It’s been a couple of years since the last Manila Improv Fest. This year’s edition intends to provide even more entertainment, what with nearly a hundred improvisers from all over the world coming together at PETA Theater. They will be performing nightly from Wednesday all the way until Sunday, so you can have your pick of the best and the brightest from all over!

But what’s the appeal to improv, anyways? Let’s talk about how it appeals to the current generation, and maybe that way, Find The Game this week in the Manila Improv Festival! We hope to see you there!

To describe improv in words is to do it no justice. Like most millennials, improv realizes that experiences in and by themselves hold an intrinsic value that have managed to supplant possessions and riches in the list of priorities they might have.

Let’s face it: in a post 9/11 world, millennials are among the most sheltered of the generations. Improv is a harmless and creative outlet to break free and cut loose from all those restrictions, and it absolutely works!

With all the technological advancements in this current age, and with all the average age of achievers becoming younger and younger, it’s no surprise that there is more pressure on this generation to succeed. Improv teaches us that this pressure is a chance for us to shine. Have you ever been asked to come up with a story one word at a time on the spot? Well, that’s putting the concept of pressure into its most distilled and instantaneous form right there.

Millennials, like any other generation, will make a lot of mistakes. Despite that, it’s imperative to still have confidence in one’s self no matter what. Improv reinforces this, with how people onstage will exude the aura that everything they say or do is absolutely right – no matter how factually wrong they happen to know they are, deep down. It doesn’t matter when you’re onstage – you are always right!

A scene between two people, like any other – until one of them randomly bursts into song. Or the scene is manipulated like someone is holding a remote control. Or they can only speak a specific number of words every single time. It’s the conventional with a twist, and millennials are well-known for this phenomenon. They hold onto their parent’s values, but add their own viewpoint to it, resulting in something new, yet familiar.

Every single improv game is like every other: off the cuff, unrehearsed, unscripted; and yet there are an infinite number of outcomes at any given moment. If you ever wanted to see how alternate universes could sort of feel like, try thinking of your own potential approach to an improv game or scene while you’re watching one, and see how much you would diverge from what’s going on. This is exactly how it is now, as well: millennials were taught early on that they’re special – but “special” holds very little intrinsic value until you do something about it.

It’s been easier than ever for millennials to build teams, if LeBron James’s approach to basketball has been any indication. This might be frowned upon, but why should it be? We can all achieve greater things if we work together. In improv, it’s rarely the case that a great scene or game happens because of one person alone. It has always been, and will always be, a collaborative effort.

I hate this acronym too, but let’s face it: living in the moment has never been more viscerally represented than by improv itself. This coming Manila Improv Festival allows 19 groups from all over the world to entertain you and show you that yes, life is full of surprises as you find the game with us!

For more information about the Manila Improv Festival, including show dates, performers, and other details, feel free to check out SPIT’s site.