00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:16.560
If you improvise with or teach more than 10 people, then you've probably done improv with someone that experiences Alexithymia or is Alexithymic, which involves interpreting and processing emotions.
00:00:16.560 --> 00:00:21.080
Hello, this is Neurodiversity and Improv, and I'm Jenda Hahn.
00:00:32.938 --> 00:00:39.198
Greetings and welcome to season two of Neurodiversity and Improv, the podcast.
00:00:39.198 --> 00:00:48.758
I'm a neurodivergent improviser who is about to info dump all over you about the intersection of improv and neurodivergence.
00:00:48.758 --> 00:00:59.998
These episodes are intended to help improvisers of all neurotypes since neurodivergent and neurotypical humans are all on teams and in classes together.
00:01:01.038 --> 00:01:04.238
Before we get started real quick, the preamble.
00:01:04.238 --> 00:01:09.458
I'm only speaking for myself and my own lived experience in these episodes.
00:01:09.458 --> 00:01:19.458
Everyone's experiences are very different based on both their neurotype and their individual lived experiences and individual support needs.
00:01:19.458 --> 00:01:26.418
My ideas in these episodes and those of any guests or submitted ideas I might read, won't be right for everyone.
00:01:26.858 --> 00:01:31.718
So, the words I use and the things I do are just my own preferences, what works for me.
00:01:31.718 --> 00:01:38.638
I am not telling you what to do, so just throw away or adjust anything that is not right for you today.
00:01:38.638 --> 00:01:43.918
Again, this is just one autistic ADHD improviser's lived experience.
00:01:43.918 --> 00:01:48.318
Please don't diagnose yourself or any other people using this podcast.
00:01:48.318 --> 00:01:53.058
Talk to someone who's a lot smarter than me for diagnosis, therapy or advice.
00:01:53.758 --> 00:01:56.518
And finally, these points are just explanations.
00:01:56.518 --> 00:01:58.378
They are not excuses.
00:01:58.378 --> 00:02:05.218
Neurodivergent humans can't change the way we're wired, but we can understand how we're wired better.
00:02:05.218 --> 00:02:13.898
And finally, if you find this podcast useful, I'd really love it if you could share this episode with your friends, rate and review it on Apple Podcasts.
00:02:13.898 --> 00:02:14.818
That would be great.
00:02:14.818 --> 00:02:24.218
If you're able and capable to support my work at Neurodiversity Improv, that is really appreciated, and that will actually keep it going for a third season.
00:02:24.218 --> 00:02:25.958
So please consider doing that.
00:02:25.958 --> 00:02:29.278
And with that out of the way, let's get started.
00:02:33.058 --> 00:02:38.598
So Alexithymia involves how a person identifies and experiences emotions.
00:02:38.598 --> 00:02:43.278
So it has a lot to do with an improv practice.
00:02:43.278 --> 00:02:58.978
This is one part of a two-part series that explores what Alexithymia is, how it affects improv, and makes some suggestions of ways to practice improv if you experience it or you teach someone who does.
00:02:58.978 --> 00:03:04.458
So Alexithymia involves how a person identifies and experiences emotions.
00:03:04.458 --> 00:03:09.318
So it has a lot to do with an improv practice.
00:03:09.318 --> 00:03:26.258
This part is part one of a two-part series that explores what Alexithymia is, how it affects improv and suggests some ways to practice improv if you experience it, if you are a performer that is Alexithymic.
00:03:26.258 --> 00:03:49.178
Part two will cover some ideas about what students can do if they approach exercises or have other things that they're doing in a session that has assigned emotions, or if you're gifted an emotion, and what teachers can do to make their classes and exercises more inclusive for people with Alexithymia.
00:03:49.178 --> 00:03:51.338
So what is Alexithymia?
00:03:51.338 --> 00:03:52.658
Good question, you!
00:03:52.658 --> 00:03:56.978
Alexithymia is when a person has issues with emotions.
00:03:56.978 --> 00:04:08.718
This can include feeling emotions, attaching words to emotions, like having problems with that, issues with identifying and describing, or perhaps even expressing emotions.
