Lila; /leela/; Sanskrit - "Divine Play"

By Leslie Fletcher

Class at 9 a.m. on Friday is usually reserved for those poor souls who still haven't gotten the hang of the bidding system. The GSB students who risked precious shuteye to join the Lila Theatre Improv Workshop last Friday were rewarded with more than a bid point subsidy. Lila Theatre, a San Francisco based troupe, was in town for the world renowned Chicago Improv Festival (CIF 7: Apr. 30-May 9). Fitting us into their hectic festival schedule, Lila journeyed to Hyde Park to lead GSB students through a traditional improv workshop, similar to those that Lila cast members would partake in as a part of the CIF.

Trust me, this was not "Who moved my Cheese? And why does it still smell?" corporate development guck. GSB students do not need jargon and canned lessons; they crave hands-on experience. For two hours, b-schoolers spontaneously transformed into improvisers, learning first-hand the value of creativity and openness. One storytelling game revealed profound maxims such as: "Never trust elephants" and, the more obscure corollary, "it's small but tasty when you eat little people." At one point, we created improvised commercials. The liquid dagger promotion targeting both revenge and suicide markets conveyed clear differentiation value versus liquid bullets - exhibited aptly with a Dirty Harry shoot-out. It would have made Professor McGill proud.

More immediately useful perhaps is the approach we learned to failure. You cannot expect to be funny, clever, and enlightening every second on stage. To avoid this mental block, one of the first exercises was to raise your hands high in the air and repeatedly proclaim to all 5 floors of Rosenwald that "I suck, and I love to fail." This may not be the way to start your next client presentation, but it ain't a bad thing to try by yourself in the car before you go to that meeting. As we closed the workshop, one GSB student committed "to continue to celebrate failure" while striving to "exercise my creativity muscle". Another expressed hope that such activities were a cure for the GSB's rigid reputation, and wished everyone in the GSB could "come and experience this openness." Another proclaimed, "I am Jesus." Each clearly beginning a very special artistic journey, I'm sure. 

Of course, if 'failing' at everything was as fun as improv failure, we would consider recruiting a party and, god forbid, learn to relax a bit. Beyond the more obvious benefits, consider further...

Third, Improv and the arts provide an intrinsically more interactive networking forum - something both fun and productive. Second, creativity is exercise for the other half of your brain, which until now most of us have been using only to make our hats fit properly on our heads. First, you know you are tired of the same boring structure. Structure? No thanks.

Join the GSB's Performing Arts Group for the next workshop or outing. Coming soon: an outing to the Joffrey, a blues bar trip, and "30 Bands in 60 Minutes" at the Metro on May 27th. "Those who say 'no' are rewarded with safety. Those who say 'yes' are rewarded with adventure."

-Keith Johnstone, "Impro"