Karl : Wow! Shin, your lunch looks so good. Did you make it yourself?

Shin : No, our wife made it.

Karl : What?!

Shin : Oh, sorry. I meant “my” wife. That’s a mistake we Koreans sometimes make when speaking English. In Korean, we often say uri to mean “my,” although the word really means “our.”

Karl : Interesting!

Shin : In Korea, people use the word uri to talk about a common thing they have and don’t share with others.

Karl : So, you don’t feel comfortable saying “my” wife? But you are the only person who is married to her.

Shin : Well, saying “my wife” would sound like I’m the only person who has a wife. But of course that’s not true — many people have wives.

Karl : I see. How about things like cellphones? You don’t feel comfortable saying “my cellphone” either?

Shin : Well, no. However, we also use uri when something’s shared by a group of people, just like in English. When we Koreans speak English, we would say “our country” because, for us, saying “my country” sounds like I own the country myself.

Karl : So, there isn’t a word for “my” in Korean?

Shin : Yes, we have the word nae, but we seldom use it — if you say nae, it sounds like you only think about yourself.

Karl : Then, I guess the English world isn’t very friendly to you. Everything is “my, my, my.”

Shin : Yeah . . . maybe a little. 

Karl : But you know I’m not like that when I say “my,” right? You’re “my” friend and I care about you.

Shin : I know.

       Will you go to a show if you can’t find out what you’re going to see? Well, maybe not. But this is what improvisations are like. The theater or the actors can’t tell you what the show is about because they themselves don’t know yet! Improvisations aren’t like other theater shows. Actors don’t have words to remember or parts to practice before the show. In fact, there isn’t a plan at all.

       So what story do the actors act out? In one kind of improvisation, actors first invite people who come to see the show to tell their stories. It could be dreams they had last night, or things that just happened to them. Soon after the actors collect enough ideas, they begin acting. Sometimes, during the show, they even invite someone up to sing with them! It is exciting for both the actors and people who watch the show because every show is different, and because, we could also say, they make the show together. 

       Are you interested? Well, lucky for you, Taiwan’s theaters also have improvisation shows, so why not go and check them out!