00:04:08.918 --> 00:04:15.478
The etymology of the word itself, Alexithymia, is without words for emotions.
00:04:15.478 --> 00:04:27.538
So a human being, like yourself, with Alexithymia might feel a physical sensation in the moment, but not be able to describe it using terminology, using words.
00:04:27.538 --> 00:04:30.758
For example, that person might feel scared.
00:04:30.758 --> 00:04:36.158
They might feel that in their body, but not label the feeling with a word in that moment.
00:04:36.258 --> 00:04:40.298
They might not really understand how to put those two things together.
00:04:40.298 --> 00:04:49.078
The person with Alexithymia might not be able to communicate or describe the physical feeling in the moment.
00:04:49.078 --> 00:04:55.458
A person with Alexithymia might think in a really concrete manner about emotions.
00:04:55.458 --> 00:05:06.378
So they might think that there's a right or a wrong, and they don't really know what the emotion, the correct word or description for that emotion, what it is.
00:05:06.378 --> 00:05:07.438
That's me.
00:05:07.438 --> 00:05:13.158
Struggle to understand other people's or other characters' emotions in the moment.
00:05:13.158 --> 00:05:15.358
That might be Alexithymic.
00:05:15.358 --> 00:05:22.338
A person might have general discomfort with emotions entirely for a great number of reasons.
00:05:22.338 --> 00:05:44.078
If you naturally or regularly think, I don't know, when someone asks how you're feeling, or maybe it just really puts you in your head, like you need to fully analyze the scenario and what everything is happening, whatever, what's going on before you understand how you felt about that thing, or you're just really uncomfortable.
00:05:44.078 --> 00:05:46.438
This might be Alexithymia.
00:05:46.438 --> 00:05:55.498
For example, you might take time to think about the experience and ruminate on it, and then you're able to describe the emotion or label it even.
00:05:55.498 --> 00:06:04.438
Alexithymia is absolutely experienced in different ways, and is described as being mild to severe.
00:06:04.438 --> 00:06:08.758
It can also be a primary or a secondary trait.
00:06:08.758 --> 00:06:09.798
What does that mean?
00:06:09.798 --> 00:06:20.078
That means it's genetic versus acquired due to injury or illness, and it can occur in people without any of those things as well.
00:06:20.078 --> 00:06:31.118
So the presentation and experience can vary quite a bit between different individuals, and of course can be complicated by co-morbid diagnoses or conditions.
00:06:31.118 --> 00:06:43.598
A few resources of many resources on the subject, this subject being too large to be covered in this single podcast episode, can be found in the written article for this episode.
00:06:43.598 --> 00:06:45.118
Some stuff to get you started.
00:06:45.118 --> 00:06:53.758
And of course, you can also access many informal personal anecdotes on social media and YouTube, on Alexithymia.
00:06:53.758 --> 00:07:00.098
So check out the science and check out some of those personal anecdotes to understand it a little bit better.
00:07:00.098 --> 00:07:03.678
So who experiences Alexithymia?
00:07:03.678 --> 00:07:07.558
About 10% of the general population does.
00:07:07.558 --> 00:07:15.918
With rates that are higher in certain demographics such as people with depression, people who are autistic like me, and youth.
00:07:15.918 --> 00:07:19.018
It is not a diagnosable condition, however.
00:07:19.118 --> 00:07:25.658
It's not in the DSM, but it is certainly recognized in the mental health community and also by professionals.
00:07:25.658 --> 00:07:27.858
It is something that is studied.
00:07:27.858 --> 00:07:40.118
Many autistic people have Alexithymia, and the percentages seem to vary widely, but about half of all autistic people are considered to be Alexithymic.
00:07:40.118 --> 00:07:50.378
Alexithymia, however, is often described as distinct from autism, from the autistic spectrum, and is not caused by autism.
00:07:50.378 --> 00:07:55.718
Some of the linked resources described this difference in detail.
