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Strength in surrender -- onstage and in life | John Lewis Lambert | TEDxSanAntonio

1,669 views · Published 14 November 2014 · 6:31 · Indexed 27 October 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2014 · Nonprofits & Activism

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This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. The world of improvisational theater has strengthened John’s scripted performances and awakened him to the improvisational reality of life itself, which rarely cooperates with our best-laid plans. This does not, however, alleviate the need for preparation. In some cases a single moment of clarity awakens a person to life’s fragility—such as the passing of John’s beloved wife, Maria Ivania. John's experience is not unique; only his perspective. With few weapons at his disposal to cope with the tragedy for his sons and for himself, the acting and improvisation worlds equipped him for the coming storms. He contends that the principles of improvisation hold the keys to success onstage and in life.

ohn Lambert was passionate about communication and theater arts from a young age. These pursuits found fertile ground in a home where his mother played piano and danced flamenco, and his father had a flair for the dramatic with public relations and business. John is a recipient of the Nau Scholarship for History Majors at UTSA and plans to attend graduate school part-time as his teaching career in high school history begins. He has been an active improvisation performer since 2006, as well as an actor for film, television, and local theater. He is curator for the charity-based Short Shorts Film Fest competition, which John hopes to elevate to nonprofit status. His lessons onstage have proven instrumental for his new role as a widowed father of twin eleven-year-old boys. The reverse is also true. John considers his defining moment in life the loss of his companion. His late wife Maria Ivania Lambert is the center of the charity focus at the Short Shorts Film Fest.

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