Safety, The Jackson 5 and the Golden Arches

Ask any improviser about the basics of improv, and you'll usually get the same answers: teamwork, trust, "Yes And," among others. These are essentials to performers who must risk getting up on a stage, without a script, with other performers, and attempt to create genius out of the suggestions "Jell-o" and "Grandma", making it look as easy as breathing. They have to trust that the members of their team have got their backs, and are going to support them in whatever choices they make so that the whole team looks good. The "Yes And" attitude refers to acceptance of your teammates' performance offers, because when we deny each other, our scene stops dead and falls flat. We say "Yes, and..." whatever helps us move forward, together.

I could elaborate for pages and pages on this concept. But this isn't an improv 101 blog. Google it.

We learned tonight that doing things with improvisers is not safe. I don't mean physically, as so far, 7 weeks into this active challenge, we have not yet had one serious injury. A couple of funny ones, but none serious.

My reference is more along the lines of what to expect each week. For example, who knew that on our Belle Isle visit, teams would be required to run straight up a steep, root-ridden hill without using their hands. Or throw a frisbee to a teammate across the James River. Or, as we saw tonight, publicly prove that I was born with a serious lack of rhythm.

Tonight was our Dance Class with Shannon Stott, not only a participant in the Summer Challenge, but a CSz performer and local choreographer extraordinairre. We all fumbled through the dance lesson, some with a little (alright, a lot) more grace than myself. By the end of the evening, we were a pretty sharp looking group, with a couple of dance routines not looking half bad and actually a bit polished.

But then came the final challenge: go over to McDonalds and perform one of the dances, as a group, right in front of the cash registers, crew and anyone who happened to be in there at 9:00pm on a Monday.

This was definitely NOT written on the syllabus.

Now, improvisers are used to such challenges. We may not necessarily crave them, but we've been pounded with the "Yes And" lesson so much that we're almost on auto pilot to just do whatever the teacher says, no matter how insane. But our loyal fan participants, however, can't really say that they're used to someone making them dance, not only in public, but at a Mickey Dees, no less. The concept was met with certainly more than a little hesitation.

But I'm proud to say that our entire group went as a team and gave those security cameras something to record. Not everyone did the final dance, but everyone supported their teams, "Yes And-ed" the concept, and saw it through to completion. The applause was uproarious from all who watched, and no-one will ever hear "Dancing Machine" again without visions of sweatpants and french fries.

(BTW, this was the McDonalds at 7527 Staples Mill Road, who "Yes And-ed" us by agreeing to have us dance in their restaurant with only 2 hours notice. Go thank them by buying a Grilled Chicken Asian Salad, or a tasty Grilled Chicken Ranch Snack Wrap!)

Tonight, we learned that we sweat when we dance and when we're put on the spot. We learned that random people who don't know you will give you a standing ovation when you surprise them. And we learned that if you try to make me move my hips at the same time as my arms, even the Jackson 5 can't save the impending trainwreck.

Glad I was with the Summer Challenged.

Here is link to the video of the dance in McDonalds:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wHVQ_DTynZE

- Dave "Catman" Gau, Summer Challenge Host