00:07:55.718 --> 00:08:12.098
Autistic people, for example, often have interoception issues, which means that they have difficulty perceiving certain body signals, and this can include emotions, which is where Alexithymia comes in and can connect these two things together.
00:08:12.098 --> 00:08:18.938
Autism and Alexithymia can be compounding due to the combination of the traits of each thing.
00:08:18.938 --> 00:08:32.918
It can also lead to a lot of misunderstandings, those things that some of you might really understand, assumptions, you know what I mean, maybe, and misdiagnoses as well.
00:08:32.918 --> 00:08:46.018
Of course, allistic, which is non-autistic people, can also have Alexithymia, which is sometimes considered as a personality trait in non-autistic people, since it's not in the DSM.
00:08:46.018 --> 00:08:55.838
Alexithymia has been closely related to autism because many of the emotional recognition difficulties are part of the diagnostic criteria of autism.
00:08:55.838 --> 00:09:06.778
But because not all autistic people have these challenges, it may be better described as a common co-occurring condition rather than autism itself.
00:09:06.778 --> 00:09:16.958
There's some discourse around separating the part from the autism diagnosis, like I said, in those linked articles in the written essay on this.
00:09:16.958 --> 00:09:22.418
We're looking right now at how this is related to improv and performance, of course.
00:09:22.418 --> 00:09:29.618
So this next part will cover performers and teammates, your teammates, if you are not a Alexithymic.
00:09:29.618 --> 00:09:36.118
And the next part covers more of a teaching environment for learners and their teachers and coaches.
00:09:36.118 --> 00:09:40.338
So how does Alexithymia affect practicing improv anyways?
00:09:41.058 --> 00:09:56.438
So if your room or your team has 10 or more improvisers collected within it, chances are you're improvising with or teaching or coaching someone who has Alexithymia.
00:09:56.438 --> 00:10:09.298
So as I noted earlier, the experiences and how this is expressed and experienced will vary a lot between individuals even with the same condition.
00:10:09.918 --> 00:10:30.878
So if you take two autistic humans who both have Alexithymia, they are going to be experiencing that differently, quite possibly, or they might be very similar, but they are different conditions because it depends a lot on all of those comorbidities, all of that lived experience interacting with the Alexithymia.
00:10:30.878 --> 00:10:55.898
So it's important to offer options and encourage everyone, encourage all the improvisers, your teammates to think about their own situation and how they are experiencing it, because even being aware of this as a thing, whether or not you have it, is a significant first step in just getting better and playing better together.
00:10:55.898 --> 00:10:58.978
So let's talk about some of those emotional labels.
00:10:58.978 --> 00:11:03.298
That is the thing that I first noticed I got quite angry about.
00:11:03.398 --> 00:11:27.598
This was in a teaching environment when I was being taught Improv really early on, and I noticed whenever I had those exercises where you are assigned an emotion at the top to start with or use in the scene, just having that word, having that label made me angry, even though I love doing big emotions in the scenes and my teachers knew that.
00:11:27.598 --> 00:11:36.878
So they probably would have never thought just getting that specific label was such a problem for someone who loved being big and emotional in scenes.
00:11:36.878 --> 00:11:40.018
Just making that connection is an issue.
00:11:40.018 --> 00:11:46.678
So let's talk about gifting emotions, which is something that happens in performances, in the scenes.
00:11:46.678 --> 00:11:50.118
You might notice something about your scene partner.
00:11:50.118 --> 00:11:57.578
You might say something that ends up being an emotional label, and that might put them in their head.
00:11:57.578 --> 00:12:00.298
That's a gift, especially early on in Improv.
00:12:00.378 --> 00:12:01.958
You're giving gifts like that.
00:12:01.958 --> 00:12:04.778
Oh, you look terrified or whatever it is.
00:12:04.778 --> 00:12:07.998
That can put your scene partner in their head.
00:12:07.998 --> 00:12:11.598
And this is something to be especially cognizant of.
00:12:11.598 --> 00:12:27.278
If you are playing with people, you're on a team maybe with newer performers, or you're a newer performer yourself, because in that scenario, you're all kind of already in your head, thinking about all the things that you need to think about in a performance.
