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Chapter 1
Make It Up on the Spot
I’ve always been the goofy kid. I don’t necessarily mean goofy looking, although from about 1983 to 1989 that was also true. By goofy I mean silly and fun-loving. As far back as I can remember I was good at making people laugh. I’d say funny stuff or make weird faces. Sometimes I’d talk to my friends in strange accents or just act like a dork to get a laugh. Little did I know that because of these traits I would find my way to a Las Vegas comedy stage, and my experience there would turn into a book about my relationship with God. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s back up. It all started with two phone calls, four years apart…
The first was in the early spring of 2000, just a few months after my husband Chris and I had moved to Michigan. I grew up in Southern California and had never lived anywhere else for the first 25 years of my life. If I had orchestrated the timing of the move, I would have planned for late summer. I would have enjoyed the trees in their fullness, then welcomed the beautiful fall colors and transitioned seamlessly into the cold of winter. But, no, we moved on December 1st. I was thinking, “It’s bitterly cold. None of my socks are thick enough. What does wind chill mean? Seven is not a temperature, it’s the age of a small child! Why can’t I feel my nose?”
The transition to life in Michigan was abrupt. I wasn’t sure what this new life would look like, but what I soon learned was that there was something there called The Second City, and it was about to change my life.
Chris grew up outside of Chicago, which is the home of The Second City, the hub of sketch comedy and improvisation. I’d never heard of it, but he told me that I’d heard of many of its alumni. People like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Shelley Long, Mike Meyers, Chris Farley, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler just to name a few. These people had worked their way up the ranks to Saturday Night Live and similar shows by way of their experience at The Second City. For years I had been involved in the drama ministry at our church and had some speaking experience but had never really done any improvisation. Chris encouraged me to check out the classes that The Second City Detroit was offering, so that’s what I did. I guess I thought if nothing else it will help me improve my “up-front” skills that I used at church.
Getting into The Second City’s Training Conservatory required an audition. The first call, the one I got in early spring of 2000, was from The Second City Detroit telling me that they liked my audition and that I was “in.” I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to tell everyone around me, but the problem was that at the time I worked in an assisted living facility. And as hard as they tried, those octogenarians just couldn’t fully appreciate why I wanted to do a “play” with no “script.” So we just went back to playing Bingo.
I started classes a few weeks later, and it was a total blast! Throughout the next couple of years I completed six levels of training at the Conservatory, and thoroughly enjoyed this new world I had discovered. Eventually, though, I felt that I had gone as far as I could go. I had gotten what I wanted out of it and I assumed that was it for me when it came to improvisation. So I closed that chapter of my life.
In late 2003, Chris and I moved again to Las Vegas, along with our then three-month-old daughter Quinn. I guess we were looking to thaw out from our time in Michigan! Actually, we relocated because Chris is a pastor, and he had accepted a position in Vegas.
A few months after the move, I found out from a friend in Michigan that The Second City had a location in Las Vegas as well, and they were holding auditions for a new show. It was an all-improvised show (kind of like “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”) that would run in tandem with their regular sketch comedy show on the Strip. My thought process went something like this:
Hey that’s interesting. And it’s not like I’m real busy or anything. I’m getting a little bored with the baby conversations I’m having all day. What would it be like to interact with actual adults? Plus, I could make a little money. Oh, who am I kidding? It would be a long shot to say the least. At the same time, what do I have to lose? No one even knows me here. When they reject me outright at least I can say I tried and then get back to my exciting life of midnight feedings, spit up and dirty diapers. OK, so tell me more about this audition.
My second call came a few days after the audition inviting me to be in the first cast of “The Second City Scriptless.”
Improvisation is all about making stuff up on the spot based on suggestions from the audience. Scriptless consisted of a bunch of scenes, improvisational games and even songs that we made up as we went along. None of it was scripted. It was pure improvisation. Although I had studied improvisation, I quickly realized that I still had a lot to learn about the craft. Lucky for me they hired a director for our show to coach us through the process. Her name is Liz Allen.
Liz is one of those people whose head and heart are equal partners in the art of improvisation. What I mean is that, mentally she is well-versed, very capable and super smart. So as a director she is very intentional about teaching the tools of good improvisation. At the same time, she is extremely intuitive and fully invests her emotions and instincts into her coaching, which taught us a lot about doing the same, a necessity for improvisation as you can imagine. But what I think she is best at is stripping away the fluff to expose the pure, unadulterated rules of great improvisation. Under her direction we grew as a cast. We became more focused, intentional and connected.
