Zingers #2: 10 Days with Keith Johnstone - Day 1

[David Zinger]

Here are some of the ideas I took away from Day 1.

This was my personal learning - the 22 other participants may have taken away some of these ideas or other ideas.

Here are my splices of the day (some are in Keith's words and some are in my own):

• Remain happy in adversity
• Make a relationship
• Don't be funny
• Work on operant conditioning
• Screw up and stay happy
• Promise interesting stuff and deliver more
• Offer the other person what you think they need
• Don't be oblivious to the obvious
• A good improviser is a servant to others (at times)
• Start by cheering up the audience
• Observe the kinetic dance, make room for others.
• Don't be blind to others
• Be transported by your trances
• If things start badly they hardly ever improve
• Change your face and open your eyes
• Really see the people you are with
• Come to the alter (of self or other) to create compelling improvisation.
• Work inside the circle that you quickly create.
• There is no point in having a battle unless people are altered
• Real listening mean being altered by what is said to you.
• Tilting might not be great in pinball but it unlevels the playing field in improvisation and makes things interesting.

A few other thoughts:

• Keith is attuned to the sounds around him and found his own personal plumber (rørlegger) who stopped the sound of water flowing. Was this about the water or about paying attention or being ordinary?
• Keith can create a big circle of safety in a room that you barely notice that 3 cameras are capturing the moments.

One personal learning. During lunch we had a discussion about career change. One of the exercises we did was to invite a person to tell us what came next and to go with it as long as we were good with it. Then when we were not good with it we were to say a wide eyed affirmative no. I think we could all benefit in our careers by asking ourselves or our employers what comes next and to think a little bit longer about what comes next for us and if we really do want it.

I am fascinated by the participants who have moved from the strict structure of the IT world to improvisation...could this be a reflection of social media and web 2.0 embracing some of the power of community, making others look good, and being in permanent beta?