Does improv AMAZE you?

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Would you like to talk about your improv experiences for my study?

Thank you.

That depends if you're looking for responses solely from autistic people, or if you'd find input from someone like me useful (not autistic but with noticeable traits). Whatever the case, I hope you've cleared this with the moderators of this forum and have the required documentation. Good luck with your study.

Thank you for suggesting to speak to the moderator. I will seek them out now before continuing.

That's probably a big part of my problem. I think slowly & I'm not creative at all. If I'm supposed to do something creative, I shut down & zone out. It's like there's a mental block that prevents me from even getting started. Maybe I'm too worried about screwing up, making mistakes, getting criticized, getting embarrassed ect. I need some ideas, guidelines, & themes on what to do. Like when a teacher told me to write a few paragraphs on anything I wanted, I couldn't get started. But if she told me to write a few paragraphs about my pet, I could get started after a bit & VERY slowly drudge my way through it.


I hate public speaking. I have a tremor disorder that can sometimes act up & affect my voice if I'm anxious, tired, or stressed. It's worse when I'm doing a lot of talking for a while straight. I have anxiety about being the center of attention. When I was a kid & teen, my face would turn beet red & I'd shutdown whenever I realized a bit of people were watching me. I don't mind doing a bit of talking with a small group I'm used to but public speaking like giving a long speech in front of a large group of strangers would be total hell for me.

I think that there is a persistent misconception surrounding creativity. That no guidelines are better than sticking to rules, but this is untrue. Creativity works best in conditions where there are lax guides but still an established structure. A simple, laid out task that allows for breathing room but also contains set limitations. I know that anecdotally I work better when I have a basic guide to work from, a frame of reference to work with but also a freedom to play around. Personally, I tend to dislike it when I'm thrown in a situation where I have to start from absolute scratch with no guide. Either I have too many ideas or none at all. Getting started can be the hardest part.

Sometimes I experience art block. I have to go do something else and make the task a side thought to get the ideas flowing again. One of my art concepts came to me once because I gave up and made pizza instead. I got thinking about the associations I have with pizza and visual concept ideas appeared in my head. My brain is quite visual, when I get thinking about creative directions I could go in, I see what the final product could look like. It flashes into view and I have to jot it down somewhere so I don't forget.

Worrying about messing up can crush my creativity. I go through phases of feeling like a fraud or a hack; that I'm merely an impostor. However, I think that playing a role can sometimes be a significant part of achieving it. I remind myself that I'm not a fraud and that what matters most is that I improve at least slightly from my previous work. Doesn't have to be amazing, so long as it is a step up from what it was.

Tom Green used to be a rapper, he was part of a group from Toronto called Organized Rhyme. I would be disappointed if he couldn't come up with bars off the top.



Wouldn't not paying attention to the words defeat the point? I mean, if one is unfamiliar with the vocabulary used it might not be as impressive, but generally once one can follow what is being said paying attention to the words is the entire point.

For what it's worth, 'freestyling' or 'freestyle rap' doesn't usually imply that all of the lyrics are improvised. It means that they haven't been rehearsed to the beat; the artist is coming up with a flow off the top of their head, even if the words were written ages ago.