"Sticking your Dick in the Mashed Potatoes."
Both a reference to a Beastie Boys song and a key improv lesson that you can take with you anywhere.
Now, before you go applying appendages to potatoes, let me explain.
One of my improv instructors, a lovely woman named Shannon Winpenny, opened a class one day with the following, "Entering a scene is like sticking your dick in the mashed potatoes. Everyone knows you did it, so you might as well go balls deep."
A wonderful analogy, I know.
Such imagery boils down to one key concept: If you're going to openly commit to something, you may as well fully commit because everyone is watching.
Easier said than done, but all the more enriching if you apply it everything outside of just a stage, including RPGs. People tend to shy away from the spotlight because they feel vulnerable. I feel like it should be the opposite.
You should embrace the spotlight because it makes you vulnerable.
Adulthood, traumas, and self-doubt have layered on these barriers of shame that inhibit you from feeling your feelings and showing others who you really are. These feelings of vulnerability, I feel, impact the quality of your gameplay experience.
How can you get into your characters head when you're too worried about being in your own?
Even the most simplest of games can be enhanced by doing so.
For example, I am currently in a game of A Simple Circle being run by a delightful individual named Saoirse. It's basically a LTRP (Live Text Roleplay) set in a classic reality tv show where people are voted off one-by-one until there is one remaining to collect the ultimate prize of fame and fortune. So, naturally, I came in with a big personality that goes by the name of Rafe.
The game goes as expected. People come in with their characters are equally zany and horny. Rafe and another player's character, Morgana, really hit it off only for my character to be voted off first. We said our goodbyes and thought that was the end.
A twist!
Rafe had the opportunity to come back provided that another player agrees. So, naturally, he asked Morgana and she obliged. Both of them had a heartfelt reunion (much to the chagrin of the other characters that voted him off). From then on, we both start leaning into the characters' softer side and vulnerabilities. Sharing beyond surface level emotions. Talking about what they were going to do after show.
Oops, I tripped a proverbial death flag because I was voted off right after.
This time around the elimination was much more drawn out. The two reluctantly moving to the door. Morgana feeling guilt for giving hope to Rafe only for it to be stripped away. Rafe feeling sad that he found someone other than himself to look out for. Promises of calling each other. Waiting for one another. Missing the other.
Then a door shuts between the two.
As I type the last of Rafe's goodbye, I could feel the tears well up in my eyes. The pain of losing more than just a competition. This character I only knew for few days gave me a gut punch I wasn't expecting.
And it was a fun moment I'll remember for a long while.
All because I decided to commit to Rafe's larger than life goals. Embracing the chaos shown before him instead of shirking away. Allowing him to be vulnerable to develop those emotions. Enjoying when a player handed over a spotlight to shine.
I felt all those things from a game with rules that fit into a single paragraph.
Had I gotten shy and backtracked if I had felt awkward, I feel the effect would be drastically reduced. My heart wouldn't be in it. Just the mask I put forth that I feel the most comfortable with.
When it comes time to commit, do it fully and without apprehension. Your future self will thank you for it.
Talk to that cute someone. Tell someone your hopes and dreams then do them. Write that first blog post because you promised someone you would.
And as always...
Stick your dick in the mashed potatoes and go balls deep.