Impro Changed My Life

Hi Sweet Reader!

Keith Johnstone, author of Impro, talked about his drama improvisation classes:

Suddenly, we understood that every movement and every word indicated status. Status can be a confusing term until you realize it is what one does, rather than referring to who one is. You may be low in social status, but play high, and vice versa. You can even play status in relation to non-humans, objects, rooms, and so forth. Status uses a see-saw principle: "I go up and you go down."  A comedian is someone paid to lower his own or other people's status.Cites Bergson: The source of the comic is the presence of a rigidity in life. Comic situations, such as that of a falling man, are situations where movement is not flexible. Falling on a banana skin is only funny if the person doing so loses status. Tragedy, too, cuts a high status player down. 

As you may have noticed, I am paying attention to information about my physical body these days. This Impro book changed my life in its detailed description of how body language works to indicate, sustain, and so to change status. People have a preferred status, and they will likely be increasingly conditioned to play the same status role as a defensive maneuver. That had become true for me over the years. I had become a status specialist, very competent at playing low status but not very happy or competent at playing high status.  No action, sound, or movement is innocent of status intents. As I made one low status motion, I usually made others too. I began to consciously note when I was making a low status move and so I slowly worked to change my habitual patterns. 

Low status

Add a brief "er" before each sentence.
Waggle my head around while I speak
Move in a jerky motion
Hold toes inward
Keep hands near my face; touch my head
Smile with my lower lip covering my bottom teeth
Sound a little breathless
Cross my arms
Walk with my hands in my pockets
Look at someone and look away, then look back at them
Let others have as much space as they claim
Get out of the way
Fear-crouch with my shoulders raised and torso hunched forward

High status

Begin sentences with a long "er" or an elongated "um," which says, "Don't interrupt me, even though I haven't thought of what to say yet."
Hold my head still while speaking.
Move smoothly
Sit back and open my body language, see Amy Cuddy's  Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are
Keep hands away from face
Speak in complete sentences
Slow down my movements
Hold eye contact
Ignore someone
Look at someone and look away, and not look back
Block others' bids for attention
Claim space for self
Flow into others' space
Employ a cherub posture: turn and tilt the head to expose the neck; turn the shoulders the other way to expose the chest; arch the spine slightly backwards and twisted away from the shoulders to open the belly, and so forth. 
Display a calm, relaxed, and purposive posture
Overpower any challenges, physically or using wit and intelligence
Nurture a group of loyal subordinates
Make decisions for the group
Assume command in times of stress