GameStop and the Power of Yes, And
Believing in an established reality is addicting, and not always productive.
It was impossible not to hear about the excitement around the rise in GameStop stock this past week. With the price increasing by 248.15% at the time of this writing, it’s no wonder people are asking, “What the hell is going on?”
If you want a very finance-y explanation, this Twitter thread and related Substack article by Sahil Bloom are great resources. We’re new fans of Sahil as his goal is to “demystify the world of finance, money, and business, one story at a time.” And you know how much improvisers love storytelling.
We want to take a different approach and look at this process from the point of view of improv. One of the main tenets our improv community follows is: The requirement to believe in, accept, and build of the truths established by the collective. TL;DR: Yes, and…
The price of anything is simply what people are willing to pay for it. As more people are willing to pay the current price, that value goes up. The reality of an improv scene is simply what people are willing to believe in. In other words, what they will pay for it in terms of committing.
This brings us back to GameStop. If enough people believe in an idea (let’s “send this stock to the moon”), accept the current reality, and keep building towards that reality, very few things can get in the way (trading platforms stoping purchases are one of them…). Really what we saw was a bunch of yes, anding. Buy this stock. Yes, and I’ll post about it on Twitter. Yes, and I’ll tell my buddies to buy-in. Yes, and we will show this short-seller the power we have. Yes! And when the price goes up we will buy more! Yes, and when the price goes down, we will continue to stay in and post about holding strong. YES! AND WE WILL MAKE MILLIONS AND PAY OFF OUR HOUSES! … you get the point.
As improvisers, we recognize the joy that comes from entering the affirmational space of “yes, and” in our craft. And we see that tenet at work around us. Believing, accepting, and building off collective truths opens possibilities for something new. Something not previously imagined. In improv scenes. In sending GameStop stock to the moon. This isn’t to say that the affirmation of an idea off-stage is always positive or productive. Recent events illustrate the dangers of say “yes, and” to anything that anybody says. Conspiracy theories thrive. Violence in the streets. That sort of thing. We know this about how we practice and understand improv - it is always at odds with violence. Ultimately, we’ve found that entering into relationships with people (and ideas) is healthier when it comes from a place of yes, and. However, a disciplined “yes” requires the improviser to deeply listen to and understand what has been previously established. We can’t just make something up. The folks who drove the GameStop explosion knew what they were doing. They’d listen deeply enough to be able to add a powerful “and.” A new possibility was produced and, in so emerging, revealed something about improvisation.
Of course, there will come a time with the coordinated effort described above will end and the proverbial scene will be called. “Yes, and,” as we understand it through GameStop and in improv scenes, is bound to a specific time and place. The process leaves those who participated changed. And that change will enter into the next moment. And so on. For now, believing in the reality and building is a high you can get from doing improv with others who abide by the tenet mentioned above. We don’t blame those holding $GME stocks for enjoying the euphoria that comes from building and participating in a reality. We do think they should donate some money to a local improv theatre. Maybe in Central Pennsylvania?