Tom’s Comments (group member since Apr 25, 2011)

Tom’s comments from the Unicorn Warpath Reading Group group.

I loved the pottery teacher's exercise, half the class focusing on quantity the other half quality. It would be good advice for beginning improv students to forget about quality and go for quantity--get in as many scenes as you can. They will be in a lot of bad scenes, but they'll learn so much quicker.

I myself have found myself paralyzed by wanting to only deliver quality.

Nina wrote: "I'm afraid I'll be perceived as barging in on other people's work, or playing out of turn if not everyone else has had a go.
I think there is a deep politeness that is limiting to improvisors. I have wondered if it is specifically a female trait..."

I don't think it's a specifically female trait. I struggle with that as well, but I've been repeatedly accused of being "too nice" throughout my life. I'll ask my inner asshole, as soon as I find out where he is hiding.

To some level, my being "too nice" is coming from a place of fear. Fear that I will offend, hurt someone's feelings, overstep a boundary, etc. All of which are rooted in the basic fear that my actions will cause people not to like me. Which being a social animal, a human, is pretty deep seated fear. Being shunned in the caveman days, was essentially a death sentence.