The Freehold Forum

Expect the Unexected: Experiences from the Spring Improvisation Class by Pia VanHanen (continued)

I have always had a strong calling to connect with the creative flow, the spirit and the pulse of the Universe. I want to be aware enough as a human being to have multiple filters through which to observe the world and its people, as the differences are what brings so much beauty to our mutual existence. My personal philosophy in life is to learn as much as I can, and never stop the process of exposing yourself to things that you know nothing about. Our life on this Earth is a short blink of an eye, and there is so much to experience for us who suffer from anxiety about mortality! Therefore, I made an honorary promise to myself many years ago to dedicate one evening per week to experiencing and learning something new. It was only logical that my path lead me to the Freehold Theatre.

As I have come to realize with each class I have participated in so far, none of the premeditated 'what does this mean' structured analysis could have been applied to what I experienced in the Improv class. I arrived with absolutely no expectations - nothing to prove, nothing to gain, nothing to lose. It is actually very refreshing to just 'be', and not attach any value to who I am or what I do or what I say. That is quite different from the fully controlled and quite perfected experience of my every day work life.

I arrived ready to learn and experience the best of it all: Other people and their spirits. It is an honor to be in a group of different people who come from all paths of life and to experience their gift first hand. The whole world of acting was, and to a big point still is, totally foreign to me. Like the Improv class experience showed me, it is truly about the honesty of being and connecting in the moment - sincerely, fully, passionately, and quietly. If there is anything I value in life, it is the very experience of connecting and feeling the energy around us. To create markers in time, to experience emotions which I can recall for the rest of my life - not big ones, but little ones. And to all of a sudden wake up to a realization of an exhilarating and unexpected moment of seeing that little glimpse of Universal love which pulsates all around us. That's the frosting of the cake called The Meaning of Life, or in this case; The Meaning of The Improv Class.

I had one of those moments in my second-to-last Improv class. We were on the home stretch already, had spent a couple of fun filled months together, and were eager to be free for the summer. I thanked myself for having put forth the effort to commit to a class - it is a big commitment in the midst of a busy career and home life. I was simply enjoying the sense of accomplishment - I of course had once again attached value to what the class would mean to me and my life, and what skills I had developed. And there it was, a flashing moment of eternal truth: I realized that I hadn't actually become any better acting student or an improviser. Instead, the class had made me a much more aware as a person in my own life, not on any stage but with my 24/7 existence everywhere. I felt FREE! Something much greater than an achievement of a goal had inspired inside. One of those small yet limitless realizations that you don't expect or search for.

I feel very blessed to have experienced something fun and inspiring which has made my early path in the craft of Improv and acting a welcome refuge - for the rest of my life, I dare to think!

Interested in a daytime Improv Class? Matt Smith will be teaching an Improvisation Intensive at Freehold this July, Monday through Fridays from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 pm. For more information or to register, go to http://www.freeholdtheatre.org or call us at (206) 323-7499.

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