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

In the inaugural Monster Baby Mailbag episode, Ted and Lisa (and Lisa’s cats) take questions from a few loyal listeners. They wonder whether Monster Baby friendships are different from other connections (3:49), explore the tension between discovery and invention in both improv and mindfulness (15:32), celebrate an adventurous attitude for choices both large and small (25:28), and marvel at ways in which such approaches can help transform decades-old difficult experiences (31:59). As always, please send a note, question, or comment if you feel so inspired: info@monsterbabypodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening—we love you all! To subscribe, go to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com   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. The post Monster Baby #19: The Monster Baby Mailbag! appeared first on Anima Learning.

What is harmony and what the heck makes it so delicious, both literally and metaphorically? Ted and Lisa start with a modified round of “Three Things!” (2:34) and then explain what made them chose today’s topic (7:08). Ted shares his impressions of Lisa’s erstwhile musical improv group, Lombard Street Experiment (12:06) and the pair considers whether some people just don’t care about harmony. (14:30). They explore how we can expand our ears to include new and unexpected sounds (17:39) and delight in the magic moment of separate parts coming together for the first time (20:19). They consider how harmony relates to mindfulness (24:40) and whether one can learn how to “do” harmony (32:01). Per usual, Ted and Lisa consider whether there’s a down side or “shadow” to the subject (43:30) and what might make up the value of an intentional practice of harmony (48:07). The episode closes with a musical example drawn from Ted’s and Lisa’s summer camp past lives (51:09). Listen all the way through for a special hidden track treat!   As always, please send a note, question, or comment if you feel so inspired: info@monsterbabypodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening—we love you all! To subscribe, go to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com   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. The post Monster Baby #18: Harmony appeared first on Anima Learning.

After a world-changing, head-spinning Election Day outcome, Lisa and Ted turn to each other to process their emotional turmoil. Lisa relays the experience of her first post-result class at Stanford and asks, “How can we play or teach when we’re in the face of a devastating loss?” (2:28) They discuss how mindful sharing offers one path to integration and healing (14:17) and how leaning on the practices of mindfulness or improv can help during times of intense disappointment (16:06). Ted wants to acknowledge the trouble with the meant-to-comfort phrase “Everything happens for a reason” (22:54) and Lisa wonders if we’re all still on the same team (26:45). The two explore the ongoing need for play (31:25) and then take up the benefits of a Brechtian approach to improv and social issues (35:39). Ted wonders if Donald Trump would make a good improvisor and the two close with a small bit of laughter as a salve. (48:32) As always, please send a note, question, or comment if you feel so inspired: info@monsterbabypodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening—we love you all!   To subscribe, go to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com   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. The post Monster Baby #17: Post-Election Reflections appeared first on Anima Learning.

  Chillin’ with Patricia in El Granada. Lisa and Ted continue their conversation with teacher and mentor, Patricia Ryan Madson, drama teacher and author of the acclaimed Improv Wisdom. In this segment, Patricia explained how she first learned to say “Yes, and” from impro master Ketih Johnstone (1:09) and how one can approach improv games from multiple angles (5:06). The three discuss whether Reality has a design and the value of liking and not liking our circumstances (7:25) before moving on to Patricia’s most helpful improv maxim (10:40) and most challenging one (16:04). Ted and Lisa acknowledge their favorite maxims from Patricia’s book (19:00) and Patricia notes something she’s particularly proud of (25:59). Part Two comes to a close when Patricia has the opportunity to turn the tables on her hosts (32:01) and Ted and Lisa get the chance to reflect on their experience of the episode (36:17).   As always, please send a note, question, or comment if you feel so inspired: info@monsterbabypodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening—we love you all! To subscribe, go to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com 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. The post Monster Baby #16: A Conversation with Patricia Ryan Madson (Part 2) appeared first on Anima Learning.

  Chillin’ with Patricia in El Granada. Lisa and Ted welcome their teacher and mentor, Patricia Ryan Madson, drama teacher and author of the acclaimed Improv Wisdom, for a two-part Monster Baby conversation. They explore how mindfulness and improv first joined together in Patricia’s work (3:21) and how the Stanford Improvisors first came into being, both as a learning/performance group and as an ongoing supportive community. Patricia notes how she was able to leverage Stanford’s status to helpful effect (17:36) and shares a surprising note about how she feels about performing improv (20:14). Ted and Lisa ask about improv as a “lifeway” (27:01) and, in particular, how the Constructive Living model of David K Reynolds proposes new ways of recognizing our debt to capital-R Reality (31:02). Part One closes by offering a curious alternative to the goal of developing self-esteem. (44:22) Stay tuned for Part Two of the conversation in Episode #16!   As always, please send a note, question, or comment if you feel so inspired: info@monsterbabypodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening—we love you all! To subscribe, go to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com 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. The post Monster Baby #15: A Conversation with Patricia Ryan Madson (Part 1) appeared first on Anima Learning.

