Improv Blog Two- Story Telling

 Another creative endeavor I have is writing...This for example. With improv, we are creating stories, no matter how small they may be. Storytelling is another skill and with my improv classes, I am learning to be a better storyteller. I forgot the technique and I’ll find out again but for now, I’ll call it the “Reflective Present” basically we recall a past experience in the introduction and then tell it as if it is presently happening to us. We can end either way. Hopefully, I’ll get good enough that no one cuts me off. I witness that in social situations often.


I got up in front of a mic last night for a friend's BIG birthday party. I won’t give numbers. As we were asked if we wanted to say anything, I could see my friend wanted me to get up and tell everyone the story of how we met. I did it but I found it was really too short, partially because my friend and I disagreed on the timing and sequence of events. In improv, I am gleaning it’s okay to tell your truth, accuracy be damned. I later thought of details, even if they were embellishments that could have made the storytelling better.


Knowing narrative arcs that become natural with practice is often explored in improv, especially in long form. I’ll get to that in another post.

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