Dear Jessica Brennan,
I once heard Tina Fey say that when you are first doing improv, one of the most difficult things to learn is when to enter a scene. Do you enter it right when you think of something to say? Do you enter when you think you might be able to look smart, or funny? Do you wait until you are sure you won’t look silly? Do you just jump in and hope for the best?
As Tina was speaking, I drifted off and thought about how life is one big improv show. Each day we are creating scenes of peaceful harmony or excessive drama. We are running through comedy and tragedy without knowing what will come next; what the outcome will be.
Sometimes we enter a scene with reactive, fiery aggression and make a total mess of things. Other times we hesitate and don’t enter a scene that we could have enriched; improved.
Shockingly at times, we find ourselves on a stage in a scene we have no business being in. How on earth did I get here? We storm in guns-a-blazing like we know it all, then have to try to write our character out of that plot, which is likely impossible. Other times we miss our entrance entirely because we aren’t paying attention to what is going on in a scene to which we really could contribute.
So according to Tina Fey,
Question: When should I join the scene?
Answer: Enter when you are needed.
What a great metaphor for life. This suggests the need for thoughtfulness in collaboration. It means using your internal compass and honing your intuition; putting your ego in the bin. This is an act of listening more than you speak. It conjures up thoughts of supporting one another and being respectful. Bring what you have. Be genuine. Don’t grandstand.
Enter the scene when you’re needed. That’s when. What a great answer.
Love,
Mum xo