Volunteering and Community

June: so much to say about June.  There was Twangfest for KDHX, St. Louis Heritage Festival, St. Louis Fringe Festival, Wine Dine and Jazz and Circus Flora.  I've also been doing Improv classes at The Improv Shop.  There is a quote on The Improv Shop wall and website by Kurt Vonnegut that goes: "And I would really, over the long run, hope America would find some way to provide all of our citizens with extended families -- a large group of people they could call on for help."  A little girl (4 or 5 years old) giving me a big hug after Circus Flora was over.  The combination of the quote and hug got me thinking that my favorite parts about volunteering and improv and life is the communities.  Communities that in some cases only get to see once a year and others that I can goof around with and be funny with.  Somehow it all makes sense together.  Probably my favorite part of doing any and all of it.  It's one of those things that I want to help push forward and help it grow.  So many communities to try to tie together and I am merely one thread amongst them all.

Quick Thoughts On Improv

I've been taking Improv classes at The Improv Shop since September 2013.  Long time I know.  One thing that really has really struck me is how pretty much every motivational or inspirational or spiritual speaker, all pretty much hit on ideas that are "taught" in improv classes.  The ideas are not really directly taught but I think the ideas flow from them.   Difference being is that the motivational speaker person has specific life lessons that they customize to and present ideas relative to that.  

Things like "Yes, and...", listen, or do stuff: they all pretty much come through in any motivational speaker.  These ideas are all repackaged but have the vibe of one of these things.  I am ordained by 2 "organizations", maybe I should come up with an inspirational life story and preach to that.  If you would like to donate to my church.....

Other thing that I've noticed is that I pretty much lived by "Yes, and..." for a while without realizing it.  It is pretty sweet how it all comes around.

I also would like to learn to be a clown, so if you know of anyone in St. Louis that is willing to either teach or mentor, Let me know.

St. Louis Improv Community....You guys, gals, and weirdos are awesome.  Love you guys.

Changes Happen

Lately I've been eerily aware of my surroundings and it's been bugging me.  The idea that no matter how much you change; the world stays the same.  Change is one of those things that is just necessary for the world to evolve and become a better place.  As much as I like the comfort of things being the same and the regular patterns that we all fall under all the time, I love the differences and new and noveltiess that the world can bring to us.  Part of the thing that draws me to the list of stuff on the other tab and other volunteering and even the improv class is the variety and the crazyness of changes.  Maybe I'm a dreamer of dreams but that is just what I love.  I love the variety and not knowing and the opportunity to grow from that opportunity.

It is one of the things that bug me.  I believe that we as people and humans can be so much more.  We need to break free of the things that hold us back.  I won't try to convince you of this but I think you can come to the conclusion with your own reason.  If you need convincing, I will do my best to try or improv some convincing argument.

On that I will shamelessly rip off this poem called Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy swiped from WikiSource:

We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;—
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties
We build up the world's great cities,
And out of a fabulous story
We fashion an empire's glory:
One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song's measure
Can trample a kingdom down.

We, in the ages lying
In the buried past of the earth,
Built Nineveh with our sighing,
And Babel itself in our mirth;
And o'erthrew them with prophesying
To the old of the new world's worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth.

A breath of our inspiration
Is the life of each generation;
A wondrous thing of our dreaming
Unearthly, impossible seeming—
The soldier, the king, and the peasant
Are working together in one,
Till our dream shall become their present,
And their work in the world be done.

They had no vision amazing
Of the goodly house they are raising;
They had no divine foreshowing
Of the land to which they are going:
But on one man's soul it hath broken,
A light that doth not depart;
And his look, or a word he hath spoken,
Wrought flame in another man's heart.

And therefore to-day is thrilling
With a past day's late fulfilling;
And the multitudes are enlisted
In the faith that their fathers resisted,
And, scorning the dream of to-morrow,
Are bringing to pass, as they may,
In the world, for its joy or its sorrow,
The dream that was scorned yesterday.

But we, with our dreaming and singing,
Ceaseless and sorrowless we!
The glory about us clinging
Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing:
O men! it must ever be
That we dwell, in our dreaming and singing,
A little apart from ye.

For we are afar with the dawning
And the suns that are not yet high,
And out of the infinite morning
Intrepid you hear us cry—
How, spite of your human scorning,
Once more God's future draws nigh,
And already goes forth the warning
That ye of the past must die.

Great hail! we cry to the comers
From the dazzling unknown shore;
Bring us hither your sun and your summers;
And renew our world as of yore;
You shall teach us your song's new numbers,
And things that we dreamed not before:
Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,
And a singer who sings no more.

Volunteering Why's

I have done a lot of volunteering.  It's been something like 800 hours over the last 2 years or so.  As for the why, I'm still trying to nail that down.  Some things that I've come up with are:

1. Lots of new and interesting experiences
1. Got to hang out back stage at music concerts and load up and ship out bands
2. Hung out on the roof on main street
3. Creepy Basement
4. Check out hidden places at events that most don't get to see.  
2. Helps me become a better leader and communicator 
3. Free T-Shirts, Food, booze, beverages, and candy (cool perk but not a requirement)
1. So many T-shirts
4. Meet lots of cool folks
5. Led me into other interesting stuff
1. Started taking classes at The Improv Shop
2. Got into other volunteer opportunities
6. Can honestly say I've worked at a circus, radio station, festivals, at a bar, selling merch, and giving away loads of free stuff.

There's a saying in improv that you need to "Get out of your head" and "Yes, and..  In a weird sense those are the ideas that I'm looking for.  It's an Art meets life and life meets art thing that seems like I've been living over the last few years with all this volunteering.  For the most part I improvise at these events.  I keep an ear to the ground and do what needs to be done.  Improv class is starting to show me the way to do this but also show me how to be funny too in an honest sort of way.  I do highly recommend taking up improv class for reasons I won't describe in this post.  If there is any interest I will describe it in future posts.