I recently completed Foundation 2 Improv at Bay Area Theatre Sports (BATS), and the thing that really stuck with me was that when I’m on stage, I don’t need to rush. As beginners, we all have a tendency to feel rushed because we feel the audience is watching us.

But it’s OK to pause and take a little moment to think. The goal is really to listen and then advance the story forward in a positive way. By positive, I mean that you take whatever is offered by your partner and do something with it, not ignore or negate it.

One of my favorite exercises was puppeting, where another actor stands behind you and does your hand motions. We did a cooking scene where both of us were demonstrating for a cooking show. It was a great exercise in advancing the story because I was not only responding to my scene partner but also to what my puppeter’s hands were doing. It was challenging but so much fun.

Watching the hands was actually an opportunity to slow down the thinking a bit. It was visual, and all I really had to do was describe what I was doing with my “hands.”

The thing that slowing down opens up for me is relaxation. I can be a bit more relaxed and enjoy the moment. And improv is enjoyable once you relax and let go of needing to be funny or good.  The thing I learned is that the audience is rooting for you anyway, so you don’t need to try so hard. Just relax and have a good time.

That carries over into life, too. Listen, take offers and build on them. When someone says, “Let’s go check out this place,” I find a way to say yes. When I’m with a friend and they want to tell me something that happened to them, I say, “Tell me more.”

There is a wonderful book by Patricia Ryan Madson called Improv Wisdom that expands on this idea. I recommend it. It’s really about being open to the world and your friends. Life becomes even more enjoyable.