This morning I woke up with a start. To a memory of one of the scariest scenes I've ever played. And it wasn't even improv. Here are some reflections from the front line of terror. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
Do you wave longingly as guests depart, or shut the door and get on with life? Do you race from one thing without finishing the other?After a long weekend's improv retreat, I chew over our tricky emotional relationship with transitions, thresholds and change. All while feeling a little tender myself. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com...
In all of us, there's a part forever scanning for evidence to confirm all our worst fears. And when it finds evidence, a story begins to play. What's yours? Here's mine and how I'm trying a different, kinder response... This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
A late night improv experience of being in a slug cult reminds me - that the big themes we wrestle with as humans; like confidence, creativity, resilience, honesty isn't stuff we can learn or be taught. Fundamental stuff like this is often innate, so perhaps it just needs to be remembered, unconditioned back to the surface, or whatever block it unlearned. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.subst...
Why revealing a little of what's really going on for you might be a smart move in tricky situations. Fresh from day one of the Maria Peters Improv retreat. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
It's quite natural for folk like us to drift through life accumulating responsibility, commitments and obligations. They fall into what I'm calling your sphere of influence (bit of nostalgia for GCSE Geography fans). Once they lad, each one of these 'things to do' becomes one more burden, for us doers, prone to feeling overburdened. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com...
Usually you're so up and on it, productive, because you love getting things done. But for some reason, today you just can't get going. You're forcing yourself to get through the day. Here's what might be going on. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
Here’s a guided technique to get to the core of what’s really bothering you, and then soothe yourself. Practiced frequently, it gets you clear on who you are and what you need. It’s a technique for personifying or imagining your emotions as parts within you - inner characters, influences, voices of authority that we accumulate throughout our life. Through this process we become aware of them, so they no longer secretly run the show behind the scenes. The idea is we become more mindful of who the...
I have a theory about people like us. It's that how intensely we 'go at' something - how productive we are, correlates with the ensuing period of retreat. Or winter as I now call it. After a period of steady DIY and growing my business, winter came and then lingered. The frost was harder than I expected. Yet that's no bad thing. We can learn a lot, if only we can resist the temptation to get back on it and doing again. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscr...
If you're a superhuman doer, someone who likes to get on and progress, maybe you're prone to slumps? Perhaps you find yourself staring into space, unable to get motivated. It could be that you're overburdened. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
When we're not sure what's going on, or what to do next, pretending that you do is often enough to nudge in that direction. It can give you and the people around you, the confidence to get started, and make sense of the situation. This is another principle from improvised comedy and drama that can help in life too. We'll be exploring it at the next Leeds improv Co-Lab play session on June 6th. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/chriskenworthy ? This is a public episode. If you would like to dis...
What does it mean to mess up, get things wrong, or for things to otherwise not quite work out as we'd planned? Happy little accidents is the theme of our next improv Co-lab session in Leeds. Yet there's something for everyone on how we relate to our inevitable mistakes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com...
The more I coach, the more I think gender isn't a helpful distinction between human beings. Even the terms ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ make me nervous. Here's a deconstruction and (perhaps) a more helpful way of making sense of who we are in the world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com...
This wonderful metaphor for what happens when we don't healthily process our thoughts and feelings, came from a client recently. Sooner or later the drawer will overflow, or worse, burst... This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
Like all humans, us coaches can be messy, fallible contradictions too. Just in case we give the impression we're always living a best life. Would you want it any other way? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
How do you set realistic, meaningful goals as a perfectionist? How do you prioritise the process over the outcome? Fellow coach and friend Vix Anderton and I talk about imperfect action, reframing goals as something more inspiring, living your goals in the present and more. In this short yet juicy conversation we shared laughter and joy on a topic that can sometimes leave us feeling like failures. We covered: play and movement 🙃the power of asking why ❓embodying your goals 💛 and the importance...
This principle of improv invites us to reveal more of our inner world, to make more of a scene of ourselves. Not just in pursuit of more watchable performance, but so other people know what's going on for us, in life. Why leave it all to guesswork? Play it big. Link to event: bit.ly/improvleeds This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com...
Last night I did a duff improv performance. Rather than languish in pity, here I volunteer the experience, diving into some of the helpful tricks the head and heart play when you're emotionally activated by a tricky situation. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
This month, Ellie Lloyd-Jones (another big hearted, talented, smart, beautiful coach) and I are taking a bunch of purposeful business folk out into Derbyshire for a half-day of immersive conversation and connection in nature. Here's what hosting NetWalking Leeds (a mini version of this) taught me so far about humans when they give themselves just this. Link to the event, if you're curious to join: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/elevate-with-ellie-57510010673#events This is a public episode. If y...
Right or wrong, good or bad. Does your inner critic run the show; noticing, categorising and criticising? Here's a new way of looking at judgement and being judgemental. It could just be the greatest gift you never knew you had... This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
How this simple principle in improvisation might help us out of a tight spot, when we don't know what to do next. We'll be playing with this theme at improv Co-lab this coming Thursday, my open event for improvisers in Leeds https://www.tickettailor.com/events/chriskenworthy This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com...
Joanne Tremarco's improvised performance of a show by this name inspires Chris, almost to the point of complete emotional dysfunction, late night at the Liverpool improvisation festival. To the point he even gets her name wrong. Here I'm very excited by fooling, a performance technique I did in a workshop earlier in the day with JOANNE This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com...
Dragons, giants, magic, castles and gophers. This weekend's improv intensive on storytelling and movement had it all. Here comes the feels and reflections on everything that went down. Link to information about Chris Mead, who led the weekend: https://chrismead.co/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com...
Today's emergency question that we're playing with, from Richard Herring's book of the same name. Do we instinctively act out of self interest? Are we just animals? Is there such a thing as a truly selfless act? Naturally, you'll discover all the answers to life's big questions, here in a windy park in Leeds. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com...
Hoot! Yesterday we launched Leeds' first improv Co-lab event. Here's the story of the universe calling me out on an idea through to making a real thing, and everything I learned along the way. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
Most emotions felt elusive to me, once. Then life went thermonuclear… Here’s what we can learn about a more open way of life. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
Next Monday I launch my first drop-in improv event. And this is our theme: welcoming everything. I pinched it from my second love, Authentic Relating. But what does it mean? How does welcoming everything make life better? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
Playing with another of Richard Herring's emergency questions before I write about it on LinkedIn later. Somehow I turned this into an awkward dance around gender inequality, arousal and death - all natural bedfellows. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
Rest and retreat is a tricky one if you prefer to be doing and getting on with life. Here we explore what it is to take a winter, and deliberately permit yourself a period of slowing down and reflecting. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com
I came face-to-face with anger this weekend. I met what's really going on in us, what we avoid, and the darker side of what drives us. Here's what happened, and what might be happening for you - under all those layers of protection. Reflections from my recent retreat all about personality, trauma and freedom from both. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com...
