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Episode 49

Improv Freeze Fix! Set Up In Advance as a Default Move

You're in a scene, it's your turn, and your brain goes somewhere else. Going blank on stage, hitting that freeze, is near the top of most improvisers' fear lists, and I want to add something new to the pile of advice about it. I have new things to say about this thing, possibly even something that's a fix. Basically, you need to sort out your default move.

Most advice about the improv freeze(tm) tells you to say or do the next thing, anything at all, and that does work a lot of the time. It can also be the exact thing that froze you in the first place, yuck, especially if you're a neurodivergent improviser with a long history of being told you read the moment wrong or missed the subtext or that unsaid thing that we were supposed to guess or assume. Yuck.

In this episode I offer one more way to think about why the freeze happens, and one specific thing you can sort out ahead of time so you're not making a decision while you're already flooded. I also get into why the pause you're sitting in might be more useful than you think. Ooo foreshadowing and clickbait!

What you'll learn:

  • Why that blank feeling might be the opposite of blank
  • The link between a fear of being wrong and a full-body shutdown-y stall-out on stage
  • Why "just say anything" can backfire for some improvisers and isn't useful on its own without some more info, data, or nuance
  • The three modes most improvisers default to, and how to find yours! With details!
  • How to practise your emergency move in everyday life so it's ready when you need it! Planning for improv scenes! No, no, it's not like that.

Chapters:

0:00 The moment your brain leaves the scene

1:03 The classic advice, and where it can fall apart

2:08 What I'm adding this time

2:27 The reframe to try on

3:57 The fear of being wrong, and my hypothesis about it

6:05 Embracing the pause

6:47 Visual, kinesthetic, and vocal moves

8:00 Why choosing under pressure is its own problem

9:27 Sorting your default out in advance

11:41 Practising it with random triggers

13:44 Off Script workshops

14:20 The short version, the tldr; at the very damn end of the episode muahaha

Workshops:

Off Script workshops, monthly, online, small group, neuroinclusive, cameras off welcome: https://YourImprovBrain.com/offscript <-- it will be fun, please come join.

Related episodes:

  • Mind Blank on Stage? A 3-Step Reboot for Your Brain https://youtu.be/uEdWr4QfRCA
  • Mind goes Blank on Initiations: https://youtu.be/8HXZl0LS7AU
  • A Source of Great Improv Ideas (bonus: Get Out of Your Head) https://youtu.be/32QbDf9C-wg
  • Clear Mind = Get Out of Your Head in Improv https://youtu.be/QtTu7SvUm-A
  • 3-Step System & Exercise to Manage Self-Criticism in Improv https://youtu.be/d7X1gFgtkn8

Downloadable content

Download the Free Post-Show Reflection Guide: Sent to your inbox when you subscribe to either newsletter (and added to the footer to each message if you're already subscribed).

NEW! Comprehensive guides all about getting notes as a student, or giving them as a teacher. Two guides, big discount if you get both! https://yourimprovbrain.com/notes

Get a booklet with six exercises to help you get reps in challenging scenes called "Exercises to Ruin You"

Get more downloadable booklets here: https://yourimprovbrain.com/shop

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About

This podcast was created, written, and is hosted by Jen deHaan. Jen has certifications related to healthy communities (Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy), nervous system regulation and soon teacher training certification on community resilience. She has a BFA in teaching creative arts to adults. You can find her full bio here.

This podcast was written, recorded and edited in British Columbia, Canada by Jen.

Mentioned in this episode:

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Transcript

WEBVTT

::

You're in a scene and it's going along fine

::

and then it's your turn to say something.

::

You open your mouth, nothing comes out.

::

Your mouth opens, your brain has gone like strangely quiet

::

or something, somewhere off into the space.

::

Your brain's not there and if you've done improv

::

for more than something like a week or something,

::

you probably know this feeling.

::

You probably know this feeling

::

if you haven't done improv yet

::

You're just thinking about it and you're somehow on this show. How did you get to this show?

::

That's what I want to ask right now if that's you anyways this particular feeling

::

probably is near the top of most people's lists of

::

things that they're scared of like on stage or

::

Like at a podium some of us probably have nightmares about this like the spotlight is on you and you are

::

Frozen so there's a lot of advice out there for this sort of thing like advice classic advice. I've seen advice

::

I've given I'll put a link in the description to the other episodes I have about this

::

I have new stuff to say by the way

::

So this isn't a repeat a lot of the advice is to just give the next thing say or do the next thing anything that comes

::

To your brain, whatever it is like banana

::

squirrel

::

squirrel with a banana

::

All of these things can work. It does work. It is part of the process

::

It can also be the thing that froze you in the first place. Like it like it like what if the next thing doesn't show up

::

Like what if that happens?

