The best therapy for a wrenched knee is the traditional RICE treatment. Rest – Ice – Compression – Elevation. But the second-best therapy is the one I chose, and it worked wonders. My therapy? Ignoring it completely and taking part in an improv show.

I could barely walk even as late as this afternoon, and I was hopped up on cold meds, but I gathered every ounce of reserve I had, and went to the show, with my ponytail bouncing. I have a friend visiting from the frozen north (Minnesota) after all, and I wanted her to see me on the field.

I was tickled to find out that I was playing on the Red team, and that my teammates were Captain BigE and TC. He asked us for input about games, and neither of us wanted to choose, and the Blue team was having similar issues, so RefB called us to warm up and sent the captains to make decisions. Warm ups weren’t anything exceptional, but they did keep me from focusing on my knee, which was good. By the end of it, I was ready to go. It wasn’t until almost time for vending that BigE said, “We’re playing interrogation and audience sound effects,” and I was excited about both, until he told me I was guessing for interrogation. I’ve only played it once, and never even workshopped guessing, but one of the things that’s cool about playing with BigE is that he pushes me to try stuff I’ve never tried. “You’ll do fine,” he coaxed. “It’s easy.”

It wasn’t exactly easy, and I made a few mistakes, but in the end I guessed correctly that I was coloring outside the lines in a park in France with James Brown. And If I get to play it again, ever, I’ll know how the game ‘feels’ from that POV, and won’t make the same mistakes.

Blue played a game of Moving Bodies that had really good puppeteers. They also played Dinner at Joe’s. We played Blind Line, and then, Five Things – which was tough. Really tough. We never finished the fifth thing, and didn’t get the fourth. Or maybe we did. It went to fast I don’t remember.

Blue played Dance Party after half time, and had some interesting justifications. We ended with Story followed by 185.

Blue won, and notes were long, and specific, but really constructive. I learned a LOT tonight. I had my back to the audience more than once, and shouldn’t have, stuff like that.

But my knee? That’s not bothering me at ALL.