00:00:10.730 --> 00:00:16.670

Hello, and welcome to the Flat Improv Podcast, Neurodivision Podcast.

00:00:16.670 --> 00:00:20.670

I don't really even know what this is gonna be called yet.

00:00:20.670 --> 00:00:25.830

Maybe we'll find it organically during this series.

00:00:27.810 --> 00:00:31.070

This is the second time I'm recording this.

00:00:31.070 --> 00:00:37.390

Maybe some of you can relate to, I don't know, losing the whole file.

00:00:39.370 --> 00:00:46.010

I had it, I think my computer restarted on its own, and it was gone the next morning.

00:00:46.010 --> 00:00:47.830

And so we're doing it again.

00:00:47.830 --> 00:00:56.270

Here we are doing another recording of possibly about the same things.

00:00:56.270 --> 00:00:59.630

Good thing I have a very detailed spreadsheet.

00:01:00.890 --> 00:01:02.110

There we go.

00:01:02.110 --> 00:01:05.090

I have a spreadsheet of my notes.

00:01:05.090 --> 00:01:12.190

I actually have a few dozen topics already lined up for episodes, so this might go on for a while.

00:01:13.270 --> 00:01:25.490

Anyways, we're talking about neurodivergence and how that applies to improv, or looking at improv through the lens of neurodivergence, or the other way around, or something like that.

00:01:25.490 --> 00:01:27.250

I think you know what I'm going to be talking about.

00:01:29.010 --> 00:01:38.010

It goes without saying that improv involves the brain, and we do everything with our brains.

00:01:38.010 --> 00:01:39.070

That's how we see the world.

00:01:39.070 --> 00:01:41.290

That's how the world operates.

00:01:41.310 --> 00:01:46.830

And anyone who is neurodivergent knows that the world is really not set up for us.

00:01:46.830 --> 00:01:50.810

And that includes improv in a lot of ways.

00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:52.250

It involves all kind of learning.

00:01:54.650 --> 00:01:59.230

Neurodivergence is how the brain processes information.

00:01:59.230 --> 00:02:04.290

It's inherently how we think, how we're wired, how we learn things.

00:02:04.290 --> 00:02:09.310

So we're going to look at these things in this podcast.

00:02:09.530 --> 00:02:10.210

You know what?

00:02:10.450 --> 00:02:12.410

Does this count as a podcast?

00:02:12.410 --> 00:02:13.570

I guess maybe it does.

00:02:13.570 --> 00:02:21.570

It's me just standing at my desk talking into a microphone staring at the wall and a list of notes.

00:02:24.670 --> 00:02:26.690

Anyways, learning improv.

00:02:26.690 --> 00:02:29.190

That's something I've done a lot of.

00:02:29.190 --> 00:02:37.950

And learning improv involves learning in classes using exercises and getting notes.

00:02:37.950 --> 00:02:46.250

And a lot of those exercises and notes are sort of in a lot of ways built for neurotypical brains.

00:02:46.250 --> 00:02:48.570

And that makes sense.

00:02:48.570 --> 00:02:56.310

I mean, the exercises and the learning that we have is really how we've learned ourselves.

00:02:56.310 --> 00:03:05.830

Like if I'm approaching teaching something, it's probably going to be influenced in a lot of ways from how I learned it myself.

00:03:07.810 --> 00:03:21.210

However, I found myself when I started running, leading exercises and so on, that I oftentimes was just kind of leading exercises that really didn't work that well for me.

00:03:21.210 --> 00:03:23.890

And I asked myself, why?

00:03:23.890 --> 00:03:24.850

Why am I doing this?

00:03:24.850 --> 00:03:31.310

And why am I teaching these things in this way that didn't really work that well for me to begin with?

00:03:31.310 --> 00:03:38.430

Why am I not thinking about teaching things in a way that functions a little bit better for the way I think?

00:03:38.910 --> 00:03:47.310

In addition to the more traditional ways that are taught in other places, because all of them are useful to all people.

00:03:47.310 --> 00:03:51.690

And that's, I guess, when I started thinking about these two things married together.

