The summer before my senior year of high school, I joined an improv group. Joker’s Wild Improvisation Troupe (there was an “e” on the end ‘cause we were fancy) was a group of about 10 people – mostly dudes – who spent weekend nights performing at local bars and restaurants. Think “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” with less Drew Carey. It was the perfect extracurricular activity for a high school student with dreams of becoming a Broadway star. Obviously.
During the nearly two years I spent with these lovable riffraff, I learned a very important lesson: having an Elmo impersonation in the bag comes in super handy when your friends need you to call their kids and tell them, as Elmo, that they need to go to bed, or take a bath, or clean their room.
And I learned the phrase “Yes, and…”
The “Yes, And” Rule is real. I didn’t make it up. But, basically, this phrase learned through improv helped me be better at life.
