I agree that reading Keith Johnstone's "Impro" is a "life changer." And all theater, all comedy and tragedy, and well, basically all human interaction is an elaborate "status game."
You can play the game for laughs and for tears. It can be a game of joy, or a game of mortal combat. Sometimes it's both in any simple, day to day human exchange.
I was reminded of the grand status game yesterday. It can take you by surprise. Usually when you are unprepared, off-guard. Someone suddenly reminds you of the status relationship that lurks beneath the surface. You may have presumed a neutral state of equals, but that's not how the game works. There's a simple and subtle elevating of one being and a lowering of another.
I was on the lowering side of the equation. It came in a flash. Delivered with a smile. Usually the most cutting, to the bone, status changes come sheathed in a velvet glove.
In response, I lowered myself slightly, and smiled back. Didn't even flinch. Sometimes that's how you do it. Adopt a sort of "Remains of the Day" Anthony Hopkins-like mask. It's OK. Live to engage another day. And never forget the game of status. In some realms you are Kingpin in others only the hired help!