Scary Places

This weekend was Unexpected Productions Festival. I spent twelve hours in intense classes with internationally known improvisation teachers. Patti Stiles is from the Loose Moose Theatre in Alberta, Calgary where she studies under Keith Johnstone, the man who turned improv into an art form. 

Patti made a comment this weekend:

The stage is a scary place.

You can either put on more armor

or

you can have less fear.

The thing I love about this statement is that is applies to everything.

The ________ is a scary place.

You can either put on more armor

or

you can have less fear.

Trying new things is a scary place.

College is a scary place.

A new job is a scary place.

Parenting is a scary place.

Opening your heart is a scary place.

Love is a scary place.

You can either put on more armor

or

you can have less fear.

Armor can protect us from getting hurt, but that same armor also protects us from having fun, knowing love, and connecting with others.

We often enter places where we are scared and don't know what is going on. So often, we think we are facing a dragon, when the world isn't as often as scary as we think it is. 

And if there are dragons, does our fear help us anyway? Fear blocks bravery and courage and love.