What happens when you talk about silence? In this episode, Lisa and Ted offer a short check-in (1:43) and get some questionable advice from their respective tea bags (5:21). They first focus on how silence can affect improv experience (9:31) and then turn their attention to the empty spaces of art and music (21:20). They discuss how some experience silence as a negative and what “strong silence” might mean (24:23), introduce the notion of stillness and a silt-based metaphor (28:18) and explore Ted’s experience of silence in Quaker practice (31:44). The conversation closes with an extended consideration of the different levels of restorative silence, including some tales from Lisa’s potentially harrowing recent experience on silent retreat (36:25) As always, please send a note, question, or comment if you feel so inspired: info@monsterbabypodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening—we love you all!   To subscribe, go to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com   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. The post Monster Baby #14: Silence, Please appeared first on Anima Learning.

A recent loss gets Ted and Lisa reflecting on how best to relate to change. They start with a playful word-at-a-time school announcement (1:45) and some early reflections on change in general (3:54). From there, they consider what improv has to say about change (7:15) and when it might make sense to resist some shifts (11:28). They explore how mindfulness leads to insights about impermanence and non-self (14:20) and then, moving from the abstract the real, consider whether Lisa’s current grief comes from resisting change (17:43). Ted acknowledges that he gets the “suffering equation” intellectually (21:27) but remains slow to hop on board with change when it happens (25:36). Both Lisa and Ted offer examples of learning about flexibility from nature (34:36) and how, ultimately, one particular attitude might make our best choice in the face of change (41:19).   As always, please send a note, question, or comment if you feel so inspired: info@monsterbabypodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening—we love you all! To subscribe, go to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com 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. The post Monster Baby #13: Ch-ch-ch-changes appeared first on Anima Learning.

Lisa and Ted return from their most recent retreat to share a few meta-level insights. After a storytelling warm-up game (1:27) and a check-in about Ted’s trip to Europe (7:51), the duo introduce the perspective of the Observer in meditation and improv (19:25). They consider fellow improvisor Ben Johnson’s approach (25:23) and recognize that sometimes we need to make several meta-jumps (28:58). We hear from Lisa’s elderly internal observer (34:20) and about getting out of the “current” (41:02) before considering the comic value of making such changes in perspective (44:07). Ted and Lisa conclude the episode by considering whether everyone can learn to reap the benefits of another layer of perspective (47:25).   As always, please send a note, question, or comment if you feel so inspired: info@monsterbabypodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening—we love you all! To subscribe, go to: http://monsterbabypodcast.com 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. Make sure to subscribe to get all future episodes as well! The post Monster Baby #12: Meta-tation: This is a Subtitle appeared first on Anima Learning.

With Ted finally back from a month in Europe, he and Lisa explore the ramifications of her recently directed run of “Bechdel Test” improv shows.* After a playful warm-up game of Finish the Word (3:23), Lisa and Ted recount their performer and audience perspectives on the show’s portrayal of stories about women (16:12). Eventally, they connect explorations of gender to those of racism and other opressions (33:23) and to recent developments around sexual harassment in the national improv community (37:07). Ted shares some recent heartbreaking news from a past employer and acknowledges one of his own skeletons (44:38). The pair close the episode invoking an invitation from Zen monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh (52:54). As always, send us a note if you feel so inspired: info@monsterbabypodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening—we love you all! Http://monsterbabypodcast.com *What has come to commonly be called the Bechdel Test should really be the Bechdel-Wallace Test, created by American cartoonist Alison Bechdel and her friend Liz Wallace. The test measures a work of fiction’s minimal inclusion of women’s stories by asking 1) Are there at least two female characters? 2) who talk to each other? 3) about something other than men? Occasionally, you hear the added criteria that those characters be named. 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. Make sure to subscribe to get all future episodes as well! The post Monster Baby #11: Passing the Bechdel Test: On Gender in Improv and Facing Old Demons appeared first on Anima Learning.

Finally back from a month-long hiatus, Lisa and Ted get into their different preferences around chaos and order. They open with a ribald riff on unicorns and rainbow prisms (really, see 2:34) and then explain what happened with the delay between podcast episodes (5:45). Together, Ted and Lisa try to determine what makes for a healthy amount of chaos (13:28) and wonder if they’re as fixed in their preferences as they might have led us all to believe (23:52). They explore how stillness can help with chaos (38:21) and wonder whether schedules make for effective teaching (41:03). Lisa recalls an inspirational character from her childhood (47:17) and eventually they both return to the value of beginner’s mind (54:46). Jump into the chaos with them both—see what wisdom you can find! Monster Baby Podcast: a curious romp through the worlds of mindfulness and improvisation! Join the Monster Baby community by subscribing at the link below and please spread the word. As always, send us a note if you feel so inspired: info@monsterbabypodcast.com. Thanks so much for listening—we love you all! 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. Make sure to subscribe to get all future episodes as well! The post Monster Baby #10: Chaos Theory appeared first on Anima Learning.