Playground Architect

Inspiration for the most part isn't something that strikes like a lightening bolt, unsought and without effort. Different mediums require different degrees of diligence and discipline in order to be open to, seek out, process, and implement whatever myriad of things might jump-start the discovery of an idea. With writing it can take the combination of a kind of constant pursuit as well as idea gestation, which I've gone into previously, to lock down some actionable inspiration. With improv there is a certain amount of preplanning, of preparation, all in real time for the most part, when you assess a scene or situation and evaluate and discard a number of possible options or digressions before making a specific choice or move. But there are those rare moments when things bubble up from no where.

I had one of those moments in the Schwa show last Sunday. Jeannie and I were two loveable nerds in a prom scene where both of us had gone stag, we had this kind of awkward flirty conversation and at one point asked each other what we planned to do after graduation. My response was "I'm going to be a playground architect" which got a laugh and led to a fun scene later on with Craig. Now certainly that isn't particularly revelatory nor was it one of those moments that anyone in the audience will necessarily remember but for me the idea, the profession of "playground architect" just came from no where. I had no idea what I was going to say I reached for something and thats what I found apropos of nothing. As on-the-nose as it may sound it was one of those moments of true inspiration where I didn't force anything, didn't invent anything, I just found what I was looking for out in the creative ether. And that kind of moment feels like magic.

I had a similar experience with the poem I wrote this week. I woke up and the idea and first three stanzas were just kind of there, the afterglow of an apocalyptic dream. This kind of thing is rare enough, at least for me, that its still very exciting and gratifying. Ultimately every artist/creative person needs to develop a discipline with how they create content, a routine of input and output. A habit of looking for inspiration everywhere, with this default awareness in place you are more susceptible to those rare calls of the muse.

"I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean." -Socrates