Jane Espenson Writer of such great shows as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Gilmore Girls, etc... Plus some great screenwriting craft informationnn Alex Epstein Author of such books as "Crafty Screenwriting" and "Crafty TV Writing" Ken Levine Emmy winning writer for shows like M*A*S*H, Cheers, The Simpsons, Frasier, etc... Denis McGrath Intelligent Canadian TV screenwriter, always has an opinion worth reading. Whedonesque All things Whedon, all the time. Blogger
Sunday, January 18, 2009
I've noticed something different about myself lately. I'm happier. I'm more energetic. I'm more confident. I walk with a little more something in my step. I don't know exactly what has caused these changes but I have a theory. It's a theory that involves a little dog and an improv class.
For those of you who don't know, in October I adopted this amazing dog. I've named him Duffy which I've deemed appropriate and if you've met him you probably agree. Before I adopted him I knew I was missing something, a connection... to... something. So I began searching high and low for a dog that would fit into my life and bring me all the joy that all my previous dogs had done. I found a small little white terrier who seemed to have this light in his eyes and I fell in love with him instantly. He was perfect. I say was because after 4 days of having Giles (which is what I named him) he began getting sick with Parvo. It became so bad that about 4 days later we had to put him down. I was devastated. Despite this horrible set back I continued my search. Petfinder.com to the rescue... hopefully. Well rescue they did. I found a dog who quite literally resembled "Sprocket" from "Fraggle Rock" (btw the shelter named him Cousin It) so much so that I just had to have him. I went to meet him and... well, that was it. Love at first sight. If anybody says that love at first sight isn't possible then they've never met this dog. Even those that aren't huge dog people seem to fall for this little fella so of course, being the dog person that I am, I didn't have a chance. So now I wake up every morning to a lick on my nose and go to bed with a warm, soft little body snuggled up against me. And in between these times I have this energetic, funny, fantastic dog that brings me joy constantly. I can't wait to get home every night, not to sink back into my shell like a hermit crab, but to take him for a walk, do some training with him or even just play with him. It's amazing how much this animal did for me.
This Duffy when I first met him.
This is Duffy after I got him home, gave him a bath and trimmed a bit of his hair.
And this is Duffy now in his cute little sweater.
Now you're probably wondering what this has to do with improv. Well, nothing but... here's something. Back in November I began taking Improv classes at The Hideout Theatre. I've been wanting to take them for quite sometime because it's suppose to help with my screenwriting. But a problem or two cropped up whenever a new class was available or I'd miss the beginning of the class by, like, two days. Finally the God's of timing were on my side and I was able to start Improv classes. The amazing thing about these classes is not just that it's helping my screenwriting but it seems to be also helping my self-esteem. I feel more comfortable with just being me, more comfortable with the possibility of failing, of not being perfect all the time. Improv allows you to let go of those preconceived notions you have about yourself. It allows you to knock down those walls that we've all built to protect ourselves and just trust ourselves and our instincts. Plus... so much fun!
