Except for the part where I stopped at a car wash and vacuumed my car with a vacuum cleaner that smelled like vomit, today was a great day. First of all, I didn’t get out of bed until three in the afternoon, and second, at the tender age of thirty-six, I went back to school–improv comedy school.

I’ll explain.

Several of my friends are in a local improv comedy group called The Razorlaughs. (They’re super creative and hilarious.) If you don’t know, improv comedy is comedy that is made up on the spot. It’s sort of like eating a box of chocolates while riding a roller coaster blindfolded–you never know what you’re gonna get or what’s gonna happen next. Anyway, The Razorlaughs (Aaron, Ian, Summer, Austin) are teaching an improv class at Future School of Fort Smith, which is the new kid on the block in terms of high schools ’round these parts. (I don’t know why I suddenly started talking like a cowboy.) The cool thing? The class is open to adults as well as high school students. (Come join the fun.)

Tonight the improv class started with introductions, then we did some basic stretches, since apparently it’s not uncommon for actors and actresses to hurt their ankles. (Who knew?) Then we warmed up our voices by making noises like rockets and whiney little children. (It was awesome.) Finally we did some tongue twisters, such as saying “wristwatch” and “toy boat” five times fast.

Go ahead and try it. No one’s watching.

The actual improv part of the evening centered around a game called Freeze, Unfreeze. The idea is that two people start the scene, each with a character and a setting. Like maybe a guy and a girl are on a blind date at a bowling alley. Hopefully each character is all dramatic with lots of gestures, then at some point, maybe while the guy is celebrating with his hands in the air, one of the other actors says, “Freeze,” and steps in to take the place of one of the people on stage, assuming their exact position. But the catch is that when they Unfreeze, the setting and situation change. Maybe now the guy has his hands in the air and is being arrested. So everyone has to adapt and go in a different direction.

When it was my turn to participate, I noticed my heart was beating pretty fast. I told Summer (who’s a pro at this sort of thing), “I’m nervous,” and she said, “It’s all right.” Well, like any typical Thursday evening, I started out on my knees (just kidding), as I was given the assignment to “be someone who plays video games.” My partner for the scene, a girl, was someone riding a bike. The setting was–get this–a disco club. Honestly, I’m not sure what happened next. I just know there was a simulated bike-to-video-gamer crash, some John Travolta moves, and a lot of silliness.

Soon I was tapped out, and others took over the scene. The whole thing was a blur, but somehow or other, Ian ended up on the ground with someone sitting on top of him. Maybe they were wrestling–I don’t know–but I said, “Freeze,” tapped out the person on top, and took their place. Quickly I grabbed Ian’s leg, slowly dragged him along the floor, and sang, “Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream.”

These sorts of shenanigans went on for over an hour. Several times I got so caught up in what the others were doing and creating, that I couldn’t think fast enough to jump in. Seriously, I was really impressed with the high school kids–not just for being half my age, but for all their bravery and good ideas. At one point I started a scene on one leg, which I was thinking of as a yoga pose, but then one of the students stepped up, put my arms above my head, and said, “Now this is how you do a pirouette.” Later, someone else pushed me around the floor after telling me I was a lawnmower.

It was fun, but I wish I’d known to bring my kneepads. (I am almost forty.)

After class Aaron said that one of the principles of good improv is something called “yes and,” which means that if someone tells you that you’re a lawnmower, you say yes and add something to it. In my case, I added the fact that my lawnmower ran out of gas, which gave the next person something to work with. So if each person does this, it moves the scene along. But obviously a scene would die if someone said no–no, I’m not a lawnmower–and just stood there.

Tonight I finished a young-adult fiction novel I’ve been reading, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. The story centers around a teenage Indian who leaves his reservation to attend an all-white school. Toward the end of the story, he joins the basketball team. Before his first game, much like I did with Summer tonight, he tells his coach he’s nervous. In response, his coach says there’s a difference between being nervous and being scared. He says, “Nervous means you want to play. Scared means you don’t want to play.”

I hadn’t thought about this distinction before. I mean, before the class tonight, I was definitely nervous. As I think about what’s to come next in my life and whether or not my dreams will come true, I’m definitely nervous. Perhaps a little scared, but mostly nervous. And I love the idea that maybe my nervousness simply means I want to play–I want to get out there–I want to try something new and see what happens.

I want an adventure.

Honestly, it seems that life is a lot like an improv game where things are constantly changing and new characters are coming in and out of the scene. One minute you’ve got your own business, and the next you’re living with your parents. (I’m just pulling possibilities out of a hat here.) And whereas there are certain things you can’t change, you can always adapt and go in a different direction. You can say “yes and.” Yes, I’m living at home again–and I’m taking the opportunity to write every day. Yes, I don’t have a job–and I’m using my free time to learn something new. Yes, I’m the oldest person in the improv class–and at least I know what disco is.

Yes, I’m nervous–and I still want to play.

[Thanks to the Razorlaughs for a great evening. You guys rock. Thanks to Kate for the pictures of me. You rock too. Lastly, here’s a video of the pros playing Freeze, Unfreeze (3.5 minutes).]