00:03:51.690 --> 00:03:59.090

And I also started to notice, like, why does this explanation for something work better than that explanation for something?

00:03:59.090 --> 00:04:01.330

And we run across that all the time.

00:04:01.330 --> 00:04:10.010

I mean, think about learning the game of the scene, which probably most of you have at some point in your improv past.

00:04:10.010 --> 00:04:15.390

And you've noticed that a lot of teachers explain how to find the game in different ways.

00:04:15.390 --> 00:04:22.310

And I mean, that's a great example of just how everybody's brain functions differently.

00:04:22.310 --> 00:04:24.030

Everybody thinks differently.

00:04:25.310 --> 00:04:32.850

I, for example, took me a long time to get to a point where a second beat was even explained in a way that worked for me.

00:04:33.070 --> 00:04:43.190

And really thinking about second beats is a great example of neurodivergence and improv because second beats involve details, right?

00:04:43.190 --> 00:04:54.010

And an autistic brain, for example, processes details in a completely different order than a neurotypical brain.

00:04:54.010 --> 00:05:01.710

A neurotypical brain obviously looks at, not obviously, it just does apparently according to literature.

00:05:02.310 --> 00:05:11.210

It looks at things from a top down, a high level perspective first, the big picture first before going to details.

00:05:11.210 --> 00:05:15.910

And an autistic brain looks at details first before going to the big picture.

00:05:15.910 --> 00:05:29.470

So of course, if you look at analyzing a scene to do something analogous or a time dash of some sort and sort of do the same type of scene again, that matters a lot.

00:05:31.270 --> 00:05:34.310

So that's just one example.

00:05:34.310 --> 00:05:38.990

Let's just talk about what is neurodivergence for a second.

00:05:38.990 --> 00:05:42.750

Some of you might maybe haven't come across that.

00:05:42.750 --> 00:05:46.370

It is a more recent definition.

00:05:46.370 --> 00:05:56.510

This refers to a person whose brain processes information in a way that's atypical to the majority of the population.

00:05:56.510 --> 00:06:05.990

It's not necessarily, I mean, there's a whole lot of different perspectives on whether or not it's a disability.

00:06:05.990 --> 00:06:10.090

It is when you're in an environment that doesn't work for you.

00:06:10.090 --> 00:06:17.030

But let's just think about it's just a way that we're processing information differently.

00:06:18.450 --> 00:06:21.970

One example is the autistic neurotype.

00:06:21.970 --> 00:06:34.890

This includes specific abilities to focus, to recognize patterns, to remember factual information quite well, quite efficiently.

00:06:34.890 --> 00:06:38.850

And of course, that's going to have an impact on improv.

00:06:38.850 --> 00:06:41.470

In a lot of ways, a positive impact.

00:06:41.470 --> 00:06:43.710

Think about recognizing patterns.

00:06:43.710 --> 00:06:47.070

That's a very useful thing in improv.

00:06:48.110 --> 00:06:56.370

Neurotypes, they involve both strengths and challenges, depending on the environment and the task at hand.

00:06:56.370 --> 00:06:58.770

So some tasks are going to be more challenging.

00:06:58.770 --> 00:07:02.030

Some environments might be more challenging.

00:07:02.030 --> 00:07:04.230

Some environments might be great.

00:07:04.230 --> 00:07:06.030

Tasks might be well-suited.

00:07:06.030 --> 00:07:08.950

It just depends on what you're doing, what's around you.

00:07:11.570 --> 00:07:21.310

A single neurotype, I mean, again, think about the autistic neurotype, it's often on a spectrum, and it also involves a lot of comorbidities in your history.

00:07:21.310 --> 00:07:25.490

So it's never going to be presented exactly the same way.

00:07:25.490 --> 00:07:27.230

Again, all people are different.

00:07:27.230 --> 00:07:28.550

All brains are different.

00:07:28.550 --> 00:07:31.250

And so you're going to be experiencing things.

00:07:31.250 --> 00:07:38.570

I might be the same neurotype as you, but you are going to experience things potentially very different than I experience them.

00:07:39.110 --> 00:07:40.550

And vice versa.

