I’ve started the process of rolling up the rug, and packing up the pieces of the life I’ve created in Denver.

There are new fun things I’ve developed a passion for here in Denver. Everyone says things like, “I’m sure they have that in Juneau”, implying that I can pick up where I left off. “Maybe,” I reply, and they probably do have some of the same things there. In my experience, unfortunately, that usually doesn’t work. Each time I move somewhere new I try to copy and paste activities forward into my new life, and they rarely take root. It’s not about the activity, it’s about the people. The tribe. It has to be right.

It’s going to downright suck at first. It sure did when I moved to Denver. But eventually it didn’t suck. I’ll mention the bright side a little later. For now I’m acknowledging that this part is rough, and trying to take time to say goodbye (for now) to things I’ll miss.

Goodbye, improv

For the past year (almost), I have spent multiple hours a week playing and exploring with some fantastic people in improv class at the Bovine Metropolis Theater in downtown Denver.

I started as an improv newborn with a class of interesting, diverse, and fun people. We moved together through 2 levels, then combined forces with another class and moved through level 3 and 4. We learned about facing the audience when we’re talking, being in a place surrounded by things that weren’t really there, being people who weren’t really us, reacting to whatever our scene partners created, and playing games. We performed at two jams together as a class, and survived!

Last week I visited my class on their first day of Level 5: the grad show, which they are starting without me. I’m pretty bummed that I won’t get to finish and graduate with them, but even 4 out of 5 levels have been challenging, and fun. Improv was a perfect way to build strong relationships with other people quickly, while having fun and laughing at (ok, with) each other. It’s also a community unto itself, and really exploded my social network very quickly. Suddenly I saw people I recognized, in my home town… around. Or in shows! That’s a significant milestone in a new hometown – running into someone you know, unplanned.

In improv I got to be Liza the street performer, a flirtatious leprechaun, a nervous diver, a dimwitted wizard, a pig wrangler, a chat show guest, a civil war dentist, and an escaped hospital patient. I got to make potato pie, be a dating game contestant, lure pigs with M&Ms, dig a grave, ice skate, type on a typewriter, be really slow pit crew member, and be someone’s drunk boss at happy hour. Plus, lots of other things I don’t remember. I might remember some of the things my classmates did even better.

My reason for joining improv on day 1 of class was, “I like team sports, but without the running”. I stand by that. Improv gives names to things I really value in groups – having each others’ backs, creating a safe place to make mistakes and look ridiculous, saying “yes, and…” to accept and further ideas other bring to the table, giving and taking focus so that you’re not interrupting or ignoring someone, and laughing a lot.

What about that “upside” you mentioned?

Luckily, I have a very long (and ever-expanding) list of things I want to try some day in my life, and I get to knock some new ones off that list every time I have to start over and try to find my new niche. In search of my passion and my people in new locales, I have tried the following things for the first time (some stuck, some really did not):

• Glassblowing
• African dance
• Zumba
• Argentine tango
• Country western dance
• Container gardening
• Eating sushi (not really a hobby, but brave)
• Hiking
• Exploring national parks
• Exploring Mormon history
• Contra dance
• Making leather masks
• Pub trivia
• Toastmasters
• Pole dancing
• Walking, bathing, and fostering (for one night) doggos
• Tap dancing (first time as an adult)
• Karaoke spin class
• Pilates on a reformer!
• Baking bread with my own starter
• Baking bread at all
• Weight watchers
• Skiing
• Traveling to countless countries, states, and cities
• Learning Italian
• Giving speeches in Spanish
• Getting paid for graphic design and art
• Serving on a board for a non-profit
• Playing in the pit orchestra for The Nutcracker ballet
• Playing the handbells in a concert
• Performing a piece I composed for a quartet with said quartet (and another one I arranged)
• Holding a backyard trio concert
• Blues dance
• Improv!
• Ink block printing
• Portraits
• Adult coloring
• Painting the faces of squirming children
• Driving 4 hours across the state to deliver a dog, and 4 hours back, with a stranger
• Many other random and unrelated achievements…

I’m feeling hopeful that I will find new passions and projects in my new home. But right now I’m acknowledging the sad experience of having to pull out things by the root, one by one.

This week’s victim was improv class.