Where Improv and Lawyering Meet

 Posted on August 24, 2014 in Uncategorized

I've started taking improvisational theater classes again, now at The Station Theater, about halfway between my house and my downtown office. (I took classes at ComedySportz and at Bay Area Theater Sports several years ago, but neither theater is as convenient as The Station.) One of the perks of taking classes at The Station is free admission to shows at the theater. So I'll be seeing, as well as doing more improv.

Last night Jen and I went to the show by Nice Astronaut, a visiting troupe from Austin. At the door, I told the guy taking money that I was a student (saving me $6, cheap bastard) and introduced myself. "I know that name," he said, "I've read your blog for years."

Small world. A little birthday present from the universe.

But wait.

When we went in to choose our seats, a familiar-looking man came up to me. "Mark, I'm Brian Drake." Brian has been a blog reader and a correspondent of mine for many years. It was a treat seeing him in this context and meeting his girlfriend, who were also there for the show.

My old friend and fellow criminal-defense lawyer Chuck Stanfield was also there, but that was unsurprising, since he is also taking classes there.

Houston is a small enough town that I can rarely go anywhere without running into someone I know. But it's especially cool that these two worlds-law and improv-intersect. I like it that readers of this blog also being fans and students of improv, which I have found to be invaluable training for lawyering (several of my jury selection rules come out of improv) and for life.