00:12:27.538 --> 00:12:43.858
So adding on another layer of putting this label of an emotion that makes your scene partner, who might be Alexithymic, have to identify it and figure out how to express that as their character is an extra difficult thing to do.
00:12:43.858 --> 00:13:00.778
So having those conversations of figuring out where your teammates at, how everybody in the room, how they kind of feel about this sort of thing, having that conversation or just trying to notice if somebody seems a little bit caught off guard when you're dealing with emotional labels.
00:13:00.778 --> 00:13:06.558
Knowing these things, noticing those things, and accommodating for them can be extra helpful.
00:13:06.558 --> 00:13:11.678
So I want to encourage teams to talk to each other about this.
00:13:11.678 --> 00:13:16.998
If you're on a trusted team, you're in a trusted environment, talk with each other.
00:13:16.998 --> 00:13:22.858
If you consider yourself to be in a, you know, beneficial, safe enough space to share these things.
00:13:23.258 --> 00:13:27.478
And of course, you only have to share as much as you're comfortable with.
00:13:27.478 --> 00:13:29.638
I've been extremely open about this.
00:13:29.638 --> 00:13:33.178
Obviously, I mean, I'm talking about it to all of you right now.
00:13:33.178 --> 00:13:36.758
I'm lucky maybe, but I haven't had a bad experience.
00:13:37.558 --> 00:13:39.578
Not that I've been able to tell anyway.
00:13:39.578 --> 00:13:41.898
I mean, I guess that's a bit of the point, right?
00:13:41.898 --> 00:13:46.258
So maybe I have had a bad experience and I just don't know about it.
00:13:46.258 --> 00:13:47.798
But hey, I don't know about it.
00:13:47.798 --> 00:13:49.258
So I feel okay right now.
00:13:49.258 --> 00:13:51.658
What can performers do?
00:13:52.418 --> 00:13:54.258
So I can only speak for myself here.
00:13:54.258 --> 00:14:01.198
Although, of course, I always, as an aside, I welcome input from this week's survey is about this.
00:14:01.458 --> 00:14:06.978
I would love for you to go to neurodiversityimprov.com and go up into the top menu.
00:14:07.378 --> 00:14:08.558
There's a button up there.
00:14:08.558 --> 00:14:10.358
It says survey on it.
00:14:10.358 --> 00:14:13.858
And lo and behold, if you click that button, you're going to find some surveys.
00:14:13.858 --> 00:14:15.678
I know, shocking, right?
00:14:15.678 --> 00:14:16.958
But there's surveys in there.
00:14:16.958 --> 00:14:19.938
And there are surveys on all of these topics that I talk about.
00:14:20.178 --> 00:14:24.438
And if you fill it out and put something in there, it will help me.
00:14:24.438 --> 00:14:28.938
It will help the whole Improv community, in fact, because I'm only talking about my experience of Alexithymia.
00:14:28.938 --> 00:14:33.078
And I've said over and over again in this episode alone about how it's different for everyone.
00:14:33.078 --> 00:14:34.858
And I can only speak for myself.
00:14:34.858 --> 00:14:38.078
I would love to speak for some other people as well.
00:14:38.078 --> 00:14:43.358
So go find that survey link, survey, the word survey written at the top.
00:14:43.358 --> 00:14:44.198
You're going to click it.
00:14:44.198 --> 00:14:45.418
There's going to be surveys in it.
00:14:45.418 --> 00:14:46.218
Go do that.
00:14:46.218 --> 00:14:46.918
Fill it out.
00:14:46.918 --> 00:14:47.558
That would be great.
00:14:47.558 --> 00:14:48.818
Back to the episode.
00:14:48.818 --> 00:14:49.318
Where was I?
00:14:49.678 --> 00:15:02.098
In the section, what performers can do, I'm going to cover how I personally handle being gifted in emotion or assessing and responding to other people's emotions, which can be another difficulty as well.
