Interrupt some routines! (Thoughts on applying theatrical improvisation principles to daily life)

I’ve been reading some books about improvisation over the past couple of years. My interest was originally sparked by experiments with taking a more improvisational approach to tabletop roleplaying games, but the idea of applying improvisational techniques more broadly appeals to me too. The book Life Unscripted has the idea of taking an improvisational approach to daily life as its overall theme. I particularly liked how the authors of that book noted that there is a lot of value in routine – it helps us get through life and get things done. However, too much routine can feel restrictive and deadening. We can view all sorts of opportunities (big or small) that we notice in the world as “offers” we could choose to accept. Accepting some of those offers is a natural way to break out of routines. But which offers should we choose? In a theatrical improvisation scene, there’s often only one other actor, and therefore only a limited number of offers. In daily life, the world presents an…