So you might be wondering, “If you are just making it up, why are there rules? Isn’t that the opposite of just making it up?” Well, you’re not wrong, but here’s the deal. Usually when we think of rules we think of hard and fast, must-be-this-way non-negotiables. Rules establish what we are supposed to do or what we are not allowed to do. Rules in improvisation, on the other hand, aren’t so much guidelines about what you can or can’t do. But they are guidelines for what you should or shouldn’t do if you want to create a compelling scene.
Like any skill in life, while there may be many ways to make something work, there are usually standard practices that are tried and true methods of success. In this book, I’ll share some of those ideas, such as: say yes, don’t ask questions, turn off your filter, and be in the moment.
As I said, even though I was performing in the show on the Strip, I still had a lot to learn about the rules. So, I really embraced what Liz was teaching us, and in the midst of it, something unexpected happened. While my improvisation skills grew, what also started to grow in me was the realization that what I was learning about the stage had striking parallels to my faith.
At every turn it seemed the experience I was having in Scriptless was teaching me about God. I began to realize that the “rules” of improvisation, if applied on a spiritual level, were offering me new insight about what my relationship with God could, and even should, look like. That is what this book is all about. Each chapter explains a principle of improvisation or tells a story of something that happened in our show as a metaphor for living out a personal faith in Christ.
I’ve written this book with believers in mind, but if you don’t consider yourself a Christian let me first say thanks for taking the time to read this book. If you approach it with an open heart, I know that there will be something for you here. And if it intrigues you enough to consider what a relationship with God might look like for you, then every hour I’ve spent on this book will have been well worth it. I truly appreciate you letting me be a small part of your spiritual journey.
And if you are a Christian, my hope is that as you read what follows you will be inspired to a greater level of faith and a stronger connection to God. My purpose is to offer a unique perspective that might breathe new life into your relationship with God, no matter where you are in that walk.
And finally, please know that more than anything, I’m just trying to figure this all out myself. The ideas here are sort of a record of the process that is going on in me. So, you may find yourself discovering different applications or nuances to the truths I’m presenting. If that happens, I will count it as the Holy Spirit speaking His words to you through something that I happen to write. It would be just like Him to do that.
So let’s explore together how improvisation can be a metaphor for a relationship with God. (This is the part where you say “Yes” and we move to chapter two, which is appropriately titled “Say Yes”).
If you'd like to keep reading, get your own personal copy of Scriptless or an e-book for Kindle here.
Make It Up on the Spot
I’ve always been the goofy kid. I don’t necessarily mean goofy looking, although from about 1983 to 1989 that was also true. By goofy I mean silly and fun-loving. As far back as I can remember I was good at making people laugh. I’d say funny stuff or make weird faces. Sometimes I’d talk to my friends in strange accents or just act like a dork to get a laugh. Little did I know that because of these traits I would find my way to a Las Vegas comedy stage, and my experience there would turn into a book about my relationship with God. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s back up. It all started with two phone calls, four years apart…
The first was in the early spring of 2000, just a few months after my husband Chris and I had moved to Michigan. I grew up in Southern California and had never lived anywhere else for the first 25 years of my life. If I had orchestrated the timing of the move, I would have planned for late summer. I would have enjoyed the trees in their fullness, then welcomed the beautiful fall colors and transitioned seamlessly into the cold of winter. But, no, we moved on December 1st. I was thinking, “It’s bitterly cold. None of my socks are thick enough. What does wind chill mean? Seven is not a temperature, it’s the age of a small child! Why can’t I feel my nose?”
The transition to life in Michigan was abrupt. I wasn’t sure what this new life would look like, but what I soon learned was that there was something there called The Second City, and it was about to change my life.
Chris grew up outside of Chicago, which is the home of The Second City, the hub of sketch comedy and improvisation. I’d never heard of it, but he told me that I’d heard of many of its alumni. People like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Shelley Long, Mike Meyers, Chris Farley, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler just to name a few. These people had worked their way up the ranks to Saturday Night Live and similar shows by way of their experience at The Second City. For years I had been involved in the drama ministry at our church and had some speaking experience but had never really done any improvisation. Chris encouraged me to check out the classes that The Second City Detroit was offering, so that’s what I did. I guess I thought if nothing else it will help me improve my “up-front” skills that I used at church.
Getting into The Second City’s Training Conservatory required an audition. The first call, the one I got in early spring of 2000, was from The Second City Detroit telling me that they liked my audition and that I was “in.” I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to tell everyone around me, but the problem was that at the time I worked in an assisted living facility. And as hard as they tried, those octogenarians just couldn’t fully appreciate why I wanted to do a “play” with no “script.” So we just went back to playing Bingo.
