Imagine a big fishing pole, and two large balls of yarn.
Hobby inflation got you down? Try improv. It just might change the world. Yes, I'm serious. And yes, that was a dick joke.
If we have any hope of a thriving planet—much less a business—it is going to take all of us doing what we can with the resources we have.
-Yvon Chouinard
This was initially written for my WE Improv newsletter, which is why there are plugs for my business. I ended up spending so much time on it, I figured I might as well post it here. Recycling it felt apt.
I recently read an article in the Atlantic titled What We Lose When We’re Priced Out of Our Hobbies. I’ve linked to it here, though you may need to sign up to read it. Basically it outlines how the cost of knitting, fishing, tabletop games, and yes theater, is becoming too expensive for so many of us. The author, Tyler Austin Harper, outlines how with the tariffs and trade war this is likely to only get worse. It’s called Hobby Inflation. One of the consequences of this as Harper writes is “the shrinking and possible disappearance of opportunities for people from different backgrounds to get to know one another.”
If you’re reading this, then you likely know where improv fits into the ecosystem. Improv is all about getting to know people from different backgrounds. Harper cites another book, Players and Pawns: How Chess Builds Community, by Gary Alan Fine, who says hobbies create “social worlds,” and an “ideology of openness, and a supportive environment.” I would argue no hobby is more befitting this designation than improv. Our scenes are built from our experiences and no two experiences are the same, and therefore no two scenes are either. We get to help create something that is equal parts familiar and new. Improv is a well of expression and experience. Fortunately for us, improv has no materials and so we should be exempt from hobby inflation, right?
Not exactly. I can’t remember a time when more people in Los Angeles were looking for work, where rent was coming down and vacancies were plenty. California itself is experiencing a population decline. People are leaving for the first time in over fifty years. Jobs are vanishing. And early winds suggest a recession is inbound. So improv too, is experiencing it’s hobby inflation. If not in the price increase directly, but in the cost of living in Los Angeles and the plummeting job market, especially for those of us in entertainment. It is becoming harder to justify the cost of imagination.
I feel frustrated and angry and heartbroken that I cannot control most of the factors involved in people struggling to afford the bare necessities, let alone improv classes. The world feels as if it is on fire and I only have a spray bottle.
I believe in the power of art and community. Not only in it’s respite from the hardships we all face in living, but in its ability to teach people to collaborate, listen, accept, and embrace. I have learned how to offer, accept, and let go. I have developed confidence in my voice and an appreciation for the voices of people who are not like. Improv, like most hobbies is as much about learning as it is about fun or excitement or relaxation. The more you do it, the more you grow and develop. And when it comes to playing with people from different backgrounds, the growth and development can be transformational.
As a reluctant businessman, I take inspiration from Yvon Chouinard, the founder and once CEO of Patagonia. It’s from his book let my people go surfing that I borrow the term reluctant businessman. For those that don’t know, Patagonia is a very successful outdoor clothing & gear company. They also are an unusual business. They are known for pushing reuse and repair in their goods, teaching people how to fix their own equipment, offering sixteen weeks maternity and twelve weeks paternity leave, for taking out full page ads in the New York Times on Black Friday telling consumers not to buy their products, and for setting up a trust that essentially makes the environment the only stakeholder. Yvon believed that his company could pay the bills and change the ways business was done. Patagonia has two other books the responsible company and tools for grassroots activists. In the latter, Yvon talks about how he witnessed one individual spark a movement to kill a development plan that would have destroyed the mouth of the Ventura River. From there Yvon reminds us that things can change even when it seems like they can’t. He uses the tobacco industry as an example. But there are many. The ozone layer is healing. 50 Cent single-handedly turned the culture against Ja Rule. Businesses and consumers can do more than produce and consume. They can, as Naomi Klein writes in the forward to let my people go surfing, build “social and political movements that change the rules of the game.”
So I’m doing what I can, what I have control over to preserve not only my business, but what I believe to be invaluable to a community: improv comedy. In addition to making all shows free, and providing tiered-pricing for classes, WE is doing the following to maximize accessibility and inclusion.
All core curriculum classes have been lowered to well under $200. It most cases, that means four workshops and four shows in a class size of 8-10. WE is committed to providing classes and performances at the most affordable prices possible to increase access for creative collaboration.
Pre(WE)mium monthly memberships are $10/month for 3 drop-ins, and $20/month for 3 drop-ins and 3 mash-ups. Plus you get 10% off all workshops. This is a group game model. When everyone contributes, then everyone can have a path forward to new heights.
All WE Can Imagine - A June Summer Savings Smorgasbord for 31 sessions and 16 shows. Think of it like crossfit. Pay one price and come as often as you like. For the rest of April, it’s just $125. It’s then $150 through May 15th. $200 after that.
There is of course the self-interest reason for this. I too, need to make a living and I recognize my services are not essential and I am operating in a competitive field that only has become more competitive. I am choosing and will always choose a path of inclusivity and abundance. This means lower prices, no auditions, and no exclusivity. I believe that auditions and exclusivity perpetuate manufactured scarcity, making people believe there is not enough supply (stage time, recognition, validation) to go around and as such, demand is inflated so that prices can be increased. Improv is too important to culture to limit access for profit. The opportunity costs associated with exclusivity such as inadequacy, judgment and resentment, all undermine the social and artistic benefits that improv brings to a community. Improv’s value is exponential when it is open to all, and since we have the luxury of having fewer material and overhead costs, we should prioritize affordability so that any interested individual can join a community and help build a more vibrant social world where people from with diverse experiences can learn and play together.
If hobbies cultivate ideological openness, and businesses can influence consumers, and improv thrives from a “yes, and” approach, then as silly as it sounds, I think there is a real opportunity for improv to be at the center of dynamic, progressive, change. “Yes, and” isn’t just how we accept an unusual premise, it is how we accept each other. Improv is the best example of how acceptance can transform an idea into something greater than any one person could have imagined. Improv’s low overhead and minimal waste make it a beacon during hobby inflation and economic recession. It can exist for more people from more places if we allow it. This means social worlds will grow, diverse communities can collaborate, and suddenly it’s not business as usual, but business as unusual. Business as useful. Improv is uniquely suited to be both recession-proof and an oppression extinguisher. It won’t happen overnight and there will be many learning curves and if we’re really trying, missteps, follies, and failures will occur. But that’s what the social world is for. To remind you that people like you, and people not like you, are all around you to help you learn, to pick you up, and to help you move forward. So maybe I don’t just have a spray bottle. Maybe with a theater and a school, I have a spout. And everyone who comes through the doors has a spray bottle. A single spritz cannot extinguish a blaze. But a dozen, two dozen, fifty, a hundred bottles, could be quite effective. I just need to keep the faucet on. Except when we’re not using it because we are running out of water. No Seriously. If your hobby is golf, stop it. Sign up for improv and get your golf fix in there. Make a hole-in-one every time!