Nailing Whispers to the Wall
I used to swear by this quote when I was writing poetry:
“To base thought only on speech is to try nailing whispers to the wall. Writing freezes thought and offers it up for inspection.” –Jack Rosenthal
Now that I find expression in Improv, I wonder: do I still agree with this? Maybe not, or maybe I do, and Improv is, to some degree, the art of trying to nail whispers to the wall. I certainly don’t think Improv freezes thought. In fact, I’m not sure I even like the idea that thought can be frozen anymore, because even the written word is changed by the environment in which it’s read.
November 6th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
It’s the morning dew, baby! The ephemeral nature is part of the magic. Improv doesn’t even look as good on tape as if you were there.