Last week I offered a talk (more so, an offer to co-create) when I met with more than 30 folks interested in my forthcoming edited book: Improvising With and In Higher Education: All Together Now.
It was terrific to have an international community of higher education faculty, staff, administration, students, along with community members, together in this gathering. People were colleagues, students, and friends. Many contributors to the book itself were there.
As I continue to reflect on our gathering, what stays with me is not just how I felt—but how the space seemed to resonate more widely. In the hours and days that followed, notes of appreciation, expessions of curiosity, and offers for connection were co-created.
What struck me was how the session didn’t seem to end when the Zoom call did. It rippled. It lingered. It stirred something.
There was a felt sense that the room had offered more than an exchange of ideas or a transmission of information. It had offered a way of being in conversation, a way of building with one another that felt playful, reflective, and alive.
We didn’t just talk about the book.
We performed it.
Together, we created a radical performance of activity in higher education:
A new way to relate to each other.
A new way to perform an academic research talk.
A new way to share what a book is—and what it is still becoming.
A movement in process.
A practice in progress.
An ensemble in motion.
People found themselves thinking differently—about their roles, their practices, their invitations to others. And what we built together reminded me so much of the ensemble process that shaped this book.
At one point, someone asked: Could this continue? Others echoed that question in different forms: Could we meet again? Could we link up with others—communities like the Yes, And Higher Education Network or Professors at Play?
These questions feel like invitations. And I want to say:
Yes, and…
We may not know exactly what we’re building next. But we’re building it.
Improvisation teaches us not to wait for clarity before we begin. It teaches us that not knowing isn’t a problem—it’s an opening. What matters is that we stay in motion, stay in relation, and keep creating the next step together.
We’re not just talking about improvising in higher education.
We’re improvising the journey. All together now.
I'll share soon resources with respect to the talk. In the meantime...
???? Want to keep building?
✍️ You can join my mailing list here.
???? Or reach out if you’d like to co-create a future scene together. Set up a Connection Call.
