Improvisational Theater

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Give me Improv or give me death...




 Living what we love...











 



 On the stage and in the world.











Give me Improv or give me death.
But let it not be stagnate jesting,
Let it not be a slapstick ice age.
Give me improv that is improvisational.
Give me unexpected moments and unexplored avenues.
Give me uncharted territory.
Let me work through play, be constantly challenged
and constantly growing.
Let me surprise myself more than I surprise others.
Allow me to flow like water, encompassing everything,
But clinging to nothing.

Give me improv or give me death.
Let me love what I do and do it for the love.
And as any artist wishes, let it sustain me
Emotionally, spiritually and financially.
Let me value my play.
Let others value my work.
Give me contemporaries that share my vision.
Give me combatants who challenge me.
Let me grow from every experience.
Let me miss nothing.
Grant me the awareness to listen with my whole body,
My whole self.

Give me improv or give me death.
Give me the wherewithal to change.
Show me the work and play of others.
Let me see and value what they do.
Keep me on my toes, leaning in.
Keep me afraid to fall and ever courageous.
Let me feel the falling, let me enjoy the speed
And the wind, and let me find my wings.

Give me Improv or give me death.
Grant me the energy to keep up
And the wisdom to slow down.
Let me avoid wit and embrace cleverness.
Let me be always humble and always learning.
Remind me often how unique and extraordinary
This life is,
steeped in presence, soaked in laughter,
Buzzing with surprise, wildly alive
Even in stillness.
And let me always experience
This gift as fully as my mind,
My body and my spirit are able.
Give me the will to share it,
To work for it and to honor even the silliest,
loudest, most bumbling moment
as a gem of something bigger,
the biggest something.
May I be here, in this, of this,
Everyday of my wild, exceptional life.