Scene – an improv workshop on the stage of Chicago City
Limits, a crusty little theatre on the
Upper East side of, confusingly, New York City.
Dramatis Personae – Phillip, the actor and teacher
27 high
school drama students
Audience – me and several other chaperones
Action – Phillip led improv games, coaching, encouraging,
critiquing all while tossing a tennis ball up the single aisle where a yellow
lab waited by the entrance door. The dog would catch the ball then nudge it
back down the aisle. The ball would roll to Phillip’s feet and the whole
process would start again. Meanwhile Phillip continued to coach, push, and
encourage and every now and then he’d say, “Know lots of stuff.”
The mandate was clear in the context – an actor might be
asked to play a paraplegic, or an astronaut, or a cowboy, so he better “know
lots of stuff.” But the more I thought about it the more I realized its broader
applicability. As a teacher I was always being asked, “Why do we need to know
this?” “When will I ever use that?” The questions annoyed me – couldn’t they
see the obvious worth of my life’s work?
I had some good pat answers, but “Know lots of stuff,” allows no
argument. Any worthwhile conversation requires a broad frame of reference. In
any emergency knowledge is necessary. Knowing lots of stuff broadens
opportunities and promotes success. Who wouldn’t want to KLOS?
