Whenever I see a post about Marina Abramovic’s “The Artist is Present” (if you don’t know about a great moment that happened, look it up. It’s beautiful.) I always think of David Razowsky.

That title always strike me. It’s something you would hear David say. I was fortunate enough to study with David weekly for two years. And what I took from that changed the way I look at life. At who I am, and the kind of parent I try to be to my girls.

It made me the improviser / teacher / director I am today.

The artist is present – You are awake. You are aware of the little things and hyper aware of the big things. You don’t create art by thinking “I’m going to make art right now…” You create by reacting honestly to what’s happening right in front of you. Art is not born of intention. It is born of reaction.

Don’t let the big things pass you by – The moment I heard Dave say these words, my life forever changed. I still use this thought every time I direct. I use it when I have conversations. When my children speak to me. It’s a improv note, that’s a f**king LIFE note.

Listen – What’s REALLY being said here? No questions in improv. Except the one you should always be asking yourself. What is happening? Right. Now. Are you really listening? Listening with your ears is fine. But what does your soul hear? How does that make YOU FEEL? Say that. F**k the bullshit and tell us what’s really going on.

Discover what you don’t know – If you see a magazine devoted to Civil War Figurines, pick it up and read it. There are entire worlds you never knew existed! I never knew there were entire communities devoted to building perfectly screen accurate proton packs from the Ghostbusters movies until I went out and found them. Find out what you don’t know.

If something huge happens, do only that! – The world is now made to be distracting. We focus on the topic of the moment. Forgetting that over 70,000 people in Puerto Rico are still without power for the last eight months. And hurricane season is starting again. Stay on topic.

The artist is present.
The person is present.
The spouse is present.
The parent is present.

You are present.

David has an amazing book out that you should buy –

A Subversive’s Guide to Improvisation: Moving Beyond “Yes, And”