Chris Reblogs

thedailygrace:

Maybe I’m in a little bit of bad mood today. Maybe I’ve just had too much caffeine. Maybe I’m nervous about the way too many things I have going on today but I just want to talk for a minute about the perception of Improvisers being open and fair game for anything from anyone at all times. Am I…

Doing improv is not a excuse to social graces and folks’ boundaries.

Improv is about trust. Trust is something you earn. Just because you are on stage with someone, it does not give you permission to grab someone in a way you’d not grab anyone you have just met.

This extends beyond physical contact, of course. I know we (improvisers) are wary of putting limits on subjects, etc., but there are moves and scenes that should send warning sirens up n your brain before you say them. Sure. If you have earned the trust of your teammates because you know them and they know you, opens doors. But you should be thinking twice about certain things before they come out of your mouth.

The amount of times I’ve seen the following in jams: rape, asking for a blow job, calling out a performer’s race, violence, etc, etc, etc..

When TYR was starting to get going as a team, I remember we were having a night of bonding, hand out and, yes, drinking. I asked the men on the team if, a scene called for us to kiss, is it okay to kiss or do we do the hand-covering-mouth thing. I dislike the hand covering mouth thing. But I also know my limits are not the limits of others. I know that and respect that. So I asked. And then I knew.

(I didn’t asked the women. Why? I suppose because I knew I wouldn’t be comfortable crossing kissing them on stage. This is a whole other issue and brings up my own hang ups, I suppose. It is always curious to me that you are most likely to see two men kiss on stage in improv. Second most likely? Two woman. Least likely? A man and woman kiss. Even on teams that have know each other forever. Curious. And mostly unrelated to this topic.)