Laughing In The Face Of Fear: How Improv Can Help With Anxiety

For years, Cameron couldn’t leave our home without having a panic attack. When you’re anxious, your comfort zone gets smaller and smaller, and so does your world. Thankfully, improv changed all that.

The BBC interviewed Cameron recently about how improv helped him overcome anxiety, and how it can help others do the same. There’s a video, as well as a radio interview that goes more in-depth.

If you or someone you know is interested, click here or here to sign up for classes, or check your local listings. There are now “improv for anxiety” classes available in cities across Canada, the U.S., England, and Australia.

Del Was Right: Improv Is Art

Image © Banksy

New Clocks And Tees And Laptop Sleeves, Oh My!

And did we mention bath mats? Click here or below to shop our full collection.

Can’t Put Down Your Phone? Take Up Improv.

If, like me, you’ve been sucked down the stream of raw sewage that’s social media, I feel you. It’s hard not to, frankly, when the freedoms we thought we enjoyed turn out to be smoke and episodes of Black Mirror.

But if clicking emojis till your thumbs bleed has left you numb, doing it more won’t help.

In 2005, when iPhone was still a gleam in Steve Jobs’s eye, Cameron and I were detached from the rest of the world. Back then the isolation was caused by his Generalised Anxiety Disorder. We holed ourselves up in our apartment and fretted inside a prison of our own making. The Internet’s a bit like that; we can see and talk to people, but there’s a wall of glass between us.

How we crawled out of that black hole and reconnected with humanity was the same way you can now: by taking an improv class. (And if you sign up on your smartphone, I won’t tell anyone.)

“We approach improvisation as a constant examination of the moment before us.” – Improvisation at the Speed of Life: The TJ & Dave Book

The first time I studied with David Razowsky, he said, “I’m hiding a class on mindfulness in this improv workshop.”

Improv teaches us to be present, to observe and listen to our scene partner, and respond by committing fully to our emotions. Focusing your attention takes practice, as anyone who’s meditated knows. But the more you do it, the easier it gets.

The other great thing about improv is, it’s fun. Laughter, like crying, is a form of release. Which makes it a powerful antidote to anxiety, depression, and fear. As Stephen Colbert says, “You can’t laugh and be anxious at the same time.”

There’s nothing more satisfying than taking your feelings of rage and channeling them into a scene about failed spaghetti sauce. Improv gets us in touch with our imaginations again. When you create something out of thin air, it’s a powerful reminder of our ability to effect change.

There’s a lot of scary stuff happening right now, and the problems are very real. But staring at a screen for hours won’t help. If you’re feeling disconnected, the answer isn’t stewing over Snapchat, Periscope, or Twitter. It’s listening, responding, and connecting with others in real life.

Now turn off your phone, go out and create something new.

So glad we got to spend this time together. (Photo © Steve Hobbs)

There are dozens of different classes available, for Beginners to Advanced, from Improv for Actors to Improv for Anxiety, Business, Singles and more. Just Google “improv classes” and your home town or city to see what’s available near you.

Ross Marquand’s Celebrity Nano-Impressions

We can’t stop watching these bang-on bits of hilarity from The Walking Dead star, Marquand. His subtle shifts in posture, status, and vocal quality make great character studies. Enjoy!

When Your Team Doesn’t Show…Again

Image © People and Chairs

Where’s Your Head At?

Photo © People and Chairs

When you’re staring at the floor you’re not improvising, you’re inventing.

Look up. Everything you’re searching for is in the eyes of your scene partner.

Sens On Power Play

(Editor’s note for non-Canadians: A “power play” in hockey is when at least one opposing player serves a penalty, giving your team a numerical advantage on the ice.)

I’m officially a Senators fan.

On Monday, the Ottawa Senators (NHL team, for those who aren’t Canadian) fired their coach, Paul MacLean. The day after a great come-from-behind victory, too. Possibly their best game all year. Weird.

Why fire the coach after an amazing game?

When did this become a sports blog?

I mean, what the hell is going on here?!

Listen to the reason GM (General Manager, sheesh) Bryan Murray gave for letting MacLean go.

“I think what happened last night was, it was one of our better games, there’s no question. The good thing that happened for us was that we got behind 3-0. We forgot about all the rules and structure and everything. We just went out and played hockey.

Hockey’s a game and sometimes you just have to go play. Have a little fun with it and chase the puck and do things. We did that and I think our speed showed up. I think some talent showed up and we made some plays and fortunately for us, we won the hockey game. But I think that’s what I would like to see our team be – our players have to have some fun. It’s a game. We have to have some fun playing the game.

We have so many rules sometimes that we take the fun away from it, so maybe now, we’ll play a little different style – we’ll play a little more aggressive style. We’ll try to chase the puck more often and I think that will play to the strength of the young people on our hockey team.

And that’s what I would like to see happen – that we get back to real simple (play). Move the puck. Be in a good position. Help each other and be creative in your way. We have got some very instinctive hockey players here, just play that way.”

I was watching the press conference when it happened (flipping around until Chopped came on), and it blew my mind. It seems obvious that hockey is a game when you ask kids. But when you ask adults, it’s not a game. Nothing’s a game. It’s a business. And you have to win to make money. And winning comes from hard work and doing it right.

It’s a bold statement for a PROFESSIONAL hockey team (meaning playing for money, NOT for fun) to make. But a damn important one. So many “creative” industries try to set up the rules and structures for how to work, instead of promoting play.

The ad agency I got fired from (the most recent time) was implementing the rules of staying late, working weekends, being in the office at all times and a bunch of other old fashioned ways of thinking. None of which have anything to do with being more creative.

So thank you Bryan Murray. Thank you for understanding that even at a professional level, if take away the play, you ain’t got nothin.

Going on the record to say that the Senators will make the playoffs. If I were bolder, I’d say win the cup, but, you know, they’re not that good…. ahhh fuck it.

Sens FTW!

(This post originally appeared at playwithfireimprov.com)

“What makes The Who special is that it’s not even what’s written; it’s the bits that it don’t know are going to happen, and they come out of thin air.” – Roger Daltry

Even scripted music, plays, speeches, and other live events differ from night to night. It’s those inspired moments of improvisation that make people say “You had to be there.”