Improv Freeze Fix! Set Up In Advance as a Default Move

WORKSHOPS! Off Script workshops: monthly, online, small group, neuroinclusive, cameras off welcome! https://YourImprovBrain.com/offscript and    • Build Real Confidence Through Improv | Off...   - it will be fun, please come join. You're in a scene, it's your turn, and your brain goes somewhere else. Going blank on stage, hitting that freeze, is near the top of most improvisers' fear lists, and I want to add something new to the pile of advice about it. I have new things to say about this thing, possibly even something that's a fix. Basically, you need to sort out your default move. Most advice about the improv freeze(tm) tells you to say or do the next thing, anything at all, and that does work a lot of the time. It can also be the exact thing that froze you in the first place, yuck, especially if you're a neurodivergent improviser with a long history of being told you read the moment wrong or missed the subtext or that unsaid thing that we were supposed to guess or assume. Yuck. In this episode I offer one more way to think about why the freeze happens, and one specific thing you can sort out ahead of time so you're not making a decision while you're already flooded. I also get into why the pause you're sitting in might be more useful than you think. Chapters: 0:00 The moment your brain leaves the scene 1:03 The classic advice, and where it can fall apart 2:08 What I'm adding this time 2:27 The reframe to try on 3:57 The fear of being wrong, and my hypothesis about it 6:05 Embracing the pause 6:47 Visual, kinesthetic, and vocal moves 8:00 Why choosing under pressure is its own problem 9:27 Sorting your default out in advance 11:41 Practising it with random triggers 13:44 Off Script workshops 14:20 The short version, the tldr; at the very damn end of the episode muahaha RELATED EPISODES Mind Blank on Stage? A 3-Step Reboot for Your Brain    • Mind Goes BLANK On Stage? Use This 3-Step ...   Mind goes Blank on Initiations:    • Improv Initiations When Your Mind Goes Blank   A Source of Great Improv Ideas (bonus: Get Out of Your Head)    • Stuck In Your Head? How to NEVER Run Out o...   Clear Mind = Get Out of Your Head in Improv    • Get Out of Your Head in Scenes (It's Not W...   3-Step System & Exercise to Manage Self-Criticism in Improv    • Improv Exercise to Turn Your Inner Critic ...   RESOURCES Find improv resources, including WORKSHOPS and downloads, at https://yourimprovbrain.com Get weekly articles about improv and performance, discounts, bonus downloads, and connect with Jen on the newsletter or website at https://yourimprovbrain.com NEW! Comprehensive guides all about getting notes as a student, or giving them as a teacher. Two guides, discount if you get both! https://yourimprovbrain.com/notes ABOUT Your Improv Brain is a show about the cognitive side of comedy. Host Jen deHaan explores how our unique brain wiring affects how we learn, perform, and create. Now expanding to cover the "body" side of the brain-body connection! We're digging into why we freeze up, how to find our flow, and using "nervous system" concepts to become better improvisers. Whether you are neurodivergent (ADHD, Autistic, etc.) or just want to understand your own creative process better, this show is for you. This podcast was created, written, and is hosted by Jen deHaan. All creative graphics made (by a human!) Jen deHaan. Jen deHaan is an autistic and ADHD performer and spends a lot of time thinking about how neurodivergent brains handle the demands of professional life, creative performance, and just getting through a regular ol day. She has close to 30 years teaching creative technology and instructional design, improv and acting coaching, fitness instruction, a BFA, and a bunch of certifications. Jen is a trauma-informed coach working towards Board Certified Coach credentials, certified in nervous system regulation, and completed graduate studies in Developing Healthy Communities from Tufts University. She's currently developing a show for regional streaming TV in Canada about neurodivergent brains and nervous systems called Grounded (streaming in 2027). Jen also started StereoForest to create audio fiction series that incorporate improv, and has produced several series. Learn more at https://jendehaan.com/about CONNECT Contact Jen at https://jendehaan.com Bluesky https://jendehaan.bsky.social Linkedin   / jdehaan   SUPPORT Grab a booklet about improv! Find them at https://yourimprovbrain.com/shop Sign up for a workshop! https://yourimprovbrain.com/offscript Get coaching! For your brain, not necessarily about improv (but it can be). https://yourimprovbrain.com/coaching Podcast hosting: https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=y... Subscription-free transcriptions: https://gumroad.com/a/20303251/ivpqk This show was written, recorded and edited in British Columbia, Canada by Jen deHaan.