Pierce: It’s a sickness, I admit it. But this place has always accepted me, sickness and all. This place accepted all of you, sickness and all. It’s worth thinking about.
(Season 2, Episode 24)
Pierce is addressing the request of the study group, telling them that Greendale has accepted each of them, despite their flaws. Earlier in the episode, a Greendale Community College promotional poster is shown with the slogan “You’re Already Accepted!”
Acceptance is a big part of improv. So much of what you do, in every scene or exercise, is personal – your ideas, your offers, your character choices, your reactions. They come from the sum of your experience, they come from a place of honesty that is rarely shared. In improv, we share this with our scene partners. We trust them and they trust us. We are vulnerable, and we put our shortcomings, our mistakes, and our prejudices out on display. On stage! For a paying audience! This bold openness is how we connect with each other and the audience. This is how we make great scenes.
If a fellow improviser trusts you enough to show himself or herself, treasure that gift and strive to do the same. An improv group operates in a judgment free zone, and that trust must never be broken. Your bond will grow deep, and your support of each other will carry you through any scene that arises.
Tags: lessons from community
