----- Original Message -----

From: Mike Godwin

To: weeklong-l

Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2010 3:28 PM

Subject: [Weeklong-l] From Stephen Colbert, regarding improvisation

from a commencement address colbert gave
 to knox college in 2006:
 
 So, say "yes." In fact, say "yes" as often as you can. When I was starting
 out in Chicago, doing improvisational theatre with Second City and other
 places, there was really only one rule I was taught about improv. That
 was, "yes-and." In this case, "yes-and" is a verb. To "yes-and." I
 yes-and, you yes-and, he, she or it yes-ands. And yes-anding means that
 when you go onstage to improvise a scene with no script, you have no idea
 what's going to happen, maybe with someone you've never met before. To
 build a scene, you have to accept. To build anything onstage, you have to
 accept what the other improviser initiates on stage. They say you're
 doctors -- you're doctors. And then, you add to that: We're doctors and
 we're trapped in an ice cave. That's the "-and." And then hopefully they
 "yes-and" you back. You have to keep your eyes open when you do this. You
 have to be aware of what the other performer is offering you, so that you
 can agree and add to it. And through these agreements, you can improvise a
 scene or a one-act play. And because, by following each other's lead,
 neither of you are really in control. It's more of a mutual discovery than
 a solo adventure. What happens in a scene is often as much a surprise to
 you as it is to the audience.
 
 Well, you are about to start the greatest improvisation of all. With no
 script. No idea what's going to happen, often with people and places you
 have never seen before. And you are not in control. So say "yes." And if
 you're lucky, you'll find people who will say "yes" back.
 
 Now will saying "yes" get you in trouble at times? Will saying "yes" lead
 you to doing some foolish things? Yes it will. But don't be afraid to be a
 fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who
 pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics.
 Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it.
 Because cynics don't learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed
 blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us
 or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying "yes" begins things.
 Saying "yes" is how things grow. Saying "yes" leads to knowledge. "Yes" is
 for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say "yes."

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