Quotes by Keith Johnstone

Keith Johnstone

An artist who is inspired is being obvious. He’s not making any decisions, he’s not weighing one idea against another. He’s accepting his first thoughts.

Artist

Decision

Ideas

As I grew up, everything started getting grey and dull. I could still remember the amazing intensity of the world I’d lived in as a child, but I thought the dulling of perception was an inevitable consequence of age – just as a lens of the eye is bound gradually to dim. I didn’t understand that clarity is in the mind.

Children

Eye

Perception

Don’t come on to be funny – come on to solve problems.

Problem

Solve

Enjoy things even when you’re screwing up.

Enjoy

Good impro can make you laugh, we love it, but soon the content is forgotten. Good scenes from The Life Game stay with you always. They haunt you.

Forgotten

Games

Laughing

I don’t even think you should tell the audience you’re improvising. It’s like an apology in case it’s bad : ‘we’re just making it up’ If the improv isn’t better than the rehearsed stuff, then you should just rehearse it.

Apology

Stuff

Thinking

I left my theatre the Loose Moose almost twenty years ago, and I hardly ever go back. Sometimes I go back to do a Mask class. They’re doing more of this than I was doing when I left. Often it’s the same improvisers but they’re older. And now, they don’t care if the theatre’s full or not.

Class

Theatre

Years

I tell people not to do their best. I don’t know when that started. Quite a while ago. Because I . . . when they’re doing their best I don’t get their best. So I try to persuade them to be average. Because if you’re wonderful and you’re average, you’re still wonderful. If you’re a bad improviser and you’re average, you’re what you are.

Average

People

Trying

I think my brain is much more intelligent than I am…so I tend to trust it.

Brain

Intelligent

Thinking

I was crazy about silent comedy – in the old days, and crazy about Japanese movies.

Comedy

Crazy

Silent

Follow The Behaviour University in order to get the greatest quotes from the greatest people of all time so that you can tap into your own greatness.

Accepting

Adventure

Apology

Artist

Audience

Average

Being Real

Believe

Book

Brain

Children

Class

Comedy

Crazy

Decision

Enjoy

Eye

Feelings

Forgotten

Games

Garbage

Ideas

Imagination

Intelligent

Kings

Laughing

Lying

Men

Needs

No Fear

Normal

People

Perception

Problem

Psychotic

Safety

School

Self

Silent

Skills

Solve

Spontaneity

Stuff

Teacher

Teaching

Theatre

Thinking

Tricks

Truth Is

Trying

The Future Blueprint

Tool

The Home Therapist: Anti Anxiety

Tool

The Autobiography

Tool

The Behaviour Diary

Tool

The Dating Diary

Tool

The Relationship Therapist

Tool

Quotes by Keith Johnstone

Keith Johnstone

An artist who is inspired is being obvious. He’s not making any decisions, he’s not weighing one idea against another. He’s accepting his first thoughts.

Don’t come on to be funny – come on to solve problems.

Enjoy things even when you’re screwing up.

Good impro can make you laugh, we love it, but soon the content is forgotten. Good scenes from The Life Game stay with you always. They haunt you.

I don’t even think you should tell the audience you’re improvising. It’s like an apology in case it’s bad : ‘we’re just making it up’ If the improv isn’t better than the rehearsed stuff, then you should just rehearse it.

I left my theatre the Loose Moose almost twenty years ago, and I hardly ever go back. Sometimes I go back to do a Mask class. They’re doing more of this than I was doing when I left. Often it’s the same improvisers but they’re older. And now, they don’t care if the theatre’s full or not.

I think my brain is much more intelligent than I am…so I tend to trust it.

I was crazy about silent comedy – in the old days, and crazy about Japanese movies.

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Topics by Keith Johnstone

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The Future Blueprint

The Home Therapist: Anti Anxiety

The Autobiography

The Behaviour Diary

The Dating Diary

The Relationship Therapist

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