Improv Burnout? Prioritize Yourself for Better Improv Performances

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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Is being a good improviser somehow

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synonymous with being like a comedy doormat?

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You know, always available, always agreeable,

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always putting the group's needs and wants miles ahead

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of your own needs and wants.

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I've seen a lot in improv and in other communities,

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and I've done it myself.

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And honestly, I think it might be a bit of a recipe

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for not great performances and honestly, the big one, burnout.

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So today, I'm going to dismantle this, I guess,

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myth that self-sacrificing yourself means really good art

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or good teamwork.

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And you'll learn why I'm asking you to like tend

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to your own garden first and how this will actually

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lead to better, more exciting, and more surprising improv

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for everyone around you.

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And most importantly, how to do it without feeling

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like you're screwing over your own team.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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Hi, I'm Jenda Hahn, and this show

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is called Your Improv Brain.

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I create improv and I create comedy podcasts

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with StereoForrest, including some audio dramas

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that blend scripted and improvised elements together.

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And I do a lot of solo improv there, too.

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And I've taught and I've coached at several improv schools

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as well.

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And every Monday now, I'm releasing a new episode

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of this show.

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So subscribe wherever you're listening to this

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if you haven't already.

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Plus, I have an interesting idea or an observation,

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I guess, that I want to share with you

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at the very end of this thing about who I believe

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is the unsung hero of any really thriving, great, perfect,

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the perfect improv scene.

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And I don't want you to miss that bit, so stick around.

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So you might have been told to sacrifice for your art,

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to suffer for comedy, to always say yes to every gig,

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every note, every team demand that is placed upon you.

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And it's pretty pervasive in improv,

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especially in the really kind of people-pleasing team-focused

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world of improv.

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But here's something true or something

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I believe that I don't think we talk about enough in improv.

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When you consistently put yourself last,

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you don't just get tired.

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You show up completely burnt out.

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And I mean, honestly, you might even

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get a little bit resentful.

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It's like this quiet resentment that

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might just be simmering a little bit beneath the surface.

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You might find yourself going through the motions on stage.

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And when you do that, when you're fully depleted,

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everything feels hollow.

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Your characters might seem kind of flat,

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because your energy just isn't there.

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Your brain isn't there on the stage.

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And it's really hard to create comedy coming from that place.

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And you might not be the kind of teammate

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that you really want to be.

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At least I doubt that that would be true.

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The real energy-filled comedy, the thing that really pulls you

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in and engages you, that comedy that just--

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it makes the audience laugh for real.

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Or your coach do a real laugh and not just one of those,

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you know, "I'm an improv teacher" laughs.

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The kind that just feels alive and just really connects

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human to human, improv brain to improv brain,

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that comes from joy.

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It comes from authenticity.

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It demands just from being there that you are fully present.

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You are fully engaged, whether you like it or not.

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You might even be vulnerable.

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And let's be honest.

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You simply can't be all those things

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if you're pouring your comedy from an empty cup.

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You're burnt out, or at least it'll just be a lot harder

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to get there.

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And you might not enjoy it anyways, even if you do

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manage to get there somehow.

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So let's think about it.

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Let's think about the comedians and the improvisers

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that you really admire, the ones who seem to just

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shine, who bring that really infectious energy to the stage.

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My guess, at least from what I'm learning about myself,

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is that they are people who have, consciously or maybe

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unconsciously, found their unique voice.

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But most importantly, they've learned to protect themselves.

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They've figured out what drives that voice of theirs.

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And just importantly, they figured out what drains that.

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And they manage to balance and manage that energy very

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carefully.

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So here's this radical idea that we're talking about today.

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You should do comedy for you first.

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Now, I'm going to explain in my explainer fashion.

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I like to explain.

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I like to explain things because I don't want you to think

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that I'm coming from some narc prima donna place.

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This isn't about becoming a diva or abandoning your team

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or steamrolling scenes or refusing

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to support your scene partners and refusing to make them look great.

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We are going to make our scene partners look great.

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This is about showing up as your best self, your energized,

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your inspired, and you're genuinely happy to be there

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on the stage or in the green room or wherever you are in the improv

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community because that's what your team, your audience,

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and your art form, whatever type of improv or comedy you're doing,

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that's what they deserve.

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So what does this selfishness or what I like to call it,

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self prioritization look like in practice for someone doing

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improv like you?

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So it might mean saying no to like some gathering or a show

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or event or a practice that will mess with your brain

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for whatever reason that is.

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It could mean suggesting a different approach,

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one that works with your brain, with your wiring,

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along with the rest of the teams.

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Or you might find a place, a way that you can meet in the middle

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if it's really skewed in one direction that doesn't work for you.

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It might mean a shorter rehearsal.

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It might mean changing the warmups that you're doing.

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Or if necessary, you might make the tough call

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to find or form a group yourself that's just a better energetic

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or mental fit for you.

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It absolutely means investing in your personal development

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in ways that excite you.

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Maybe that's taking a clowning workshop.

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I don't know.

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I keep hearing about the clowning thing

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to like just unlock a different side of your physicality.

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That's what I've heard.