::

Anyways, I have a whole episode on like a three-part process for getting yourself back into the scene after you've already hit the state

::

And I have another one on

::

Starting a scene with these kinds of actions

::

So your brain has like a little bit of time to catch up and that can stop this thing

::

Like from happening in the first place. I'll link to those both in the description what I want to add in this episode is

::

one more way to think about why this thing happens and

::

One more way out of this thing that you can set up for yourself ahead of time

::

Like this is like preventative stuff.

::

So you don't even get into this state in the first place.

::

That's pretty good.

::

So here's the reframe you can try in your own brain and see what happens,

::

what happens.

::

That freeze feeling thing can feel or seem like there's nothing in your head,

::

but sometimes,

::

or maybe even a lot of the time in that very moment,

::

There's just too much going on, like instead of nothing going on.

::

So there's just so many things arriving all at once.

::

So like, where are you going to put your attention?

::

Like you can't let go of any of it and just get back to the scene itself.

::

There's the sensory stuff that's happening in the room.

::

There's the part of you that is watching yourself instead of watching

::

your scene partner and there's maybe also a lot of worry going on that

::

whatever you do say is gonna be wrong. Like when all of that happens together

::

at the same time simultaneously like this flood of stuff you can stall right

::

out and that can make you freeze and from the outside or even from the inside

::

that stall seems like it's the blank thing or whatever. So that last one, the

::

worry thing about being wrong, that's a big one for me. Maybe the biggest thing

::

and perhaps what gets some of us into this sort of flooded state. So my

::

hypothesis is that for a lot of neurodivergent improvisers at least, this

::

particular anxiety about being wrong or choosing the wrong thing if you have

::

multiple ideas or stuff in your head there can be the thing that gets like

::

this whole flood thing started in the first place. Like if you have a history

::

in your life of missing subtext or reading a moment differently than the

::

rest of the room did. Like that's like a big chunk of all the time for me and is

::

why I'm often really quiet or silent in group settings and group scenes too

::

because there's so many more things to be wrong about or miss in those

::

scenarios right? Anyway your brain learns to scan to test things out to check

::

whether or not you maybe got it right before committing because sometimes

::

There's hell to pay if and when you get it wrong. In real life, not in improv.

::

But we carry that over from real life into improv. But so you sense that

::

something might be a little bit off. And then you also start like checking in on

::

the lights and the sounds and your own hands and if you're doing eye contact

::

And maybe that tag that you forgot to remove from your shirt before the show and now suddenly you're flooded

::

So all of this wrongness

::

Fear can be maybe the first thing or maybe even the only thing but everything else gets piled on

::

On top of this thing and then your mind is gone

::

So once you're in this state trying to think your way out

::

Thinking is more input and you already have too much input going on, right?

::

So the move is to embrace the pause.

::

That pause is currently in play and pauses are good in improv.

::

This thing isn't bad.

::

You just need to stay in the character while you're doing this pause and then you get yourself

::

out through whatever thing is going to work fastest for you.

::

The rest of this episode is going to be how to efficiently get one of those things into

::

play.

::

So what you want to figure out is the thing that gets you going again the most easily

::

under pressure.

::

So that's what this episode is about.

::

For some improvisers that thing could be visual.

::

So you, this might be when you're looking at one thing, you might be looking at your

::

scene partner's face, you might be looking at an object in the room to get an idea or

::

anything to say.

::

It might be some sort of thing about where you've set the scene and you're imagining

::

the thing that you're looking at.

::

You might want to say whatever you think about in that moment.

::

For other improvisers, it might be physical.

::

So this might be something that you're doing with your body.

::

You might pick something up, space work.

::

You might sit down on a chair.

::

You might cross the room.

::

For some improvisers, it might be their voice.

::

It might make a random sound or say a short, simple phrase that they've memorized, whatever

::

it is.

::

And that sound itself, maybe the tone of their voice, it gets them moving again in the scene.

::

Now, none of this has to work with the scene or much at all.

::

It's just like an emergency move and then you work with your scene partners to get the

::

scene rolling again.

::

But which type of move?

::

Now in the other episodes, we talked about a lot of these sort of things as the moves

::

you can make, but not about how your body is going to be best tuned to one type of move

::

in one type of those categories,

::

like vocal, kinesthetic, et cetera.

::

So this concept in general,

::

like you've maybe heard in these other episodes,

::

is that you're picking one of these things

::

and just doing it, right?

::

So you're flooded with too many things,

::

and then you finally get a scrap of something

::

from one of these different areas.

::

But that in itself, that can actually be an issue

::

you have to make that decision.

::

You might be trying to choose the best one,

::

which can be difficult, right?

::

For that reason that I just said,

::

making the right choice when other ones might be wrong,

::

even though there isn't a wrong,

::

that could be the thing that kind of froze you

::

in the first place.