00:15:02.098 --> 00:15:04.778
All those social cues that some of us have issues with.
00:15:04.778 --> 00:15:10.378
Noticing what is that thing that that person, that character trying to express.
00:15:10.378 --> 00:15:21.358
In addition to varying from person to person based on how they individually handle emotions, this will also be affected by the style of improv you're doing.
00:15:21.358 --> 00:15:29.418
For example, the style I do is heavily reliant on verbal discourse and justification.
00:15:29.418 --> 00:15:30.438
This helps me a lot.
00:15:30.438 --> 00:15:31.698
It's why I like it.
00:15:31.698 --> 00:15:33.898
There's not a lot of subtext.
00:15:33.898 --> 00:15:40.598
You are supposed to verbally say the subtext and someone who's autistic like me, that just works really well.
00:15:40.598 --> 00:15:42.398
So I'm going to be helped by that.
00:15:42.398 --> 00:15:45.858
But some of you are obviously not doing the style that I'm doing.
00:15:46.338 --> 00:15:47.998
And there might be some more work there.
00:15:47.998 --> 00:15:49.638
There might be more subtext.
00:15:49.638 --> 00:16:01.378
So if you notice somebody's having a difficulty maybe reading the subtext, you might want to feel a certain way to act that way.
00:16:01.378 --> 00:16:03.458
Show don't tell.
00:16:03.458 --> 00:16:09.178
This is common advice you may have received in a class or from a coach.
00:16:09.178 --> 00:16:10.558
It's good advice.
00:16:10.558 --> 00:16:14.738
It's probably why you're doing it in your performances after all.
00:16:15.038 --> 00:16:19.458
It's also more common in certain styles of improv than others.
00:16:19.458 --> 00:16:25.438
But even in mine, the style that I do that's highly verbal and a lot of justifications.
00:16:25.438 --> 00:16:27.498
I love justifications.
00:16:27.498 --> 00:16:30.418
A lot of you don't like justifying everything.
00:16:30.418 --> 00:16:31.978
That's bad improv to some of you.
00:16:31.978 --> 00:16:37.418
But even in my style, we get told, show don't tell.
00:16:37.418 --> 00:16:42.578
So the approach that I have, which I think spans probably more styles than improv.
00:16:42.578 --> 00:16:43.678
Correct me if I'm wrong.
00:16:43.738 --> 00:16:46.098
Use that survey if you want.
00:16:46.098 --> 00:16:49.378
The approach that I have is just be honest.
00:16:49.378 --> 00:16:54.078
Be honest with your emotions or your lack thereof.
00:16:54.078 --> 00:16:58.258
Show whatever it is your character you feel.
00:16:58.258 --> 00:17:05.818
So either one of those things, you or you as your character, whatever that character, whatever you feel, show that.
00:17:05.818 --> 00:17:07.418
And for me, there's two ways.
00:17:07.798 --> 00:17:11.918
You can play the character as themselves.
00:17:11.918 --> 00:17:14.058
I be the character.
00:17:14.058 --> 00:17:17.678
I feel what the character feels.
00:17:17.678 --> 00:17:20.318
This is actually easier for me.
00:17:20.318 --> 00:17:26.218
I think it gives me permission to not stress about what is, I'm doing the air quotes.
00:17:26.218 --> 00:17:28.458
You can't see it, but I'm doing it correct.
00:17:28.458 --> 00:17:32.778
So I'm not stressing about what is air quotes correct.
00:17:32.778 --> 00:17:39.438
And I don't struggle as much with trying to analyze facts for my own emotion or the other persons.
00:17:39.438 --> 00:17:44.778
I know I miss their cues, but I just read them as I do.
00:17:44.778 --> 00:17:47.418
And I don't worry about what's right.
00:17:47.418 --> 00:17:50.458
And well, the next section, I'll get into this a little bit more.
00:17:50.458 --> 00:17:57.358
But I also think that this might have to do with my personal wiring or just how I do improv myself.
00:17:57.358 --> 00:18:03.298
It's easier for me to be that person and feel what they do, my character.