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It might mean taking a storytelling course

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to work on your narrative skills.

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Or it just might mean scheduling a dedicated creative playdate

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for yourself, where you just mess around with characters

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or ideas without any pressure to perform.

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The old model, the one that many of us have heard of or even

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follow, wants people to climb some ladder

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to impress certain people, certain improvisers,

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or to get on some like esteemed house team,

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that house team that everyone wants to be on, or whatever.

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But let's be honest here, especially in improv.

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These ladders are often imaginary constructs

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made by very few people.

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And the people you think you need to impress

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are just other human beings doing makeup ups.

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They're often as stressed and as uncertain as you are, as I am.

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Your unique voice, your individual perspective,

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your sustainable well-being, that's what's real in improv.

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That's valuable.

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It's good for comedy.

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That's the actual core of your comedic offering to the world,

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or just to your improv community, the people that see you

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and interact with you.

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When you prioritize your own creative fulfillment

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and your mental health, you bring more sustainable energy,

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more authentic choices to the table.

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And you're more genuine.

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You bring that genuine, believable joy

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to every single rehearsal, every show, every collaboration

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that you do.

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And it doesn't just benefit you.

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It has this ripple effect that lifts everyone around you up.

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Like if you're happy and you're fulfilled as an improviser,

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that's inspiring.

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Or when you're like this, you're more

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likely to take those risks, the exciting things,

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to make those big, unexpected choices.

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And you're more likely to really connect

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with your scene partner and the audience on a deeper level.

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And you're just going to get a lot more reps in too,

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which is good, because you have a lot less friction

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with yourself.

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So let's consider the pre-show stuff that teams do now.

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You might be doing group warm-ups,

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or you might be discussing the form at this time.

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You might be doing those things to get

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into a collective headspace, those number games or whatever.

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But it's all really important.

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But what if some section of that time was just for you?

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What if you did five minutes of meditation or breathwork,

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or meditation for me is listening to a specific song,

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usually on loop, that gets me into the right headspace

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or the right energy?

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You might just write out, scribble out the anxieties.

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Just put them in a to-do list or even in your phone.

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Get them out of your head and onto paper.

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That might be helpful.

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This isn't about ignoring the group

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or separating yourself out or whatever.

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It's making sure that you arrive at the pre-show time.

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You're ready.

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You're going to do the show.

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And you're able then to just really commit fully and positively

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to the warm-up and to the show.

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So we're improvisers.

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What about the yes and?

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Doesn't all this self-focus in me first really contradict yes

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and?

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No, it doesn't.

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Yes and is about accepting and building upon the offers

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within a scene in the moment that you're creating it

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with someone else.

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It doesn't mean saying yes to every team thing

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or every community demand on who you are as a person,

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your time, your energy, your improv brain,

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until all of that just melts down or blows up.

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By taking care of yourself and by making sure

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your creativity, your well, how much creative you can have

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is full, you can make sure that you have the resources you

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need, the bandwidth that you need,

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and the energy that you need to really commit and yes and

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when you are on the stage.

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You're showing up for your scene partners

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from a better place.

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So you don't need to apologize for having needs.

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You don't need to wait for somebody's permission

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to create art that really excites you

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or to structure your comedy life in a way that

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sustains you for the long haul.

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So you keep doing comedy and don't quit it.

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Even if that means going and doing your own show

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or your own practice group or creating your own theater,

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I guess your mental and your emotional health

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isn't some luxury item or something for later on

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or some optional add-on nice to have in your comedy.

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It's really important for sustaining yourself

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in this community.

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It can be tough and it's going to make you just make better

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comedy with people for the audience.

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Now, that observation I was going to make about the unsung

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hero in a thriving great scene, it's coming up.

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But first, make sure you check out improv update

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if you want to get my free newsletter that summarizes

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ideas like this and links to new episodes of this show.

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It comes out on every Monday, just like this show.

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You can find a link for the newsletter in the show notes

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or in the description below.

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And you can also find a link to the improv update discord

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community where you can chat about this topic and improv

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and acting and voice acting and performance and podcasting

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and just, I don't know, talk about all those things

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with other improv brains.

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So now for that final thought that I

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promised, the unsung hero of a truly thriving, creative,

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and supportive improv scene isn't who you might consider

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the star performer or the most experienced

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director, often is just the person who maybe even quietly,

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subtly, models self-care like this and healthy boundary

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setting.

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We notice it even if we don't really notice it.

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You know what I mean?

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We can feel that.

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That person, and maybe it's you, teaches everyone else

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around them that it's not just OK,

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but it's important and beneficial to protect passion,

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to protect creativity, to protect your energy.

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That person helps build a culture within a theater

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or comedy space where everyone around them

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can find their space and be included.

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Is that person you or could it be?

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I'll be back next Monday with more thoughts and ideas

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for your improv brain.

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Take good care and I'll talk to you later.

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You have been listening to Your Improv Brain, a StereoForrest

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production.

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The show is created and is written, edited, and produced

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by jenthonofsterioforest.com.

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You can find show information, show notes, transcripts,

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and contact information at the show's page

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at stereoforest.com/improvbrain.

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Thanks for listening.