::

So doing it again might freeze you again.

::

So if you're in this state,

::

you're taking the first usable thing and committing to it,

::

and then putting your attention on your scene partner

::

let the scene carry along. You two are doing the scene together after you're

::

unstuck. Getting there is the important thing. But, and where this episode is

::

different, is the thing that you can sort out before this happens. You can sort it

::

out before. You want to be sorting out which one of these tends to work for you.

::

So you're not trying to make that decision

::

that the other episodes talked about.

::

While you're in the state of panic or freeze,

::

whatever is happening for you.

::

Because most improvisers do have some kind of preference

::

like visual or auditory or connecting

::

with their scene partner in some kind of preferred way.

::

Now you can work out which one of these things

::

is easier for you.

::

the thing that will get you back into these moments.

::

You're noticing when you've been stuck

::

and what kind of gets you moving in the scene again.

::

So how do you set yourself up in advance

::

to not have to do this kind of decision-making

::

when you're in the scene?

::

So if you're thinking about what sort of thing

::

makes you feel a bit more balanced

::

or a little bit more positive

::

about the things that you like to do

::

that you tend to do in the scene that can help you out.

::

So you're thinking about, do you tend to be visual

::

or auditory or kinesthetic,

::

which is generally where I'd place like object work,

::

for example.

::

What kind of moves in improv feel the most natural for you?

::

So you're thinking about your past moves.

::

This gets into metacognitive area,

::

which I talked about in the previous episode.

::

So you're thinking about what you've done in the past

::

is sort of like an emergency type of move.

::

What's the first kind of move you think about

::

when you do a walk on, for example,

::

or you like to use to initiate?

::

Maybe it's a big sound, use big sounds to initiate.

::

That might be a natural move for you,

::

something that's very easy that you prefer.

::

Maybe that's your emergency move.

::

So this might give you a sign

::

for what mode might work best

::

when you're in this kind of state.

::

Now, once you've sorted out what you want to prioritize here

::

you can practice doing it.

::

Oh yeah, reps.

::

You can kind of set some random timers on your phone

::

for example, throughout the day

::

if you can pay attention to them

::

and don't just turn them off automatically

::

like some of us might tend to do

::

but that might work for you.

::

And make sure you don't plan, like you're moving advance.

::

Just keep your mind blank on that.

::

And then when the phone dings or whatever,

::

you make the first move in that category.

::

So you're choosing like vocal, kinesthetic, visual, et cetera.

::

You're making that move in that category

::

without thinking when that phone dings.

::

Or you could use whatever other kind of trigger

::

that you know you're gonna run into.

::

It's like the Volkswagen, you see a punch bug,

::

whatever it is, whatever that thing was, whatever.

::

Pick something that you will pay attention to

::

and then do that move without thinking when that happens.

::

So you aren't gonna have a scene partner

::

if you think that that's what you would want to use

::

in this scenario.

::

If you think that's your mode,

::

then perhaps you can use somebody in your life,

::

in your space, if there is somebody.

::

If you're somewhere the move isn't possible to do,

::

like at work, maybe you're doing this one in your noggin.

::

I would do this, blah.

::

Think about it, that's your move.

::

Of course, you could also design a warmup

::

for doing a practice around this.

::

I think I've maybe even mentioned a warmup

::

in a past episode where you're moving around the space,

::

someone randomly calls out when you have to make a move

::

and you do a move in this category,

::

say kinesthetic, without any pre-planning.

::

So to get yourself moving again on your own

::

is pretty much the whole skill that I'm describing here.

::

Now it's a fair bit easier to build upon

::

when you're doing it live with other people

::

in a low stakes environment.

::

That's one of the things I try to run

::

in my Offscript workshops,

::

which are new small group workshops

::

that I'm going to be running online on a monthly basis.

::

And they're neuro-inclusive.

::

You can do cameras off if you want, et cetera.

::

So we're going to be working on things

::

where like you're just getting out of your head

::

and you're getting out of these stuck states.

::

This is a big focus of what we're working on.

::

We're working on confidence and believing in ourselves.

::

I'll put a link in the description with the dates.

::

So, the short version, embrace the pause

::

and then use your very particular category,

::

the thing that you're most comfortable using,

::

the thing that you usually turn to,

::

a visual move, a sound, a kinesthetic move

::

to get yourself out.

::

Figure out which one of these modes is your preference.

::

Figure that out and practice it before you need it.

::

I'm Jen deHaan, this is Your Improv Brain, you can find more improv resources, those

::

workshop dates, my newsletter, and everything over at the website.

::

It'll be improvupdate.com or yourimprovbrain.com.

::

I'll forward it when I get the new domain up and running.

::

Yeah.

::

Anyways, see you in the next episode.

::

Bye for now.

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