00:18:03.298 --> 00:18:07.558
And if I actually feel it right around, there is no right or wrong.
00:18:07.578 --> 00:18:09.358
I'm them, there's no right or wrong.
00:18:09.358 --> 00:18:11.618
There might be a right or wrong if I'm doing it myself.
00:18:11.618 --> 00:18:13.498
So I have to apologize here.
00:18:13.498 --> 00:18:16.758
I'm not sure how I do this or even if I am doing it.
00:18:16.758 --> 00:18:17.178
I don't know.
00:18:17.178 --> 00:18:18.478
I think that's what I'm doing.
00:18:18.478 --> 00:18:21.318
But whatever is happening just seems to happen.
00:18:21.318 --> 00:18:24.398
And it seems to really help for this thing.
00:18:24.398 --> 00:18:34.058
I think in part to the hyperphantasia, I just I really see the person and I see the world and I'm just rolling with however I see it in that hyperphantasia world.
00:18:34.658 --> 00:18:37.598
Anyways, none of this might be helpful, so I'm going to move on.
00:18:37.598 --> 00:18:41.838
The other way, thing two, I play really close to me.
00:18:41.838 --> 00:18:47.998
I reach the emotion as one would in the outside world, outside of the scene.
00:18:47.998 --> 00:18:56.458
And if you miss your scene partner's emotion, their character's emotion, you just interpret it the way you do.
00:18:56.458 --> 00:19:00.078
React naturally, react honestly.
00:19:00.078 --> 00:19:03.218
And in my opinion, there is no wrong answer there.
00:19:03.418 --> 00:19:08.998
Even this might work better for you that don't have this concrete thinking issue.
00:19:08.998 --> 00:19:14.858
So try not to feel as much as you can that there's a right or wrong because there isn't.
00:19:14.858 --> 00:19:15.978
This is make-em-up.
00:19:15.978 --> 00:19:18.458
So just read it as you would.
00:19:18.458 --> 00:19:22.638
It's honest, it's real, so it's correct.
00:19:22.638 --> 00:19:24.738
There isn't a wrong answer here.
00:19:24.738 --> 00:19:38.298
If you air quotes, misinterpret what your scene partner meant, it's still how it would have went down in reality for these characters in this scenario, whatever's happening in your scene.
00:19:38.298 --> 00:19:47.878
A person with Alexithymia is still 10% of the real population and can be a character in the scene too.
00:19:47.878 --> 00:19:49.878
It's still real life.
00:19:49.878 --> 00:20:08.998
If anyone, the audience, a teammate, your coach, feels like it was a problem or feels like it was wrong, this is where some open discussion, ideally facilitated by coach or built up with, you know, trust between team members, that can help have a conversation about it.
00:20:08.998 --> 00:20:15.018
Be honest as much as possible, both on stage and in those discussions.
00:20:15.018 --> 00:20:20.818
And if it causes issues or stress, then perhaps a new team or a new coach is in order.
00:20:20.818 --> 00:20:27.118
I have a few episodes that I just did on doing notes and having those kind of conversations and discussions.
00:20:27.118 --> 00:20:30.478
So if you haven't checked those out, maybe go back and check those out.
00:20:30.958 --> 00:20:36.038
If this having a discussion seems like a very stressful situation for you.
00:20:36.038 --> 00:20:42.318
All right, next section, we're going to talk about, you get an emotion as a gift.
00:20:42.318 --> 00:20:51.118
So in a scene, your scene partner says you are terrified and you want to show terrified to the audience.
00:20:51.118 --> 00:21:02.878
Now, I mean, there's definitely improv styles and a lot of improv people that would say just show it, don't tell it because saying you are terrified is telling the thing, but let's just roll with this.
00:21:02.878 --> 00:21:05.718
Your scene partner says you look terrified.
00:21:05.718 --> 00:21:07.398
What do I do in this situation?
00:21:07.398 --> 00:21:10.858
For me, I almost ignore the word itself.
