Patricia Ryan Madson, emeritus faculty at Stanford University and author of Improv Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up, reflects on improvisation and its essential role in fostering creativity. While training young actors at Stanford, Madson noticed that although her students excelled at following instructions, they struggled when asked to draw from their own feelings or instincts. This realisation led her to seek tools to help them trust their own voices — a search that brought her to improvisation.
In her book Improv Wisdom, Madson goes beyond theatre student instruction to offer up a heartfelt guide to living more openly, flexibly, and generously. She distills decades of her philosophy of teaching into thirteen deceptively simple maxims — from “Say Yes” to “Make Mistakes, Please” — that reframe improvisation as a daily discipline rather than a performance skill.
At the heart of Madson’s approach is a proposition: stop over-preparing. This feels precisely like an instruction for game design and GMing. She say instead to learn to be present, responsive, and open to possibility. Improvisation, she argues, isn’t about being clever or funny — it’s about being awake. It’s about trusting your instincts, listening deeply, and collaborating with the world as it unfolds. In other words, it’s not about doing something extraordinary — it’s about showing up, doing the next right (obvious) thing, and not letting fear of imperfection get in the way.
For Madson, improvisation cultivates creativity by removing the pressure to produce predetermined results. Instead, it creates space for discovery, spontaneity, and authenticity. A key insight is that creativity thrives in a safe environment — one where leaders model vulnerability, risk-taking, and a light touch when evaluating outcomes. Mistakes, she argues, must not only be tolerated but embraced; the term “mistake” itself is incompatible with authentic creative exploration. Madson’s mantra to “Be Average” reminds us that striving for perfection is often the enemy of participation. Good improvisers don’t aim to shine — they aim to support, respond, and keep the scene alive.
She emphasises that the real focus of the creative individual should be on showing up, being present, and engaging with the process — not controlling outcomes. Creativity is not about brilliance or rare inspiration, but about everyday awareness, cooperation, and generosity. Madson champions the foundational improv principle of “Yes, and…”, not just as a theatrical technique, but as a mindset: a commitment to listening, building on others’ ideas, and working collectively.
In her view, the real innovation crisis lies not in a lack of ideas, but in a lack of collaboration. The creative person is someone who notices, receives, and appreciates the contributions of others. For Madson, the root of innovation is not extraordinary genius, but a humble attention to ordinary life, a willingness to be open, and an eye of gratitude.
Takeaways for ttrpg design and facilitation
- Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up: yikes. Abandon your perfectly planned plotlines. Trust the table and the shared moment. Design games that offer narrative prompts and constraints, but leave space for improvisation, co-authorship, and surprise.
- Say Yes, And…: or rather, say yes or roll. A foundational improv rule becomes a rule-of-thumb for game facilitation and system design. Build mechanics that encourage players to affirm, build upon, and incorporate each other’s ideas.
- Be average: design systems where failure is interesting, mistakes are generative, and players are liberated from pressure to ‘perform’ optimally or narratively “perfectly.” Fail forward mechanics, “moves” that provoke story, or conditions that create new narrative hooks all reflect this.
- Design for discovery: aim for tools that foster curiosity and collective emergence. Think: open questions, loosely connected scenes and setpieces, dynamic character motivations, or thematic prompts rather than strict scenes or solutions.
The House of Nerdery and Curios 