This is the first blog posting of much more to come. I have always been interested in this word “holistic” and remember teaching my first improv workshop series at University of Florida my senior year entitled, Improv, from the holistic perspective. I wanted to leave my mark as I was departing and give back all that I learned from Theatre Strike Force, my first formal improv training at UF. In heindsight I had no idea what holistic really meant. I just gathered a lot of exercises that I loved and gave it a shnazzy workshop name. I chose exercises that pushed improvisors to stretch out of their comfort zones, take risks, get out of our heads and into their hearts, and end the workshop feeling better than how they started. Now much wiser and having graduated from one of the most holistic higher education institutions in the country, California Institute of Integral Studies, I got my answer in defining holistic in the most holistic sense! And I learned that I actually did “know” what holistic meant my senior year of college.
Wikipedia defines holism as:
The idea that all the properties of a given system (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic etc) cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave.
It’s not surprising that my favorite classes in graduate school were family systems theory, Sociodrama, group dynamics, and drama therapy in social change. I ate up articles on how members of a family behave independently, assisting the larger family system toward survival. I carefully observed my feelings as I sat in an intimate circle with strangers, and mindfully listened as I received valuable feedback from the larger group. I learned how theatre can build compassion between diverse individuals and even warring countries. I was intensely interested in how one person’s actions could make such great impact on a larger whole. As human beings, we are wired as self-contained individuals acting and reacting self-similarly to a larger system.
During the process of improvisation, we are tapping into a larger collective unconscious as we communicate free associated material. So if my thoughts and behaviors are reactions to what is going on in the larger society, could I also influence the larger society with my actions? Could reactions from audience members and my fellow improvisors than ripple out into the larger society and cause further reactions creating a multiplicity of self-similar patterns and connections. Whoa! It seems entirely possible that I could use my spontaneous actions and reactions as an improvisor to change the world! Okay, I know that comes off a bit lofty and narcisistic, but you know that expression, please leave the room cleaner than it was when you entered, well it’s a motto I like to follow as I walk through this world.
A holistic approach to improvisation is more than incorporating mind, body, and spirit- although that’s a good start- it’s awareness of how one’s actions effect others. It’s participating in the give and take, the in/out of breath, and the action and reaction of every moment. It’s taking a mindful and intentional stance as an improvisor that what you say, do, and feel is a reflection of the present state of the entire human race.
I plan to use this blog to help improvisors, teachers, actors, directors, and frankly anyone interested in taking the art of improvisation to a deeply connected holistic place that reaches beyond improvisation for purely entertainment. I use improvisation for healing, transformation, and social change.
As artists, it is our job to reflect humanity’s thoughts and feelings, and also provide new possibilities. To me, that is the “Yes And” in improvisation. Reflect and add. What do you want to add? My deepest wish is this blog will inspire others to leave the world cleaner then it was when they entered.
After all, we are all connected, so please don’t leave us all your smelly socks! 
– Jill Eickmann