One of the most important things you learn doing improv is not to discount others' ideas. Or your own, for that matter. If one of you says you are milking bees for honey, you find a way to go along with that and make it important. You can talk about their tiny udders, or comment on this new bee hybrid that produces milk and honey or explain how one endeavors to milk bees without getting stung. Whatever it is, you work together and go with it.
It's Monday and I've got a lot work to do on very little sleep, so I won't torture you with a long drawn-out post. Suffice it to say, in real life, it's also good not to discount others' ideas. If somebody had pooh-pooh'd the ideas of pieces of paper with not-very-sticky-adhesive on one side, or little tiny silicone chips that could calculate stuff, or distilling potatoes, we wouldn't have Post-its or computers or vodka, and I for one would have a very difficult time getting through my day.
So learn to accept out-of-the-box ideas... and add your own unique contributions as well. And pretty soon, we'll be making ships that fly into outer space, electronic book-reading-devices and telephones that you can carry around with you.
By Sonnjea Blackwell
