The Paris Olympics left us with some memorable moments. One of them was the questionable performance of the Australian breakdancer, Raygun.
What does this have to do with us, Feña? Are you going to draw another parallel between sports and impro? Well, yes.
I can’t stop thinking that, many times, the rest of the world sees impro in the same way we saw Raygun—with a mix of surprise, indignation, and secondhand embarrassment.
Am I exaggerating? Probably. I love hyperbole.
But put yourself in the shoes of the b-girls and b-boys who, after the excitement of seeing their art/sport featured in the Olympics and showcasing how wonderful, creative, and amazing their discipline can be, are left with nothing more than the dismal performance of the Australian.
Just minutes after the "doctor's" participation ended, there were already thousands of people complaining that the experience should not be repeated, that breakdancing is trash, that there is no place for these weird things in the world's most important sporting event.
That’s how unfair reality is. Dozens of breakdancers pay the price for one poor performance.
The same thing happens in the world of impro.
The general audience, and more specifically, the theater-going audience, sees impro in the same way.
Because, in the world of impro, there are more Rayguns than we’d like to admit.
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