Mind games
My proudest non-Wise Guys association is with ComedySportz Los Angeles, the longest running show in LA. I’ve been doing short form improv games since I was about 11 years old, and performing with CSzLA for nearly 10 and am probably near (if not past) Malcolm Gladwell’s ten thousand hour rule when it comes to improv (the minimum required to achieve expertise, if not mastery - to the degree that something can be mastered that is different every time and that is never prepared).
Which gives me an informed perspective on this story from NPR about a Chicago group that is using improvisation as a tool for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s. Sometimes doing improv isn’t about doing comedy: it’s about being brave, making choices, and being okay with not knowing what’s going to happen next. It can be about making you feel proud about something you did with no guarantee it was going to turn out okay. These are elements we put into every game we do - because every kind of play requires improvisation - and they have broad appeal for all kinds of people who want to sharpen their wits, for any reason.
Also my wife is a neuroscientist who works with Alzheimer’s patients in the lab. Maybe someday, by combining her skills and mine, we will make this affliction at thing of the past!
