The last few weeks Luke (my husband) and I have been having the bathroom renovated. Specifically, a new floor and shower screen. Our old shower floor was one of those pre-fab plastic/acrylic ones probably put in in the 90s. It had gotten to the stage where it had so many cracks and sags no more epoxy filler would do. The semi-retired tiler who came to do the job actually took some of the old shower floor to show his tiler mates for a laugh, as hidden within the floor were pieces of wood someone had put in to strengthen it….lol….he said he’d never seen anything like it before.

We laughed. Because of course wood and water don’t mix and under that old floor was a pile of swollen wood. Still it lasted a while, since probably the 1990s so maybe they improvised something that kinda worked not so bad. Maybe….lol.

The tiler told us that they had come a long way with bathroom innovations and now you could get a shower floor that was pre-tiled and slotted in place in a new hob. He showed me the hob. A chrome right-angle. This would be the simple structure that kept the floor and shower screen in place. He revealed to me that he knew the guy that designed it. He said this particular design had now standardised shower sizes in Brisbane! All new housing developments were using them.

Such a simple idea. Why not standardise shower sizes with a hob that slotted a shower floor and screens in; like Ikea furniture?! He said the guy who came up with the idea, a fellow tiler was now a multi-millionaire and didn’t need to tile anymore. I said “Wow! See, all it takes is just one really good idea!”. “I know, and so simple, but I wouldn’t have enough faith in my ideas to follow through”, he laughed.

It got me thinking about improv and how it is the most creative and best way to keep your brain fit to come up with new and innovative ideas! Improv makes you think outside the box and helps you ride the waves of inspiration.

Now I don’t know if the guy who invented this particular shower innovation was improvising something at a job and came up with it, or just got frustrated that there was no standardisation in shower floors, but either way, it shows you the power of a good idea and trusting your inspirations.

I know for me personally improv has made me a quicker and frankly better thinker. I have learnt not to dismiss ideas too readily and to play with them. I have also learnt to go with instincts and be in the present. Contrariwise, I have learnt to challenge my preconceptions about things and come up with 3 or 5 solutions to a problem rather than just one. In a nutshell I have become more cognitively flexible.

I wonder if you have a million-dollar idea just waiting to be expressed!

You will never find out if you don’t trust your ideas and learn to think outside the box!

And here’s my plug (lol….. get it! Bathroom- plug!):
If you think you would like to have more innovative ideas, why not try improv?! Or get back into it again?!
You will never have more fun becoming a creative genius!

Learn improv privately with me 1:1 and let’s get those creative blocks moved and that sluggish brain renovated!!
Check out your options here:
https://improvhub.com.au/coaching
 
P.S. One of my favourite and simple improv exercises for getting you to think outside the box is ‘3 things that’.
You ask yourself ‘What are three things that ________ (use a verb here)?’
For example:
What are 3 things that crawl:

• A baby
• Traffic
• A spider

 
Practice this with all sorts of verbs eg. 3 things that climb, run, spin, slide, bang, crash, lean…… whatever!
The trick is to try and go as lateral as possible and you will see, over time, you will get better at thinking of non-traditional answers.

I did this exercise recently in my Level 1 class and someone asked me for 3 things that eat. My first answer was ‘rust’ and that is not what I would have thought of saying 1st doing the exercise even a year ago! I would have said 'a person' or 'me'!

So give it a go!
Ask your self 'what are 3 things that ______?' often.

You can do it while in the shower, doing the dishes, waiting in line, falling asleep, wherever, whenever and watch yourself starting to come up with better and more inventive answers!
 
Hope you are well! May the joy be with you!
 
Lindsay. X
Owner/Head Teacher at Improv Hub

copyright 2023 Improv Hub-Lindsay Drummond

I was watching a podcast on YouTube the other day (as I do when I am not recording Banterpreneurs- the improvised business podcast, with Laura) [oh that was a stealth plug- but come on you knew there would have to be one plug at some stage, best get it over and done with quickly right? Ok done….] and the host of the podcast I was watching said this awesome thing!

