Eric Lutz / Founder
Eric Lutz, founder of Kids First Improv, has been teaching since early college when he tutored fellow students in writing and philosophy. He graduated from Hanover College with a major in Philosophy and an emphasis in Theatre. He fell in love with Improvisational comedy his sophomore year, when he joined his college troupe Evil Petting Zoo, and boy oh boy did improv love him back.
While teaching teambuilding at the high ropes courses of the Boy Scouts of America, Eric discovered that improv games were extremely helpful in getting the scouts to open up, communicate creatively and effectively with one another, and build trust. Afterwards, when teaching adults and college students in improv seminars, he stumbled on another amazing discovery: kids are way more receptive to the creativity and communication potentiality of improv then adults, who often had to be, shall we say, strongly encouraged in breaking down the social walls that inevitably seem to grow up around us.
Over the past three years, Eric graduated from such prestigious improv programs as I.O. and the Annoyance theatre, as well as performing professionally around the city. In addition, he has been teaching chess to hundreds of kids in dozens of schools around the Chicagoland area with the organization Chess Wizards (www.chesswizards.com), the largest chess academy in the state of Illinois. There, he was once again shown how fast and well kids are able to adjust to and internalize the skills and principles behind the teachings. These skills of logic and calculation, when taught at such a young, receptive age, seemed as though they would benefit the students for the rest of their lives.
That’s when it occurred to Eric: why not improv? If kids could be taught to harness and effectively utilize those attributes of open creativity and communication that came so comparatively easy at that age, the rest of their lives could be much better for it. And thus, Kids First Improv was born. Utilizing his vast array of teaching experience, Eric designed and implemented a curriculum and class structure that would help these kids access and hone the skills that come so naturally to them.
The hit film The Neverending Story made a huge impression on a young (and possibly somewhat nerdy) Eric. The movie tells the story of imagination vs. the Nothing: keeping our creativity strong in the face of all life’s obstacles. Kids First Improv is proud to stand against the Nothing, and keep imagination alive.
John Jensen / Instructor
John Jensen, instructor for Kids First Improv began his improvisational tale as a musical theater and orchestral choral performer in Northwest Indiana. Finding his options limited to amateur choral and musical theater work in Northwest Indiana, he turned his sights to the big city of Chicago where he fibbed about his age (16) and began taking adult classes at the Improv Olympic (now IO).
During the years to follow he completed the IO course of study, began acting on camera, learned about television production and began performing musical improvisation. During college he developed a curriculum to share the wonderful art of improvisation and during his senior year led a weekly class and taught himself how to teach while educating many of his classmates and professors about improv. With the skills he had developed in college and at the Improv Olympic he began developing curriculum and teaching improv for the Improv Playhouse in Libertyville Illinois. He led his group of high-school improvisors to develop their own improv forms (long, short, and musical), perform weekly for local audiences and eventually perform in Chicago upon invitation by the Chicago Improv Festival.
John now teaches exclusively for Kids First Improv and brings years of curriculum development and musical improv expertise to this wonderful, super-fun educational program.
Pics of Eric and John doing what they do...
