So...What exactly do you DO in an improv class? As any parent who has had things broken/stained/set-aflame by their pride and joy knows, most kids don't need much help in making up stories. What we do is take that natural ability and hone it into a skill for creativity, communication, and responsiveness that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.

There is a lot of individual leeway given to the instructor, since we are teaching them improvisational comedy and not molecular genetics (because, man, molecular genetics is HARD.) However, good improv is a house built of many bricks, and we emphasize a different brick each week. Below is an example of our areas of emphasis during an eight-week program.

Week One: Confidence!

You have to enjoy performing yourself before anyone can enjoy it with you. In the first week, we have them toss their real names out the window and select their very own, super awesome improv name! Don't worry, we make sure they keep it clean. Throughout class, we encourage them to leave the fears of Jimmy or Sally behind, and be as bold and confident as CoolKat (sample improv name)! Our games this week are geared to help them conquer their fear of being in the spotlight, and show them how much better things go when you approach them with confidence and a positive attitude.

Week Two: Learning to Listen

A performer that goes onstage without having not just heard, but listened to what was going on before them is going to have a rough time. This is true both on and off the stage; meetings, brainstorming sessions and even social relationships could all go a little smoother with a little more listening. In this second week, we emphasize the importance of what other people say with a variety of games, such as Mimic, where kids are asked to emuate an anecdote our instructor tells, imitating both what the instructor says and how they said it. This week they learn: hera what's gone before you, or be lost.

Week Three: Emotion

Seeing emotions in others stirs emotions in us: this is a basic building block of all theatre. We help the students learn to access and display a full range of emotional range this week, with games such as Mood Swings. In Mood Swings, two students do a scene, then the rest of the class performs that same scene with different moods we assign to them. Once they've seen the responses they get from different characters, they are better able to understand how important emotion is in all communication, both in and out of theatre.

Week Four: Connection

Two heads are better than one! One of the greatest things about improv comedy is even when you have nothing to, you still have a partner. Connect with your partner, and they can inspire you to brilliance or vice versa. We illustrate the value of moving into a scene seeking connection instead of just afraid with games such as Repeat. In Repeat, the students are instructed to, before responding to what their scene partner says, to repeat back to their partner in a tone that shows they understand. This, along with other games illustrates how much better the interaction and interchange of ideas goes if you are sincerely trying to connect to your partner. It goes without saying that this skill has applications both on and off stage.

Week Five: Character

There are only so many roles you can have where you play yourself. A lot of very famous actors have had the good fortune of making a career of playing the same person over and over, but this rarely works for improv. We train the students to explore their entire range of acting chops this week with games such as Thar She Blows!. In this game, students do an initial scene then repeat the scene as a character the instructor assigns. A scene about buying milk will be done again and again, with the participants changing from astronauts to mer-people to pirates (hence the name of the game.) It's tempting to stay within your comfort zone and just use the one or two things you've found to work: this week, we try to break the students out of that mindset and show them what they can do when they are not afraid to commit to a bold choice.

Week Six: Teamwork

There is a very big difference between being great as an individual being and being great as a team. The impressions and feelings the audience leaves with are generated by the team as a whole, and the team succeeds or fails together. We emphasize this to the kids with games such as One Word Story. In this game, the students each say one work of a story, and see what kind of story they come up with when all contributing equally. As good or less good as you are, your word is part of they story and the story in make of you and your teams' words.

Week Seven: Scene Work

Now having confidence. listening skills, emotional communication and control the ability to connect, a range of characters and an understanding of the importance of teamwork, the students are ready to attack scene work with a vengeance! The only way to get better at scene work is to do scene work, and this week the students do just that. Using everything they've learned, the kids now do as many scenes as we can fit into the class.

Week Eight: Professionalism

What if there was a war and no one came? That's great! What if there was a show and no actors came? Hmmmmm, much less great. In our final week, we talk to the kids about professionalism. We stress how much work goes into any human endeavor, and how if people can't rely on you to be where you say you'll be and do what you say you'll do, then you can't be a part of a team. We then establish the games and playing order for the upcoming performance (if we are having one) and illustrate the other side of professionalism: giving and receiving constructive criticism. The students discuss the scenes their fellow students have performed, saying what they did and did not like, and why.

Sound like fun? Then get your school or child (or both) signed up today!