He is in finance, but he is also a Magician (Andrei Jikh from the ‘Don’t Sweat It’ podcast- although I’m not sure about the whole doing it in a sauna thing…..lol…a bit gimmicky).

He was talking about how when he first started to do magic tricks with cards, he would be so worried about dropping a card in front of people and failing that he became scared and anxious.
He says he was able to move past his fears and anxiety when he decided to deliberately drop a card!

To deliberately FAIL!

“I came up with this technique, I would drop a card on purpose, and when I did, I didn’t care if I was imperfect, and that made me so much better a performer because I wasn’t scared of failing anymore” -Andrei Jikh

Wise words and one thing I LOVE about improv. We learn to risk, to fail, to fail joyfully and to realise in the end there is no failure.

One of my most favourite improv games from the wonderful Jill Bernard is called ‘Loser Ball’:
You throw an imaginary ball to each other, but the catch is……. you must fail!
You must not catch the ball! It can fly past you, hit you in the head, fall through your hands, whatever, but you must fail! Lol. (it’s super funny to watch).
And as you are failing you need to smile and laugh and be joyful about it, have fun with it. And of course, your fellow improv players will yell words of encouragement to you like, ‘wow great dive!’ or ‘ohhh, so close!’ or ‘Awesome work!’ or ‘Almost had it!’ all while you fail big joyfully.

This incredibly simple and silly exercise is rather profound.
What if we had a safe space where we were encouraged to fail?
What if we could see failure as part of the process and not the end of something?
What if we could practice failing joyfully so our brain associated failure with joy instead of dread?
 
Famous painter Bob Ross said ‘there are no mistakes just happy little accidents’ and that is also what we believe in improv. Sometimes what you feel is a mistake or failure in improv becomes the offer that makes the scene!

I truly believe by not fearing failure and being happy to take risks makes you a better improv performer but also a better player in the game of life!

Fear of failure can hold us back from a lot of things including expressing ourselves and our creativity. And even holding back our feelings for others for fear of rejection.

Improv helps us to redefine failure and in doing so changes our relationship to fear.
 
As Robert H. Schuller expressed, ‘What would you attempt if you knew you couldn’t fail?’
 
[I’m afraid of doing another plug but what the heck if it fails, it fails…..lol……This is probably a big mistake to push for two plugs in one email but………what the hay! Here goes……]

If you would like to change your relationship to failure, then sign up for some improv coaching with me!
Book in now here: https://www.improvhub.com.au/coaching

I hope you are well and will take the challenge of changing your association and relationship to failure, whether through improv or by any other means.
 
P.S I highly recommend you check out Bob Ross- a great man.
https://www.youtube.com/@bobross_thejoyofpainting
 
May the joy be with you!
 
Lindsay. x

copyright 2023 Improv Hub-Lindsay Drummond

If you didn't answer YES 100% to this question then maybe you could ask yourself: 'Why not?"
Or an even better question would be: "What stops you?"

Teaching improv for many years now I have seen many things that stop people from being and expressing themselves such as: fear of not being liked, fear of embarrassing themselves with something they do or say, fear of oversharing, fear of not being good/smart/funny/engaging/charismatic enough, fear of saying the wrong thing, fear of being vulnerable, and the list goes on.......

I was very lucky, my Mum is very eccentric and prided herself (and still does) on always being herself and her greatest expectation of me was to do the same. Just to be me. Wholeheartedly.

It took me a while to realise how much of a struggle it can be for people to just simply be themselves.
It is a phenomenon which has fascinated me my whole life and hence I did a degree in Social Science (behavioural studies) and became a life coach and self-expression specialist for many years.

All of my sessions with clients, above all, encouraged them to find and be themselves. Then I found improv. Improv is the savior of self-expression on steroids!!!

In all my years of personal development and coaching I have never found anything as quick, holistic and fun as improv when it comes to strengthening self-expression and finding one's voice.

Participant after participant and improv client after improv client have regaled stories to me of how improv has changed their life and made them trust and express themselves far more than ever before.

