The why of don't say no!

If a student were to really understand the why of what they are told they should or should not do in improv they would no longer need rules. When you understand something you don't really need rules. You are free!

An old rule of improv says, Don't Say No! Following this rule blindly the young student of improv is ever alert to the possibility that she may blurt out No! at any point and then it's all over. The student is mortified.I think that sort of thing is so 20th Century. We have to move on!

What lies at the basis of the old rule, Don't Say No! is this: In an improv situation we want to move the act, the scene forward. When someone initiates something it helps move things along if you go along with what is being initiated. rather than opposing it. That is the only raison d'etre of this old rule. Now that you understand it you can feel free to forget it! Being your happy, everyday, accepting self is all that is needed to be successful in an improvised play.

May the pulse be with you!

Abhay

Image: Marcel Marceau in SILENT MOVIE (Dir. Mel Brooks, 1976) utters the only word in the entire movie: Non!