Conference Impressions

Thanks to everyone for another tremendous conference! To me, the conference is not just the sessions but the environment, the surrounding area, the ambience ... and I've tried to capture some of my impressions in the "Extended Entry" (hope I'm doing this right)>>>

What a remarkable community! I am particularly struck on Opening Night by the number of “AIN virgins” (I can say that, can’t I?) who are attending the conference for the first time. What a great location, and what great weather! Saturday I keep a promise I made to myself by running the length of the Brooklyn Bridge, although I had overlooked the fact that about a third of the run is uphill – but I make it with energy and leg-power to spare, giving a lusty “Hoosiers!” fist-in-the-air yell to the two passers-by who call out “Indiana!” in response to my alma mater’s name on my t-shirt. (Sorry, Joey, I promise next time I’ll bring my SmartyPants Improv shirt.)

I go back and forth between being overjoyed at seeing all my friends (old and new) and being overwhelmed at wanting to partake of everything and everyone. What fun Friday night at the Castillo Theater show (and what a great spread beforehand)! On the subway ride to the show, a carload of retiring souls sing “On a Clear Day” to an obviously moved rider named Darrell, who tells us through a broad grin, “You made my day!” (The word on the street is that other roving choirs are haunting the New York Subway System tonight as well.) After the show, a gang of five, led by our intrepid guide Yael, embark on an expedition to Times Square in search of cheesecake. A barrage of lights, flashing, shimmering, undulating, rat-tat-tatting in your face, millions of tiny suns exploding and regenerating every second. I experience the sensation of this place as Woody Allen once described it – “It took the top of my head off.” Car horns send up a call-and-response chorus, like hounds baying at the moon. We find the Roxy Deli at 46th and Broadway and hike upstairs. The portions are too big, the prices too high, we scarf down what we can and save the memories for later.

Conference moments … experiencing the balm of song in the Joy of Singing session, and learning a new way to say “Hello/Goodbye” to nagging emotions … coming late to Cathy Salit & David Nackman’s Performance of a Lifetime session, being welcomed by the group, saying “Yes” to the invitation to portray my life story in a minute, stepping outside myself to reflect on my desperate need for context (and finding out that “All I Need Is Cash”) … gaining new insights to the mysteries of debriefing in Andrew Welch’s session … walking with a group through the graceful bend in the Borough Hall plaza where the Brooklyn Elevated once ran, sharing ideas about organizing regional AIN gatherings … learning methods for using improv “chases” as writing-prompters in Denzil Meyers’s session, creating a piece in which the past and the present conflate unexpectedly in a single moment … feeling the support, strength, and love radiating from everyone in the room during the closing session …

(And as for the “Your Elevator Speech” session – ok, we’ll try it again next year in San Francisco. Anyone interested can meet me in the lobby of the Transamerica Tower at 8:30am sharp on November 15, 2006!)

Posted by Jerry Kail on October 5, 2005 10:42 AM in Annual conference
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