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Improv Quotes

Browse 18 quotes about Improv.

Improv Quotes

“Physis (Emerging-Abiding Sway), yes that’s the oink thing’s christian name, the café’s semi-official mascot, philosophical provocateur, and occasionally extradimensional notary, chose this exact moment to poke his head, feathered, contemplative, and faintly iridescent, through the bead curtain that separated the main patio from what the proprietor called the “Reflexology Lounge,” but which was, in truth, just where they stored the broken espresso machine and three cursed stools. Physis tilted his head, blinked once, slowly, as if absorbing not light but context, and let out a warbling honk that echoed like a misremembered thesis defense. He was, as ever, the embodiment of that which emerges and then stubbornly, inexplicably abides. And then, as mysteriously as he had arrived, he withdrew.”

BorgesHeideggerImprovRobin Williams
Book:Schlemiel Gaucho: An Improv Comedy Magick Grimoire
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“The greatest thing I learned while taking classes at Second City was the very first thing they taught: 'Yes, and...'. In improv, you keep scenes alive but accepting whatever you are given and then adding to it or amplifying it. There is no space on stage for 'No,' 'I'm sorry, you're mistaken,' or 'Yes, but...'. Those transitions kill energy, set up interpersonal conflict, engage the ego in a defensive posture, and stymie the flow of conversation onstage.”

Life LessonsCommunication SkillsGood AdviceDefensivenessInterpersonal RelationshipsImprovInterpersonal Communication
Book:How to Self-Destruct: Making the Least of What's Left of Your Career
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“I can barely forgive myself for the time when I negged Billy from my improv troupe onstage. He said, “I have a gift for you,” and my first instinct was to say, “No you don’t.” The scene died right then and there. See what happens when I try to nurture something? I know it seems dramatic to relate destroying an improv scene to possibly destroying a child’s life, but improv and child rearing are not so different. Both are jobs that people volunteer for and complain about endlessly, and they bore everyone around them as they talk about the process.”

ImprovisationImprovImprov Comedy
Book:I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales From a Happy Life Without Kids
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“The outpost is called Iggnïs. The monks, just like the rest of Sacrum Regnum Ex Tempore, are not Christian like the rest of the kingdoms of Europe. We practice a religion known as Ecclesia Improvisa or The Unforeseen Church, a religion from what Dr. Z gathered in his travels invoked an entity known as Par’hypono’ian through a method Z said looked exactly like the modern improv comedy theatre technique of Yes-And-If-Then.”

ComedyLovecraftImprov
Book:Schlemiel Gaucho: An Improv Comedy Magick Grimoire
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