Alan and I went with friends to the Anonymous Theatre Company’s one-night-only production of POTUS a few weeks ago. It was extraordinary.

Every year, Anonymous Theatre holds auditions in secret and keeps the cast a secret, even from the other cast members. Each performer then rehearses one-on-one with the director. On the night of the show, the actors wear street clothes and sit in the audience. The play begins with no one on stage. The actors deliver their first lines from their seats and then make their way to the stage.

So much could go horribly wrong. So little does. But interestingly, the few things that do go wrong often become my favorite part of the show. In one POTUS scene, two characters were supposed to be sitting in an office. But there were no chairs on stage. Without missing a beat, the actors delivered their lines until the chairs “magically” rolled onto the stage. They sat and continued the scene as if this was supposed to have happened.

Things go wrong all the time in my creative endeavors. But these actors’ abilities to improvise and go with the flow inspire me to do the same when things do not go as planned.

What do you do when things go wrong?