00:07:41.570 --> 00:07:43.590

So that is something to remember.

00:07:43.590 --> 00:07:45.130

And we're not looking for perfection.

00:07:45.130 --> 00:07:46.890

There is no perfection in a class.

00:07:46.890 --> 00:07:48.210

There's no perfection in improv.

00:07:48.210 --> 00:07:51.650

We know we're not looking for perfection.

00:07:51.650 --> 00:07:56.030

But one thing we are looking for, of course, is inclusion and thinking about these things.

00:07:56.030 --> 00:08:06.170

So this series, it's very important for me to say, and I'm probably going to be saying this a lot throughout, it is not intended to diagnose.

00:08:06.290 --> 00:08:08.890

It's not intended to diagnose yourself.

00:08:08.890 --> 00:08:14.190

It's not intended to diagnose anyone you're doing improv with.

00:08:14.190 --> 00:08:19.810

We're just going to be looking at some of the strengths, some of the challenges, and how it relates to improv.

00:08:19.810 --> 00:08:22.770

We are going to be explaining things.

00:08:22.770 --> 00:08:25.050

We are not making excuses here.

00:08:25.050 --> 00:08:30.610

This isn't some great big long series to question a note that I have that I didn't like say.

00:08:30.610 --> 00:08:39.190

No, this is just to explore some of the experiences that we have in improv, and maybe some of it might be useful to you.

00:08:39.190 --> 00:08:46.630

If you're neurodivergent, it might be useful to you if you improv with neurodiverse individuals.

00:08:46.630 --> 00:08:48.170

And you do, by the way.

00:08:48.170 --> 00:08:49.950

We are taking your classes.

00:08:49.950 --> 00:08:53.050

We are doing improv with you.

00:08:53.050 --> 00:08:56.490

But of course, this is just my experience.

00:08:56.490 --> 00:08:57.930

That's it.

00:08:57.930 --> 00:09:01.530

And if anyone else comes on here with me, it's their experiences, and that's it.

00:09:02.130 --> 00:09:05.190

I'm not a professional at this.

00:09:05.190 --> 00:09:07.270

It's just what I experience.

00:09:07.270 --> 00:09:11.010

So please don't use us to diagnose others.

00:09:11.010 --> 00:09:13.290

Don't use it to diagnose yourself.

00:09:13.290 --> 00:09:20.970

Go read some good resources or books or something, or talk to a professional if you have access to one, if you want to figure out yourself.

00:09:20.970 --> 00:09:26.110

But anyways, let's move on from that stuff.

00:09:26.970 --> 00:09:38.310

So I gave one example here of what might be different for us neurodivergent individuals thinking about second beats.

00:09:38.310 --> 00:09:42.530

Another example is the unusual.

00:09:42.530 --> 00:09:50.750

I think that should have been the first one because it is so central to who we are.

00:09:50.750 --> 00:09:54.250

We are by definition divergent, right?

00:09:54.370 --> 00:09:58.750

We are by definition, our brains process things differently.

00:09:58.750 --> 00:10:00.750

We respond differently.

00:10:00.750 --> 00:10:02.230

We think differently.

00:10:02.230 --> 00:10:08.770

The first thing that comes to our mind is often not what's considered, and I'm doing air quotes.

00:10:08.770 --> 00:10:11.430

You just can't see them typical.

00:10:11.430 --> 00:10:22.050

You know, if we are answering honestly, if we're saying what we really would say in real life, and then it's tagged as the unusual thing, we are not surprised.

00:10:23.050 --> 00:10:35.150

But we might just in that moment no longer be considered the voice of reason, or the normal, I'm doing air quotes again, you just can't see them again, the normal person.

00:10:37.270 --> 00:10:52.010

So if you're asking us to do these things, and you're saying that what we're doing is unusual or whatever, that might be something that just came out in the moment, and we understand a lot of the times that it is unusual.

00:10:53.110 --> 00:11:05.110

We'll give our honest in the flow, in the moment response, and then it will be a second, and then we'll be like, that was not considered normal.

00:11:05.110 --> 00:11:07.750

But then it's too late because it's already in the scene.