00:21:10.978 --> 00:21:25.618
I just relate the word, whatever they said, you look terrified to just whatever else has been happening in the scene, the other actions, what the game is, whatever it is, I just kind of ignore the word and just kind of check in.
00:21:25.618 --> 00:21:26.558
How do I feel?
00:21:26.698 --> 00:21:32.538
How does my character feel with everything that's kind of going in the scene right now?
00:21:32.538 --> 00:21:34.698
And I act appropriately.
00:21:34.698 --> 00:21:36.698
And I don't worry too much.
00:21:36.698 --> 00:21:43.438
I think more, I put that you are terrified more into the context of the scene and the action.
00:21:43.438 --> 00:21:50.038
For example, if someone says, you look really perplexed or confused or whatever, which is probably going to be accurate.
00:21:50.038 --> 00:22:00.118
I'll simply relate that phrase to the action, take it in and just do whatever I would honestly, and just let it flow as naturally as possible.
00:22:00.118 --> 00:22:06.458
Feel whatever I would without trying to tie that word perplexed onto it.
00:22:06.458 --> 00:22:09.558
This is the main issue I have with emotions.
00:22:09.558 --> 00:22:18.558
It's sorting out how I feel or what word to attach to that feeling, that physical thing.
00:22:18.558 --> 00:22:22.258
I almost don't understand the bodily sensation at all.
00:22:22.258 --> 00:22:29.698
Like if you tell me I feel something in my gut, I'd be looking to my stomach and thinking about the actual food in there.
00:22:29.698 --> 00:22:31.718
I would be taking it literally.
00:22:31.718 --> 00:22:37.758
I have a lot of issues thinking about that body thing, where the feeling comes from.
00:22:37.758 --> 00:22:42.238
That is immediately where my brain goes, and that's not going to help me in improv.
00:22:42.718 --> 00:22:53.738
I'm thinking about how accura is that word, is that emotion the actual thing that's appropriate for this actual contextual situation.
00:22:53.738 --> 00:23:02.958
So if I'm trying to figure out all those things, I can't do improv, I can't do the scene, so I just, I don't do that.
00:23:02.958 --> 00:23:07.698
It's putting me in my head, and it's going to make me worse as a scene partner.
00:23:08.298 --> 00:23:16.278
So I just ask what my character is feeling in the moment, and I don't think about that actual label.
00:23:16.278 --> 00:23:25.418
So overall, I feel that this is better for the scene than trying to act, quotes, however the word would be expressed best.
00:23:25.418 --> 00:23:31.918
I do my best to honor the gift that my scene partner has given me, but I don't try to think about it.
00:23:31.918 --> 00:23:35.238
I don't want to overthink that as I would in real life.
00:23:35.358 --> 00:23:44.678
I just be my character, or if I'm not thinking as a character, I would just react truthfully as myself.
00:23:44.678 --> 00:23:48.818
And I have no problems feeling or emoting in a scene.
00:23:48.818 --> 00:23:59.578
So in part two, I will cover how I quickly access and feel emotions for real in an exercise when I've been assigned a word like this.
00:23:59.578 --> 00:24:05.938
Again, this is just my experience and how I made the situation best work for me.
00:24:05.938 --> 00:24:15.158
And I would love to know what you think if you experience this and what you might have tried yourself, what works for you or what didn't work for you.
00:24:15.158 --> 00:24:21.138
So find that survey button top of the Neurodiversity and improv.com website and let me know.
00:24:21.138 --> 00:24:23.718
So you have a scene partner.
00:24:23.718 --> 00:24:25.338
You have a scene partner.
00:24:25.338 --> 00:24:26.898
You might be Alexithymic.
00:24:26.898 --> 00:24:29.258
Your scene partner might be Alexithymic.
00:24:29.258 --> 00:24:29.758
Now what?
00:24:30.278 --> 00:24:37.218
If you know that this is an issue, just don't give emotion words to other people.
00:24:37.218 --> 00:24:38.118
You don't need to.
00:24:38.118 --> 00:24:39.938
It's good improv to not do it.
00:24:39.938 --> 00:24:43.438
So avoid the actual words as labels.
