Monster Baby #102 The Joy of Collective Imagination: A Conversation with Dan Klein

Monster Baby: A Curious Romp Through the Worlds of Mindfulness and Improvisation

It’s so fun to make stuff up together!

That’s one of the truths that Ted and Lisa uncover in conversation with their dear friend, Dan Klein, master teacher of improvisation in the drama, Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Platner Institute for Design (“d.school”) at Stanford University. (He’s also the same Dan perilously mentioned in Monster Baby episode #58, “Ted’s Harrowing Tale”!)

Ted and Dan start the episode by playfully getting Lisa up to date on her Star Wars references (2:06) and then consider a smorgasbord of ideas from that prompt: what moments would get memorialized in the musical of our lives, people who make spreadsheets, and new punk rock band names (6:17). The three acknowledge their shared heritage as Stanford improvisors and wonder if Dan sees himself as a torchbearer for Patricia Ryan Madson’s approach to improv (8:42). Generosity comes to mind as Dan mentions Rebecca Stockley’s “more improv means more improv” mantra (15:10) and Ted asks how Dan would characterize his particular flavor of improv teaching—spoiler alert, Dan mentions building community, engaging an audience, and the joy of collective imagination (18:27). Dan nods to the influence of Dungeons and Dragons on his worldview (22:55) and describes how he’d like to bring some of that creative design spirit to his current endeavors teaching at Stanford’s business school (28:42). All three mention how they’ve still got something to learn (31:50) and Dan describes his experience of mindfulness and meditation (35:55). The trio closes the conversation by questioning the improv mantra of “it’s not about you” (44:35) and noting how helpful it is to rely on familiar buddies when facing the uncertainty of a performance (48:10).

If you’re inspired by what you hear and you’d like to let us know about it, please send a note to Ted and Lisa at [e-mail].

Want to learn more about Dan Klein? Watch one of his videos on YouTube:

Designing the Future with Improvisation

Rapid Bonding through Improvisation

Going Beyond “hello”: Dan Klein at TEDxStanford

To subscribe so you receive immediate notice of future Monster Baby releases, head over to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com.

And lastly, if you’d like a bit of Monster-Baby-inspired cozy Autumn reading or you’re doing some early holiday shopping, visit www.playfulmindfulness.info to pick up a copy of Ted’s book Playful Mindfulness: a joyful journey to everyday confidence, calm, and connection. (Ted will surely sign it for you if you like!)

Lisa Rowland and Ted DesMaisons

San Francisco improvisors Ted DesMaisons and Lisa Rowland explore the beautiful, surprising and unruly intersections between mindfulness and improvisation as they seek to befriend that oft-hidden and sometimes scary part of all of us that can lead to a life well-lived.

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