One of the many things I love about improvisation is the incredible people it has brought into my life and the friendships I’ve made along the way.
I used to travel around the UK and Ireland going to improv festivals, workshops and residential (before my boys came along) and some of those people I met have a very special place in my heart. I still consider them friends even if I haven’t seen or spoken to them in years.
Improv by its very nature allows connection and friendship to bloom. There is something in the trust that you put in our scene partners that can quickly allow relationships to blossom.
The funny thing is how little we often know about our fellow improvisers. You might not know about their job, where they live or about their family but you know they’ve got your back and you’ve got theirs. But it doesn’t matter how little you know about them because you know their soul.
Teaching on Zoom has made these connections even stranger! I now have friends that live in different countries, some on the other side of the world, that I really care about. We’ve played together, laughed together, formed a bond and we might never even meet! It is utterly bizarre and simply wonderful.
In a couple of months time I’m going to be teaching some in person improv and I’ll finally get to improvise in real life with people that I already feel I know so well even though I’ve only ever seen them on screen.
There are so many improvisers out there that I care about and the joy I get when someone i remember books on one of my course its very special. It’s like seeing an old friend again.
I hope that there are improvisers out there that consider me a friend (even if we only met once on zoom!) and there’s a little bit of me in hearts all around our beautiful world.