As you may or may not know if you read my newsletters or know me I am an improv evangelist!
I believe in the power of improv to emancipate even the most lost of voices to a place of inspiration and true expression. I have seen miracles my friends! Hallelujah!!!


May the joy be with you!

Lindsay. x

P.S. If you want to see me expressing myself why not tune into my improvised business podcast with my co-host, the awesome and self-expressive Laura Piccardi. Even if you aren't in business I am sure you will get something out of the tips for authentic living. We always do! banterpreneurs.com


copyright 2023 Improv Hub- Lindsay Drummond

What is in store for 2023 at Improv Hub? Well… A LOT! But I am currently on a break so will be planning the year shortly. I’ve realised I’m a bit of a workaholic…lol…but when you absolutely love what you do it’s hard not to get obsessed. So, I’m trying to ‘Take it easy Tony’.

So here we are having crossed the line into 2023! Now is the time to start those good new habits and maybe learn some new skills (like improv right!). Ok there’s my sales pitch…lol

I know right now is the whole goal setting thing but to be honest I find it much more enlightening, interesting, and worthwhile not to look forward but to look back! As Keith Johnstone (one of the grandfathers of improv) has famously said “great improvisers walk backwards”.

What does that mean? Well improv-wise it means everything we need in a scene has already happened, and if we get stuck, we just remember what has just happened and go deeper to build relationship, story, and characters.
Life-wise, what I am saying is: setting goals for the future without first learning from the past is foolhardy. I think, more important than looking forward is to look back!

What worked, what didn’t work? What made me come alive, what didn’t? What was hard and why? What was easy and why? What could I have improved on? Who did I love spending time with and why? What was I grateful for? What can I celebrate and expand on? Where did I set boundaries, where did I not?

Looking back can help us decide what works for us and allows us to improve and learn from our mistakes. Learning and improvement happens through reflection. So, before I start grand-planning for 2023, I’m going to do a review.

And in the spirit of that here is a recap of the year that was 2022 at Improv Hub!

Improv Hub had:

• 32 intermediate online improv drop in classes
• 6 in real life drop ins
• was featured at Brisbane Improv Festival with the Improvised Monologues Workshop,
• 2 online Musical Improv drop ins
• 13 courses including things like Levels 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and ‘Relationships in Improv’ and ‘Emotion in Improv’ to name a few.
• We doubled our income this financial year
• had 6 regular one on one improv coaching clients
• 5 creative consulting clients
• our 3rd open to the public (on Zoom) Improv performance.

It was a HUGE year! And thank you so much to everyone who made these successes possible! I’m so grateful. :)
On a personal note:

• I got to do improv masterclasses in the UK and USA online and learn some amazing new styles and formats.
• I co-created an improvised business podcast with the amazing Laura Piccardi https://banterpreneurs.com and we had our first guests and over 2500 downloads on google, apple and Spotify.
• I started my own Musical Improv troupe called ‘Musically Challenged’ with the wonderful Michael David and Rob Hislop https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxF8b7Cw5egM1l4QrlDmX7GhIuuxFDUB_
• I did more hilarious Drummond and Friend duo improvisations for YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB6b21sZJcw&list=PLxF8b7Cw5egPnaIuaboUBDGA9Q4j9uwpB
• Interviewed another amazing Improv teacher (you'll find out who soon...) for my show Masters of Improv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7hIQ_Xgf1A& list=PLxF8b7Cw5egMA3StskwIqi3Rs3UCfk-Qv&index=2
• Got to play with my Slow Burn duo partner the awesome Anna Ong many times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A7S23I9OIo&list=PLxF8b7Cw5egO2b5SmF91qunTIgFKtZsuC
• Played with my super-talented musical improv duo partner Christine Welsh Buck https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClRLLEInSnY&list=PLxF8b7Cw5egPS5UhRbDcJULq0NzbnZL9A
• Became part of an American ‘Harold’ team (a long-held dream come true).
• Had another wonderful year with my husband Luke.
• Made practically every new person I met do improv in some form, like my hairdresser, the dental nurse, one of Luke’s academic colleagues and my business mentor….lol

All in all, I am looking at what worked for me and what didn’t, what I want to do more of this year and what I don’t. Will you do a life review and find out what worked for you and what didn’t?