00:24:43.438 --> 00:24:49.938
Just react, show, and feel if you can, but just react to each other.
00:24:51.058 --> 00:24:57.698
Talk about the situation, talk about other things, and just kind of show as your character would honestly.
00:24:57.698 --> 00:25:01.218
We don't need to say you look perplexed in a scene.
00:25:01.218 --> 00:25:03.998
Just do the stuff in the scene.
00:25:03.998 --> 00:25:13.898
Show what's happening, and let your scene partner react to those actions and feel it out as they might, as opposed to telling them what to feel.
00:25:13.898 --> 00:25:20.338
If this makes sense, of course, there's gonna be outliers that don't make sense, and you'll need to do something else.
00:25:20.338 --> 00:25:30.178
If you notice that your scene partner is struggling or is not responding in the way that you expect, give them hints through the verbals.
00:25:30.178 --> 00:25:37.938
Yes, this is telling as opposed to showing, but this might help them process what you are emoting.
00:25:37.938 --> 00:25:45.778
Maybe this affects the scene, but it will help both you and your scene partner and the scene itself move along.
00:25:45.938 --> 00:25:58.278
It might even help some of the audience who may have missed whatever the emotion is, or they might not be able to see it due to where they are sitting in relationship to the stage or your face.
00:25:58.278 --> 00:26:00.878
So, it might help them too.
00:26:00.878 --> 00:26:10.158
In part two, I will cover some of the tips for students and teachers in learning environments and jams.
00:26:10.158 --> 00:26:13.978
So, that's it for part one of Alexithymia.
00:26:14.718 --> 00:26:24.278
Podcast episodes are going to be going out every second week for this season, which is going to progress through most of the rest of this year.
00:26:24.278 --> 00:26:37.038
Next week, paid supporters will find an essay on this topic, and then we'll proceed to the next episode, which will be part two on Alexithymia.
00:26:37.038 --> 00:26:46.818
You can find the articles and episodes at neurodiversityimprov.com website, which I have mentioned too many times in this episode already.
00:26:46.818 --> 00:26:55.978
You can subscribe to the newsletter notifications, and you can receive the essay by email from this website.
00:26:55.978 --> 00:27:06.498
You can also support this ongoing effort and get written essays on these subjects, and support this writing and production of these episodes, which is a lot.
00:27:06.498 --> 00:27:11.398
It really helps me to know that you want more of these kinds of resources to help with your practice.
00:27:11.498 --> 00:27:13.818
This will help us get to season 3.
00:27:13.818 --> 00:27:20.198
I really appreciate it, and I thank you so much to the person out there that is subscribed.
00:27:20.198 --> 00:27:40.878
Of course, if this is what you like and you find it useful, please tell your improviser friends, word of mouth would be really helpful, much appreciated, and of course, also rating and reviewing in Apple podcasts would help a lot, and a button with that link is right in the article.
00:27:41.158 --> 00:27:43.878
So please use that and help out.
00:27:43.878 --> 00:27:48.618
And of course, the survey for this episode is right in the show notes.
00:27:48.618 --> 00:27:55.698
If you're listening to this in your ears, go look at those show notes, click that survey link, and let me know what you think.
00:27:55.698 --> 00:28:03.018
And I created and I write this episode, and I've edited it, and it's produced by stereoforest.com.
00:28:04.138 --> 00:28:06.478
I have a bunch of shows that are about to start dropping.
00:28:06.478 --> 00:28:10.318
They're all improvised comedy, audio dramas, and so on.
00:28:10.358 --> 00:28:14.338
And so if you want to check these out, please go to stereoforest.com.
00:28:14.338 --> 00:28:19.038
And these links, of course, are also in the show notes along with some others.
00:28:19.038 --> 00:28:20.878
So thank you so much for joining me.
00:28:20.878 --> 00:28:23.818
Next one is part two on the same topic.
00:28:23.818 --> 00:28:25.058
And thanks again.
00:28:25.058 --> 00:28:26.038
I'll talk to you later.