Your Creative Alter Ego

"His book Impro has a whole chapter dedicated to mask and trance work, but the moment multiple selves clicked for me was when I took one of his workshops. He had me get onstage and try a solo exercise. He told me to do a scene between me and my "naughty self." Without overthinking, I started the scene. My normal self said something innocuous. Then, my naughty self suggested I do something mildly naughty."

"Now, my naughty self was fun to embody. He was hunched over and kind of like a gremlin with a low, raspy voice. The scene kept escalating with my naughty self challenging my normal self to do increasingly naughty things. Eventually, he dared me to drop my pants and shake myself at the audience. Fortunately, an improv rule is that players don't actually remove clothes, and they don't use real props. So I mimed pulling my pants down and shaking what my mama gave me."

The writer struggles with perfectionism and anxiety, fearing others' opinions and mistakes. A creative alter ego named Belinda embodies boldness and indifference to judgment, enabling outlandish expression. The alter ego idea emerged from improv mask and trance exercises and a workshop-based 'naughty self' scene that encouraged escalating risk-taking. Onstage mime allowed simulated transgressive actions that the normal self would never attempt. The alter ego functions as a psychological workaround, allowing playful, daring behavior and freer creative expression. Using an alternate persona reduces inhibition, supports experimentation, and unlocks creative possibilities without permanent personal exposure.

Read at Psychology Today