I know it worked for 3 of my improv coaching clients! Upon reflection one realised her kids were playing and she wasn’t and now she is making fun time for herself, another realised he had been stifling his creativity and now realises he is a talented storyteller, and another realised he needed to listen more and be more flexible with clients and is now communicating and thinking on his feet better than ever!

If you look back at 2022 and realise you were too controlling and inflexible, stifling your creativity and your own unique voice, or (like me many years ago when I first found improv) don’t have enough laughter and joy in your life, then have a think about changing things up this year and trying out improv. (And another sales pitch….lol….but it is 100% true).
 
I hope you have all had a great holiday season and are taking the time to celebrate your successes in 2022 and I am wishing you all the best for 2023!!!

(And now the plug!) And if you or anyone you know are too shy to try improv in a group, I do a 1st one on one session on Zoom for only $30AUD for the hour at a time that suits you. https://www.improvhub.com.au/coaching
 
Also, if you want to hear some other interesting ideas about embracing the new year (especially if you are in small business), check out my improvised small business podcast with Laura Piccardi, Banterpreneurs- our special guest was Australia’s first winner of The Apprentice Andrew Morello. https://banterpreneurs.com/how-to-do-business-2023/

And finally, if you would like to see some of our Improv Hub students in action check out and subscribe to the Improv Hub YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPZJLTpVuQqYYVJYx0xQtYQ

Take care of yourselves and may the joy be with you! :)

Lindsay x

copyright 2023 Improv Hub-Lindsay Drummond

When I was at my local garden centre, I saw something quite disturbing to me. I was perusing the plants when I noticed a mother and her daughter having a conversation. The daughter looked between 3-4 years old, and I overheard the mother say “So it is Aunty Shelly’s birthday this weekend what should we get her, what do you think?” The little girl had stopped by some bags of stones (you know the ones you put in amongst cactus and succulents). She picked up a net bag of smooth river stones and held them up to her mum as if it were a precious artifact and said, “these for Auntie Shelly Mummy”. I smiled to myself, thinking how sweet. However, what I heard in response shocked and disturbed me. “Don’t be stupid, we aren’t going to give her rocks, why would you say that? Stop being silly”. Crestfallen the little girl obediently put the river stones back.
 
It made me sad- she wasn’t being silly, she was being serious and helpful! She was only 3-4 years old, of course stones would be a cool gift to her! But what was really disturbing was knowing that this shutting down of her ‘stupid idea’ would grow with her. It stands to reason that anyone who would say something like that to her daughter in public would be saying similar things at home, and possibly quite regularly. Now I don’t want to be hard on the mother here as she is probably a nice enough lady and truthfully it is very likely the same had been done to her at some stage. But unbeknownst to her that seed of doubt was planted in her little girl and will probably germinate and grow over the years.

Like the little girl many of us are silenced from a young age. We shut down our self-expression and hold down our ideas. We become perfectionists and start really caring what others think and how we are coming across. We can end up swallowing down our natural creativity and crazy ideas. We second guess and censor. We self-criticise and judge. And very often that lack of self-acceptance extends to others, and we stop really listening to their ‘dumb’ ideas or encouraging true collaboration.

Part of the reason I love Improv so much is because it helps to undo this psychological mess we end up growing into! In Improv we learn how to accept and say ‘yes and….’ to all the dumb ideas. We make our partners in scenes look good by supporting their ‘dumb ideas’. We have fun again. We express our ideas again. We know we are in a safe environment to ‘fail’ and just be ourselves.

As a teacher it is a really special moment for me seeing when someone releases that critical self-judgement in their head and dislodges the heavy stone in their throat that stops their self-expression. They can start to believe in themselves again and trust their imagination. It is magic!

Improv is all about being offered a stone by your partner and you saying, “thanks for that, it was just what I needed, I’m going to paint it and make it my pet rock named George”.


copyright 2022 Improv Hub- Lindsay Drummond