Improv and the 7 Laws of Magical Thinking

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Science journalist, Matthew Hudson in his book ‘The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking: How Irrational Belief Keep us Happy, Healthy, and Sane’ explains that the magical thinking has a biological basis and that it has become important for our very survival. Magical Thinking help by createing certainty and reducing the anxiety of an uncertain future.

We anthropomorphise animate and inanimate objects, we see humour, sadness, guilt and disappointmet in our pets faces. Our phones, iPhones, laptops have near sacred qualities, some are asked to be buried with their gadgets.

Hudson, based on current scientific research, identified 7 themes or laws of magical thinking. These very laws of magical thinking are ingrained in the practice of Improv Comedy. Improvisational theatre trains and encourages magical thinking during the training with various games. Improv comedy shows, performances are where also magic happens. The improvisers become enchanted on the stage and enter in trance like states. They transcend themselves as an individual, become we, us, some call it the power of ensemble acting. Keith Johnstone explores magical thinking in great extend in his books ‘Impro’ and ‘impro for Storytellers’. Keith trains his students to become storyteller magicians who enchant the audience with the power of stories.

Here is quick look at the 7 Laws of magical thinking and how improvisational theatre practice cultivates magical thinking. As the 7 Laws of Magical Thinking are self evident, I only explored the laws within the context of Improv Comedy.

1: Objects Carry Essences:

Trance masks as explained by Keith Johnstone, places the improviser in a state of trance. The improviser enters in this liminal space, between heaven and earth, becomes a shaman acquiring supernatural wisdom and power. The Trance Mask is treated by the actors as powerful and potent objects. The masks must be treated with the utmost respect, protected and taken care of. The mask is the magic wand of the improviser, it transforms the improviser into a shaman.

In addition, the improviser is surrounded by imaginary, mimed objects. By created the space with mimed objects, furniture, kitchen, utensils, the space has it’s own reality, it’s own magic. The audience is invariably disappointed if the actor is holding a mimed glass of wine, then the actor forgets about it and moves into a handshake. One of the important premises of Improv is to stay true to the reality created on the stage. The improvisers and the audience accept and believe that reality as true no matter how absurd.

Mantras are also common practice, Keith Johnstone in the ‘Impro for Storytellers’ writes:”To students who kept losing concentration, I said, ‘just ask yourself ‘What am I.doing here? Oh, yes, Keith told me to repeat the phrase… ‘ (Meditation teachers give similar advice.) It too me a while to realise that I reinvented the mantra – a sacred phrase or word that spiritual trainees repeat to themselves as a way to be ‘in the world’ rather than ‘evaluating the world’.”

2: Symbols Have Power:

Charna Halpern In the book ‘The Truth in Comedy’ writes about the ‘Invocations’ game where the improvisers invoke a spirit, a ‘god’. Invoking supernatural powers from imaginary objects, the objects become alive. The improvisers can also become part of those objects infused with supernatural powers, become gods.

This game is often used in the beginning of a ‘Harold’ to assist the improvisers transcend themselves, get into the group mind. The magical object created maybe used in the scenes, may even become the ‘deus ex machina’. In the world of magical thinking the reality is perfectly at peace with the surreal. Think of Salvador Dali.

3: Actions have distant consequences:

Humour rituals in improv comedy build comeraderie and strong group dynamic. In the book’Improv Wisdom’ Patricia Ryan Madson explores the rituals in detail and the importance of rituals in improv and in life. Use of the rituals in performances and in the workshops, such as the ones mentioned above, give strong sense of control of the future. Help to create certainty of future for the improviser in the training and on the stage.

Patricia Ryan Madson writes:”These rituals at the beginning of each session had the effect of creating order and harmony. We knew what we had to do when we entered the space. Cleaning, and grinding ink, got us into the world of the art without the stress of creation. There was a calming effect (Just cleaning, I can do this). These rituals were simple ways to show up; they provided stability. Ironically stability is a vital element when we improvise.”

4: The mind knows no bounds:

Improv helps to build psychic abilities and improvisers can develop capacities to ‘predict the future’.

Charna Halpern in the ‘Truth in Comedy’ writes about actors developing ESP (extrasensory perception) and their sixth sense. In essence, improvisers become one mind and can ‘predict the future’. Halpern mentions instances where the actors predicted future events on the stage.

Games such as the Mind Meld help with the development of ESP. Mind Meld is played in pairs, it’s a free association game where the pairs after ample practice, may utter the same words at the same time, it’s magic.

5:The soul lives on:

Spirit, souls, ghosts and the undead feature regularly in mprov workshops and shows. Invariably in every workshop or a show the dead will make an appearance, either the ghosts will come back to haunt or the scene will take place in afterlife. Improv Comedy believes strongly that soul do live on and.some naughty and mischievous do come back.

In perhaps to most fundamental improv game ‘Yes, And’, improvisers are encouraged to explore what happens after a character dies. The story does not necessarily end there, there is the afterlife to be explored and found out. Improv students often make converted effort to save the characters at all costs.

On many occasions, in spite of multiple injuries and traumas the characters refuse to die. The student block any deaths and struggle very hard to save everyone from imminent death. This becomes a issue of blocking the scene and strory, it becomes a stalemate. The story does not necessarily should end there, there is the afterlife to be explored and found out. Improv teachers often encourage mprovisers to explore what happens after a character dies.

6: The world is alive:

In improv the world becomes truly alive, object can become animated and start talking back, animals often talk back, aliens most definitely exist. Plants and nature is alive and often become an integral part of story. Improvisers have often animist and pantheistic beliefs. There is the ‘Invocation’ game mentioned above where spirit or God is infused into the inanimate objects.

A game called ‘Little Voice’ by Keith Johnstone elucidates this beautifully. It’s played by two improvisers, one is on the stage performing a routine task and the other off the stage. The improviser off the stage speaks with a little voice of an animal, plant or an object. The improviser on the stage interacts with the little voice exploring each others innermost thoughts.

7: Everything happens for a reason:

Synchronicity and coincidence is integral part of Improv. Thus comes under the improv rule of ‘re-integration’. Improvisers and audience take great delight when parts of the story or characters make a come back into the story.

Humans are meaning making machines and there has to be a reason behind everything. Improvisers are trained in justifying actions, situations even the most absurd and improbable situations can justified and explained. Experienced improvisers can justify anything and allow themselves to be in impossible situations and subsequently discover by justifying why they were there.

Keith Johnstone in his ‘Impro for Storytellers’ explains that he will get the improvisers to do a random actor on stage. Something like dusting an armchair or establish a scene of a fisherman on the riverbank. Johnstone explains that “I’ll create some ‘mysteries’, and allow some other part of my mind to justify them.” Why not you create your own mysteries and allow your own magical thinking to justify them?

Improv Comedy and storytelling provides an unique opportunity to cultivate the magical thinking for increased creativity and as it appears living life to the full and happiness.

Nat Tsolak

See www.theschooloflaughter.com for our next Trance Masks and Improv Comedy Courses.

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