chance to think about the process of change, understand
what's happening in a larger context, and compare their thoughts
and feelings about change with others' reactions. By including games in
your training, you can create a "practice area" in which employees,
managers,
and organizational leaders can reflect on and deal with their
feelings."
Suzanne Adele
Schmidt Ph.D.and
Joanne G. Sujansky Ph.D., CSP, "Taking
The Fear Out of Organizational Change"
"Theater
Games are a process
applicable to any field, discipline, or subject matter which creates a
place where full participation, communication, transformation can take
place."
--- Viola
Spolin
"Everyone
can
act. Everyone
can improvise. Anyone who wishes to can play in the theater... If the
environment
permits it, anyone can learn whatever he chooses tolearn, and if the
individual
permits it, the environment will teach him everything it has to teach.
... 'Talent' or 'lack of talent' have very little to do with it."
--- Viola Spolin, Improvisation
for the Theater
Improv
Connections
A brief
invitation to improv
Studying
with Paul Sills
Links
on Improv
improvarama