I was honored to present two scripting workshops at The Session convention in London recently. They both went very well, and one common piece of positive feedback was that the exercises made it easy for people who haven’t scripted yet to try it a little bit, and see the results, which gave them the incentive to do more.
Thinking about the workshops that night, instead of sleeping, I had an idea that I think will have the same positive features, but make it much easier for you to extend your scripting to an entire trick. And so, thanks to jet lag, here you are.
Step One: Three Adjectives
I want you to imagine that someone who has never met you sees you perform. And afterward, one of their friends, who was not at the show, says, “What kind of person were they?” What answer would you hope they would give? In other words, what adjectives do you want your spectators to use when describing you?
Write down three adjectives that best represent how you want to be. Let me give you my three as an example. My first draft of this exercise, many years ago, was funny, creative, and smart. Thinking about it, I decided that smart could be a little arrogant, and also limited. I changed it to thoughtful, which I think includes being smart but also being a caring person. That’s what I want to communicate.
Write down your three adjectives.