Here are 5 things I think I may have learned in the last 5 years, accidentally or otherwise...
1. Wishes come true, not free. (into the woods)
5 years with open doors and shows every weekend at National Comedy Theatre Phoenix is ACTUALLY more representative of 7 years of hard work and 18 years of practice.
Yikes. Stuff takes work. And work is hard. Is it worth it? I say yes. And that thing that you do, whatever it is, that weird thing that you love so much that you WISH could be the thing you spend your life doing? It CAN BE. And it absolutely SHOULD be... just be aware that at least 18 years of practice and 7 years of hard work will most certainly be involved in the process.
2. Be Excellent to Each Other. (the great ones, Bill S. Preston Esq. and Ted Theodore Logan. Whom together are known as Wyld Stalynz)
Be nice to everyone. Never burn bridges.... bridges are great for gettin' around. And, in our experience, people rarely leave your life for good. Yes, folks come and go. But most of the time people come back to you again in some way or another. One will find many occasions in life to look back and wish they had done things differently, I have not yet found an occasion to look back on life and regret how nice I was... even to people who were not nice back.
I can not recommend being excellent to each other highly enough. With a side of party on, dudes.
3. Say Yes. Add Something. (every improviser ever on earth and possibly other universes or parallell words where improvisation is popular)
People will want to help you, let them. Say yes, and let them add. You almost never get to choose your family, and sometimes you might end up with an uncle or a cousin with whom you don't see eye to eye. Improv teams are like that. Just like your family, find the good in everyone. Everyone adds something to a family... usually. I mean, at least like 80/20- right?
Furthermore, along the lines a lot of projects have come our way and we have said yes, and done the best we could with them. And some were not great and some were kind of disasters, but each thing always led to the next thing. And that's how we ended up with MashTerpiece Theatre, which became Spoof N Cinema and First Time Film Club and brought us into a great relationship with Bookmans Entertainment Exchange. So, I also highly recommend saying YES to life and always ADD the best of yourself to whatever you do. And, party on.
4. Dream Improbable Dreams... Nothing is Unpossible.... The only possible mistake is to do nothing.... (the Doctor, a tee shirt I got online, again- the improvisers)
In workshops and rehearsals we always say, "don't be afraid to fail." Failure is opportunity. Mistakes are opportunity. And, really, if you are GOING to fail, which we all know is inevitable anyway and, really, failure is REALLY just an opportunity, after all- as we discussed... well- knowing all of that... if you ARE going to fail, fail HUGE. Do not merely crash, CRASH and BURN. Blaze of glory... give yourself a really nice BIG opportunity. Right?
We have everything, because we have nothing! The Only regrets we have are the risks we didn't take! Fortune favors the bold! And so on!
In workshops and rehearsals we always say, and I highly recommend applying this idea elsewise in one's life... the only REAL mistake is to do NOTHING.
5. Goonies never say Die... Just Keep Swimming... (the Goonies, the ones never saying die, and Dory, whose quest was to find Nemo)
Of course its hard. Its supposed to be hard. If it was easy everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great. (a league of their own)
The likely hood that, if we go for the above discussed ideas and put something of ourselves out there in the world, you will be- at one time or another- punched in the face by life... is pretty good. The likely hood that life will punch you in the face occasionally is pretty high. Here is the thing though, if you really believe in what you do and whom you do it with and for... getting up again is easy. Working hard is easy. With a basic understanding of leverage and physics, anyone can accomplish anything.
And, party on. Dudes.
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