Is "Improv" a profession (professional career)?

[kaci_beeler]

Money isn't everything.

It is when you don't have any.

Is the cup half full or half empty? I suppose it's a matter of opinions.
Is money everything to you?

[beardedlamb]

http://www.fastcompany.com/online/66/mylife.html

this is one of the longest things i've never read.
never mind all the "classic" literature in high school.
so, what does it say?

[nadine]

Money isn't everything.

It is when you don't have any.

Is the cup half full or half empty? I suppose it's a matter of opinions.
Is money everything to you?

It's not everything. But it's a big thing. It allowed me to pay for my first improv class with Shana, which introduced me to the artform.

I think it's less a matter of opinions, and a matter of haves/haves-nots.
It's easier to give yourself a "profession", when you have the financial resources.

However, if you had to raise children, and your only source of income is your profession, then maybe it's not so easy to choose the more artistically inclined fields.

I think it's important to remember, that a profession is not who you are as a person. A janitor, even though he's an expert at bathroom cleaning, probably considers himself more a father, an american citizen, a good poker player, then Expert Toilet DeClogger.

nadine.

[kbadr]

Yeah, I think there's some confusion between the phrase "what's your profession" and "what are you?"

My job doesn't defiine me, so I'm much more likely to say "I'm an improviser" if someone asks me what I am. If they ask what I do for money, they'll get another answer.

[York99]

http://www.fastcompany.com/online/66/mylife.html

You just justified my life. That article took me all day to read... but it was worth it.

[York99]

Thanks for the f-you, Beeler. I stand corrected yet again. However, most definitions do refer compensation and I believe that the "expert" ones are relatively new in the English language simply made so through continued misuse. I could be wrong again, though.

It's just that, I don't think this is a simple question of semantics. I think to a lot of us it is much, much more than that.

I meant the actual question... not the intent or the potential bigger meaning... just the simple words put in a simple order. I recently quit my job and moved away from my family and childhood friends to make this my life... and my career.

I hope you didn't take my original quote as rude. If so, I apologize. I was being cheeky. There is another example of how emotional intent is lost in the forums.

[kaci_beeler]

You guys don't seem to think like true artistic or creative types. Your opinions would be very insulting to most people.

*To Justin: Yes, I did think it was rude initially, thanks for the clarification*

[York99]

Wow did this get bizarre in a hurry! Might I suggest this conversation be curbed until such time as it can be continued in person so as not to be offensive? I have a feeling that a lot is getting lost through the electronic medium here... at least I hope so.

[deroosisonfire]

You guys don't seem to think like true artistic or creative types.

I'm not trying to gang up on you, Kaci, but I do take issue with this sentence.

Being pragmatic does not mean you don't think like a true artist. Valuing financial security does not make you any less creative. It's a choice.

[kaci_beeler]

You guys don't seem to think like true artistic or creative types.

I'm not trying to gang up on you, Kaci, but I do take issue with this sentence.

Being pragmatic does not mean you don't think like a true artist. Valuing financial security does not make you any less creative. It's a choice.

No, I'm saying you can have more than one profession. Maybe one that gives you financial security, and one that you spent time perfecting your talent and expertise with.
I think people can do both, and do do both. To state that something a person does is invalid because it does not pay large sums of money is unfair and exclusive.

[phlounderphil]

While this discussion goes on.

Very few of us are actually making a living off of improv.

I guess we can all agree on one thing.

We should change that.

[kaci_beeler]

Wow did this get bizarre in a hurry! Might I suggest this conversation be curbed until such time as it can be continued in person so as not to be offensive? I have a feeling that a lot is getting lost through the electronic medium here... at least I hope so.

Maybe a lot is getting lost here, and we should all wait. I don't know. I usually don't post much on these more passionate threads because it's annoying and I stop caring after awhile. But I feel very strongly about this. It could be that we're talking about completely different things, though.

[acrouch]

I don't think anyone is invalidating what other people do. It's just a matter of exploring the concept of professionalism. Professional is used in many contexts as someone who gets paid to do something.

People that play amazing pick-up basketball are not professionals, unless they're betting on the games or somehow getting paid (ala Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson in White Men Can't Jump). College basketball players, some of whom are probably among the best players in the world, are specifically required not to accept money and are therefor not professionals.

I like to think of us as incredibly underpaid professional improvisers. And I'm with Phil -- let's grow a market and continue developing the skills that will get us paid the big bucks.

[Wesley]

Maybe.

[nadine]

To state that something a person does is invalid because it does not pay large sums of money is unfair and exclusive.

Nobody said this. And inversely: just because someone makes large sums of money, doesn't mean they're not a good artist. As Christina said, being practical doesn't stop you from being a "true artist".