Some of our favorite sites:
Little Green pig Theatrical Concern
Past Mouthings-Off:
Perfection Is Created, Not Achieved
Seeing the Refrigerator in the Road
Why Improv Is Absolutely Essential
Soft Focus and the
Go Ahead, Screw Up.
Creativity: What Is It
Art of Telling a Story
It's Good for You!
and Who Has It?
Mouthing Off
Improv and the Art of Motorcycling
When in doubt, gas it.
Two of my very favorite things in life are improv and motorcycling. The former has been my profession since 1989 and the latter a means of transportation and a hobby since 1986. Although I've been doing both things for a long time, it's been only recently that I started to think about the similarities between the two activities and even how each might inform the other and life in general.
If you're reading this, you may already know about my improvisational theater experience. Just so you know, my motorcycling experience includes about 225,000 road miles in almost all of the contiguous United States as well as Canada and Mexico. I've covered long distances in all sorts of weather and made short jaunts too. My favorite rides are on twisty mountain roads on cool, clear autumn days. "Sport touring" is what my approach is called in the two-wheeled community.
Know the difference between fear and danger
Motorcycling is a dangerous activity. Even though I've never had a serious wreck, I always wear protective gear and take each ride seriously. Even so, I am not fearful when I ride but rather cognizant of risk factors, like other drivers, road conditions, animals, and the weather. Fear will cloud my judgment and perception and make riding no fun. I ride largely for fun and if I find myself afraid of the dangers, I won't ride.
"Check-in" before you start.
Similarly, riders should take a moment to ask themselves how they're doing before they turn the key. Are you angry? Spacey? Sad? If you are aware of your emotional state, you are more likely not to be ruled by it. Be extra cautious if you find yourself daydreaming. Ride extra cool if you feel crabby.
Look where you want to go.
In improv--or presenting, acting, or just about anything--having a positive mindset is essential. If you go into a scene or speech or interview thinking you're going to suck, you almost certainly will. But you will likely encounter some trouble even if you do have a good attitude. That's when you need to focus on where you want to go (the road), rather than fixating on the trouble (the ditch).
Now, you still may fail but the extent of your failure may be determined by whether or not you were looking where you wanted to go and how you handle the difficulty. I cover this in the next section.
When in doubt, gas it.
The phrase "When in doubt, gas it" comes from off-road riders. I'm not much of an off-road rider myself but I understand the idea is to keep momentum and traction (or lack thereof) consistent. If you're losing traction, it's better to keep the rear wheel spinning and trust you'll gradually get it back than to ease off the throttle, have the tire bite, and get bucked off the bike. Even if you go down, you're still headed in the right direction.
The principle applies on-road as well. For example, if I'm on my bike and a curve is tighter than I expected, I'll keep looking through it, trying to keep the suspension settled--perhaps even giving the bike a little gas to keep it settled--and maintain my progress. If I don't make it, I'll "low side" or slide on the pavement, which will ruin my day but is a short fall at low gs.
But if I hit the brakes hard, responding to my fear's demand to stop the danger, I can horribly upset the machine's stability and risk a "high side," catapulting myself off the machine at high speed and altitude. This could ruin my day--and my life.
In performance and presentation the stakes are lower but the principles still apply. If you run into trouble, obsessing on the trouble and getting all tentative will only make that trouble worse and cause a downward spiral.
If you can make the counterintuitive choice and give it gas when you want to brake, you may find yourself blasting out of the spot you're in and starting an upward spiral.
I've had students tell me about awkward moments in interviews, crisis points when the outcome hung in the balance, and when the students were bold and positive, the interview turned out successfully. Fear told them to do otherwise but fear also brings about the danger it hopes to avoid because fear isn't always so smart.
A personal example that springs to mind for me is singing. If I'm worried about a note and try to sidle up to it meekly, I'll miss it. If I just haul off and try to hit that note full force, I'll usually hit it or I'll do something interesting rather than just sounding like I missed a note.
Take a class.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation offers courses across the country for beginning and experienced riders. They generally even provide bikes for students to ride in class. There are other riding schools as well. A good instructor will teach you how to avoid danger and manage risk and also how to manage fear to become a better and happier rider.
Maybe I missed a few connections but that's a few. Please let me know if you can think of connections between improv and motorcycling and larger-world applications. And keep the shiny side up!
-Greg Hohn, Director
We have
video footage
on the site!
Steven and his wife Kelly are eagerly anticipating the arrival of a baby BOY in December and
taking many classes to prepare. He's also playing on a doubles tennis team in Durham to improve
his skills and exercise habits.
Rachel is very busy this fall. During the day she is teaching Acting and Intro to Theatre at
NC State and in the evenings she is producing and directing numerous shows at
Common Ground Theatre. Rachel
and fellow Transactor Jeffrey Moore are also writing a brand new Christmas classic, A Trailer
Park Christmas, which plays Dec. 11-21--you don't want to miss this one!
Nancy's monthly blog about feeding children can be found here.
Mike was the sound man for the wildly successful Pressure Boys' reunion shows in May. He was also
the band's sound man back in the 80s.
Jill is one of only two Transactors who has ever written fan mail to a cast member on The
Waltons.
Jeffrey was recently interviewed on WUNC Radio's The State Of Things. He talked about his
short film, What the Frock!. You can hear his interview at
here.
Greg is teaching in Duke's Theater Studies Department this year in addition to teaching at UNC's
business school, where he's been an adjunct faculty member since 2000. He's also presenting at
the Applied Improv Network's international conference in Chicago in October.
Dan will star in The Santaland Diaries again this holiday season at Common Ground Theatre.
Anoushka has just completed her Third Degree, Master Teacher Reiki training and is available for
wonderfully healing and relaxing appointments!
Transactors Improv has T-shirts! They're black with our lightbulb on the front and our logo and
motto on the back in white. Available in S, L, and XL sizes, they are 100% cotton and cost $10.
Contact us at
transactors@transactors.org if you want one or even more.
To subscribe to our e-mailing list, write
transactors@transactors.org.
- Motorcycling axiom
Even though it's scary to many people, improv very, very rarely poses actual physical danger to its participants. The greatest risk you face is perhaps a little embarrassment or frustration, things that cannot injure you. By throwing yourself into improv or similar activities, you risk little and have many potential rewards, like expanding your comfort zone, getting better at communicating and creativity, and having fun.
People who have taken courses or worked with me know that I like to have a "check-in" at the beginning of class and rehearsal sessions. Each participant introduces her/himself and says how s/he is doing that day. It helps the members of the group get to know each other better and have sensitivity for each other. It also helps participants leave their emotional baggage at the door and to focus on the work at hand.
A bike, motorized or not, will go where you are looking. It just will. So, if you feel like you might run off the road, don't look at the ditch, look at where the road's going. Don't stare at that tree unless you want to get intimate with it. Fixating on a perceived danger only brings us closer to it. Feel free to test this out but you might just want to take my word for it.
It is human nature to want to pull back and become tentative when we face danger or feel fear. Sometimes this instinct is a good thing, like when it keeps us out of dark alleys. Sometimes this instinct can make things worse for us.
As obvious as it sounds, we're not supposed to be good at things we've just started. Let an expert show you the ropes. There are lots of improv courses and workshops in the Triangle. Some are offered by Transactors and its members (see the Calendar page on this site) and some elsewhere. A Google search should send you in the right direction.
Autumn 2008
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