I started classes a few weeks later, and it was a total blast! Throughout the next couple of years I completed six levels of training at the Conservatory, and thoroughly enjoyed this new world I had discovered. Eventually, though, I felt that I had gone as far as I could go. I had gotten what I wanted out of it and I assumed that was it for me when it came to improvisation. So I closed that chapter of my life.
In late 2003, Chris and I moved again to Las Vegas, along with our then three-month-old daughter Quinn. I guess we were looking to thaw out from our time in Michigan! Actually, we relocated because Chris is a pastor, and he had accepted a position in Vegas.
A few months after the move, I found out from a friend in Michigan that The Second City had a location in Las Vegas as well, and they were holding auditions for a new show. It was an all-improvised show (kind of like “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”) that would run in tandem with their regular sketch comedy show on the Strip. My thought process went something like this:
Hey that’s interesting. And it’s not like I’m real busy or anything. I’m getting a little bored with the baby conversations I’m having all day. What would it be like to interact with actual adults? Plus, I could make a little money. Oh, who am I kidding? It would be a long shot to say the least. At the same time, what do I have to lose? No one even knows me here. When they reject me outright at least I can say I tried and then get back to my exciting life of midnight feedings, spit up and dirty diapers. OK, so tell me more about this audition.
My second call came a few days after the audition inviting me to be in the first cast of “The Second City Scriptless.”
Improvisation is all about making stuff up on the spot based on suggestions from the audience. Scriptless consisted of a bunch of scenes, improvisational games and even songs that we made up as we went along. None of it was scripted. It was pure improvisation. Although I had studied improvisation, I quickly realized that I still had a lot to learn about the craft. Lucky for me they hired a director for our show to coach us through the process. Her name is Liz Allen.
Liz is one of those people whose head and heart are equal partners in the art of improvisation. What I mean is that, mentally she is well-versed, very capable and super smart. So as a director she is very intentional about teaching the tools of good improvisation. At the same time, she is extremely intuitive and fully invests her emotions and instincts into her coaching, which taught us a lot about doing the same, a necessity for improvisation as you can imagine. But what I think she is best at is stripping away the fluff to expose the pure, unadulterated rules of great improvisation. Under her direction we grew as a cast. We became more focused, intentional and connected.
So you might be wondering, “If you are just making it up, why are there rules? Isn’t that the opposite of just making it up?” Well, you’re not wrong, but here’s the deal. Usually when we think of rules we think of hard and fast, must-be-this-way non-negotiables. Rules establish what we are supposed to do or what we are not allowed to do. Rules in improvisation, on the other hand, aren’t so much guidelines about what you can or can’t do. But they are guidelines for what you should or shouldn’t do if you want to create a compelling scene.
Like any skill in life, while there may be many ways to make something work, there are usually standard practices that are tried and true methods of success. In this book, I’ll share some of those ideas, such as: say yes, don’t ask questions, turn off your filter, and be in the moment.
As I said, even though I was performing in the show on the Strip, I still had a lot to learn about the rules. So, I really embraced what Liz was teaching us, and in the midst of it, something unexpected happened. While my improvisation skills grew, what also started to grow in me was the realization that what I was learning about the stage had striking parallels to my faith.
At every turn it seemed the experience I was having in Scriptless was teaching me about God. I began to realize that the “rules” of improvisation, if applied on a spiritual level, were offering me new insight about what my relationship with God could, and even should, look like. That is what this book is all about. Each chapter explains a principle of improvisation or tells a story of something that happened in our show as a metaphor for living out a personal faith in Christ.
I’ve written this book with believers in mind, but if you don’t consider yourself a Christian let me first say thanks for taking the time to read this book. If you approach it with an open heart, I know that there will be something for you here. And if it intrigues you enough to consider what a relationship with God might look like for you, then every hour I’ve spent on this book will have been well worth it. I truly appreciate you letting me be a small part of your spiritual journey.
And if you are a Christian, my hope is that as you read what follows you will be inspired to a greater level of faith and a stronger connection to God. My purpose is to offer a unique perspective that might breathe new life into your relationship with God, no matter where you are in that walk.
And finally, please know that more than anything, I’m just trying to figure this all out myself. The ideas here are sort of a record of the process that is going on in me. So, you may find yourself discovering different applications or nuances to the truths I’m presenting. If that happens, I will count it as the Holy Spirit speaking His words to you through something that I happen to write. It would be just like Him to do that.
So let’s explore together how improvisation can be a metaphor for a relationship with God. (This is the part where you say “Yes” and we move to chapter two, which is appropriately titled “Say Yes”).
If you'd like to keep reading, get your own personal copy of Scriptless or an e-book for Kindle here.
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