Two Theories

My Playground team The Night Shift had a pretty good run 11/10 to 1/15 of doing shows and we continue to be friends. Some folks have moved away and Meaghan leaves town in two short weeks but we've remained relatively close. There's this weird expectation with improv groups that in order to be good you have to be best best friends, that some kind of deep friendship is a requirement. And certainly it helps the improv to a certain extent early on, knowing each other, but the reality is that for the most part friendship and performance aren't mutually exclusive. You can perform well with people you don't know, acquaintances, friends, even people you dislike. The quality of the work isn't contingent upon the depth of the friendship. It's certainly no failing of a team or group if everyone isn't bosom buddies. But it can feel that way.

We kind of lucked out in the sense our collective friendship grew gradually congruent with our ability and towards the end, what with chronically poorly attended shows, we decided best to stop performing and just hang out occasionally. Which we have done. Something teams frequently say but don't necessarily do. Not to say we're the best of friends but we make time for each other and stay connected. When we do see each other we're all very honest and upfront about what's going on in our lives which, in my opinion, is what friendship's all about.

Jeremy, easily the most enviably adult one of us, hosted us at his beautiful house in the suburbs. We ate, joked around, and caught up. We've known each other almost six years now, its a long time and a lot has happened. We've all grown up significantly. Evolved. It's wonderful to witness and be a part of. Seems to me the enjoyment and comfort you get from a friendship may start with a spike of excitement, that getting-to-know-you bump, then increases slowly as the years go by. All it takes is a little effort.