Hey! Remember these? My god, it’s been so long. If you wanna get better at improv, take your show to different theaters. I see a lot of improvisers, really experienced improvisers- been doing this a really long time, they’ve got a great show and I always see that show at their one local theater. And I’m like, why aren’t they taking that show on the road? So this is to you, this is to the improviser who has a show that they do every single whenever at their local theater. Why arent you bringing that show to other spots? It’s a good challenge for you, as the show producer to see if your show can fill seats at another venue where you’re not known kind of in the local community. So there’s that. And um and if your theater- your local theaters like, “Hey you can’t do your show somewhere else.”, I mean hey I don’t know. I say shame on the theater owner that says you can’t take that show out of here. But I don’t know if that’s a thing, maybe I’m just making stuff up. But my point is this: if you’re creating your own show take it on the road, take it to different locations, challenge yourself.
Improv U is proud to announce our partnership with Barclay Performing Arts! We now offer improv classes at Barclay.
Improv U, one of the highest rated and well known improv training schools in South Florida is teaming up with Barclay Performing Arts the best performing arts academy in Boca Raton to bring advanced improvisational acting and performance training.
“I am so excited and honored to bring Improv U to Barclay. The energy and positivity that Christine and her team bring to the performing arts is exactly what it’s all about. We’re kicking things off with a kids improv drop in class on Fridays from 4:30 – 5:30 and very soon we will be offering more classes as well improv for teens and adults. We share the same passion for bringing the arts to a new generation and instilling these skills in young kids. I can’t wait to see what we make together.”
Interested in Improv classes with Improv U at Barlcay? Contact Barclay today and let them know you would like to be notified when classes are open! Barclay Performing Arts is located at 8903 Glades Rd. Ste D8, Boca Raton, FL 33434. Learn more about Improv U’s classes.
The holidays are approaching, and your company just netted another year. You’ve watched your people work hard, striving to reach goals and exceed projections, and now you want to reward them with the unique holiday party they deserve.
But how? Sure, it’s always fun to see the people you work with rock out on a karaoke stage. And, Brian from HR has some killer dance moves after a few egg nogs …but how about something new this year?
It can be a lot of pressure to plan a party that your staff has been looking forward to all year, but we have just the thing to keep the fun coming. Here’s our 5 reasons why your holiday party needs improv.
1. You’ll Get a Tailor-Made Show Just for You Improvers customize their material for their audience. They’ll collect information before the show, during the show or both – this includes all the jargon, the inside jokes and more – and they’ll pepper it in throughout the show. Of course, this goes along with all the other hilarity they come up with. Jokes about the broken copier, repetitive memos and those darn TPS are sure to keep your staff laughing.
2. …Speaking of Laughing Is there a better way to bring people together than laughter? When something makes everyone smile, it helps everyone to feel a little looser. We’re not talking about the awkward jokes your CEO makes while MC-ing the party. We’re talking about genuine comedy that you don’t feel obligated to laugh at. Figuring out how to break the ice at an event is never easy, so invite an improv troupe to loosen them up. Unscripted funnies are sure to do the trick.
3. Your Employees Can Have Their Chance to Shine Improv shows really start to become fun when they get interactive. If you’d like to see your employees get in on the action, you can have your improv group invite them on stage to participate in the hilarity. If you think they have fun laughing at entertainers, just wait until they start laughing at each other.
4. Improvers Can Improve Any Place, Any Time Improv humor is extremely versatile, and troupes can perform in almost any environment. Whether you’re having your holiday party at the office or at a venue, they’ll meet you there and they’ll always bring their A game.
5. The Good Times Will Last Through the New Year After watching an uproarious interpretation of their work life, your employees are sure to bring some laughs to go. In fact, they may laugh until your next holiday party. Those spot-on inside jokes are relived every time they come to the office, giving coworkers something to bond over every day. Best of all, you can do the same thing the following year, because every show is completely different – it truly is the gift that keeps on giving.
To get started with this unique holiday party, contact us today and learn how to book a live improv show for your next event.
Utilizing improv theater practices can encourage and improve design thinking starting with user empathy through creating product prototypes. Not only can it improve design thinking, but the techniques can be easily learned. Therefore, let’s explore 3 improv activities for design thinking below.
Powerful Benefits that Improv Brings to the Design Thinking Process
Improvisors are characterised by quick-wittedness, listening even in high pressure situations and building on the ideas of their team. All of these attibutes are great additions for design thinkers. With an improv workshop, design thinkers can begin to:
Empathize more clearly with the design target
Increase teamwork and co-work between the participants
Improve moods, energy and listening skills
Encourage team think by removing pressure and silos
But how?! Great question.
So the good news is that to use improv activities for deisgn thinking is a short presentation away. Most design thinkers can benefit and take away these skills from a workshop. To get started, here are 3 improv activities to use:
Improv Activities
Never Miss a Beat It’s amazing where our minds will wander off too. This activity is great for helping us stay present. It’s called “Zip Zap Zop”. Standing in a circle one person claps and then points at someone else in the circle saying “Zip”. That person then claps and points at someone else and says Zap, third person clap and point, “Zop”, and you bounce that around the circle. Zip, zap, zop, zip, zap, zop, etc. Use your own words, use names, the important thing is you move fast!
Encourage the wild ideas To do this we need to start saying yes to the ideas that are presented to us and supporting them. We do this with an activity called “I’m going on a picnic”. To do this activity everyone stands in a circle. The first person in the circle turns to the person on their left and says ” I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing a soda. The next person then turns to the person to their left and says “Yes, and I am bringing ice for the soda”, that third person then turns to the person to their left and says “yes, and I’m bringing a cooler to hold all the ice”, and this repeats until everyone has had a turn.
Empathize With Your Design Target How do we practice empathy? To see life from someone else’s point of view a good start would be to take on that persons physicality. Humans are great at mimicry. For this activity you will observe someone as they are. You want someone who is unaware they are being observed. Someone outside the window waiting for the bus for example or someone in a video. Take on that persons body posture, sit how they sit, stand as they stand, walk as they walk, then ask yourself, how do I feel? What kind of person do I feel like right now? Let your new body inform your mind. Body first, then mind.
These exercises help work those muscles, and they’re a lot of fun to do. Contact us today to learn more about how you can use improv activities for design thinking.
Hey! Remember these? My god, it’s been so long. If you wanna get better at improv, take your show to different theaters. I see a lot of improvisers, really experienced improvisers- been doing this a really long time, they’ve got a great show and I always see that show at their one local theater. And I’m like, why aren’t they taking that show on the road? So this is to you, this is to the improviser who has a show that they do every single whenever at their local theater. Why arent you bringing that show to other spots? It’s a good challenge for you, as the show producer to see if your show can fill seats at another venue where you’re not known kind of in the local community. So there’s that. And um and if your theater- your local theaters like, “Hey you can’t do your show somewhere else.”, I mean hey I don’t know. I say shame on the theater owner that says you can’t take that show out of here. But I don’t know if that’s a thing, maybe I’m just making stuff up. But my point is this: if you’re creating your own show take it on the road, take it to different locations, challenge yourself.