00:11:07.750 --> 00:11:23.070

So I think that is one thing to just notice, to just notice that somebody who may be giving their honest reaction, it might be honest and normal for them.

00:11:23.070 --> 00:11:24.910

They might realize that it's unusual.

00:11:24.910 --> 00:11:32.350

We can edit for that, but it might not come naturally in the flow right away.

00:11:32.350 --> 00:11:35.850

So who the hell will this series be useful to?

00:11:35.850 --> 00:11:49.130

Well, I'm hoping, as I said previously, that it's useful to improvisers who do improv with or teach neurodivergent people, and that includes all improvisers.

00:11:49.910 --> 00:11:52.330

We are all around you.

00:11:52.330 --> 00:11:58.110

I'm afraid, if you didn't already realize, we're in the community.

00:11:58.110 --> 00:11:58.910

I can see it.

00:11:58.910 --> 00:12:00.410

I've heard it.

00:12:00.410 --> 00:12:22.150

I've talked to lots of people who have identified as neurodivergent, and I can almost guarantee, I can't guarantee, but I would not be surprised one bit if every team and every class had neurodivergent improvisers in them.

00:12:22.150 --> 00:12:33.670

Even of people who have talked to me and mentioned this to me, and I've mentioned this to them, I've been in classes where 50 percent are identified neurodivergent improvisers.

00:12:33.670 --> 00:12:40.870

So we're out there and we're probably in all of your classes and on all of your team.

00:12:40.870 --> 00:12:47.550

So basically, if you do improv or you teach improv, hopefully, this will be useful to you.

00:12:47.550 --> 00:12:54.450

So you understand the people that you are teaching or doing improv with a little bit better.

00:12:54.450 --> 00:13:00.650

This might help you to be a little bit more inclusive or not, or just understand.

00:13:00.650 --> 00:13:03.410

That's not a bad thing, I hope.

00:13:03.410 --> 00:13:16.450

If you yourself are not neurodivergent, I'm hoping that some parts of the series will be useful to you in some way of just understanding what's going on in the brain.

00:13:16.450 --> 00:13:19.430

This is now a special interest to me.

00:13:19.430 --> 00:13:24.950

It took me quite a while to understand some of these things.

00:13:24.950 --> 00:13:39.910

Even though I already knew I was neurodivergent, I didn't really understand what was happening in my brain or how these exercises were formed, how they should feel, how they should work in a brain until I got to a certain point in my improv.

00:13:40.050 --> 00:13:55.670

So this might be particularly useful if you're newer to improv or newer to some elements of some of these parts of improv, or it might just be my experience that is different to yours and it might help you later on.

00:13:55.670 --> 00:13:56.530

Or not at all.

00:13:56.530 --> 00:13:57.130

I don't know.

00:13:57.130 --> 00:14:00.670

Maybe it'll just make you feel not alone.

00:14:00.670 --> 00:14:01.570

I really don't know.

00:14:01.570 --> 00:14:02.510

I would love to hear.

00:14:02.510 --> 00:14:04.290

So please leave a comment.

00:14:04.290 --> 00:14:05.090

Let me know.

00:14:05.090 --> 00:14:11.350

Send me an email and let me know, of course, what you want to hear about.

00:14:11.350 --> 00:14:15.910

You know, one part of neurodivergence is called masking.

00:14:15.910 --> 00:14:22.830

And that's where we just kind of chameleon in to the neurotypical population.

00:14:22.830 --> 00:14:24.590

We're sneaky like that.

00:14:24.590 --> 00:14:26.430

We are good at acting.

00:14:26.430 --> 00:14:29.790

We are good at mimicking voices.

00:14:29.790 --> 00:14:36.310

We are very good at fitting in, especially people who are assigned female at birth.

00:14:36.910 --> 00:14:41.210

Because we have been socialized as women to fit in.

00:14:41.210 --> 00:14:43.830

Did you know I was autistic?

00:14:43.830 --> 00:14:47.150

Or did I just chameleon myself in to your community?

00:14:47.150 --> 00:14:51.110

Well, if not, now you do.

00:14:51.110 --> 00:14:51.630

Bye for now.