Two adults who hardly know each other are performing a murder scene at a comedy improv workshop. The man hits the woman on the head with a hammer, and she falls dramatically – so dramatically that she hurls her body through the air and lands hard, whacking her head on the leg of a table.
That woman was me. I got so into my role that I almost gave myself a concussion. While the instructor rushed off to get me some ice, my “murderer” sheepishly apologized, staring incredulously at the invisible (ie. non-existent) hammer in his hand.
As I write this, Southern Ontario is in a polar vortex and world politics are nothing to laugh about. Fortunately, there’s a cure for the blues right here in your neighbourhood.
Try some crazy fun
Studios and theatres in the Halton and Hamilton-Wentworth regions offer improv workshops for both kids and adults. Participants play games, do interactive exercises and sometimes act out scenes. The aim is to watch for the other person’s cues and respond in the moment. It’s trickier than it sounds, but the results are often hilarious.
Amy McKenzie, one of the founders of Oakville Improv Theatre Company, got into improv because it satisfied her need to perform but didn’t require “the aggressive and sometimes brutal competition” of auditions. “On the whole, the people I found who were attracted to improv were people who enjoyed collaborating, playing (like children do — without fear), and laughing,” she says. “It blew my mind.”
People from all walks of life learn improv, for myriad reasons. Those pursuing a career on stage gain valuable performance skills. For others it helps with social skills, builds courage, and brightens our mood. Improv teaches us to relax, and to be affable and fearless in front of others.
Good for what ails you
According to McKenzie, some folks sign up for improv classes because their HR people said they needed to get better at interacting with peers. And given that laughter is the best medicine, she adds, “I’ve literally had two people tell me improv was their prescription [from their doctor] to get them out of their heads, either for anxiety or depression.”
Christina Payne, founder of Improv Your Life, says many of her adult students (ages 18 to 78) have taken classes “to better themselves as a whole, to wiggle out of their comfort zones, meet new like-minded creative or funny friends, and try something that was outside the box to their usual.”
Almost anyone can do improv, as long as they’re willing to try something new. Participants should be open-minded. Some are surprised to discover that improv isn’t so much “thinking fast” as it is about slowing down and really listening to what’s going on around you. A reasonable degree of fitness also helps, since improvisers often use mime to create objects and environments and build a scene for the audience.
The Magic of Improv
“One of my favourite anecdotes is about a class we did with a group of parents and youths with autism. We were playing a game where everyone jumps in with an element to a frozen picture (or tableau) and all the students couldn’t wait to add their piece of the puzzle — except one young man who studiously stayed back and hadn’t participated for the entire class. His mother was trying to get him to leave her side, but he wouldn’t budge and seemed non-verbal.
At the last part of the game, we were building an airport. Some had jumped in as tourists, some as luggage, some as flight crew walking by. I had coached them to loudly proclaim what they were becoming, starting with the words ‘I am …’
I was just about to end the exercise because everyone had joined, when the young man boldly walked up to the stage area, lay down on the floor in a fetal position and yelled, “I am a refugee!”
Of course, all of the parents and I just gasped. It was so beautiful and a poignant addition to the picture. We thought he wasn’t paying attention, but he was deeply engaged.”
– AMY MCKENZIE,
Oakville Improv Theatre Company
A craft to master
Improv is, above all, an art form. Participants from Improv Your Life and Oakville Improv have gone on to perform at Second City, Saturday Night Live, Who’s Line is it Anyway, or to form their own improv troupes, write or perform in scripted or televised work.
As for the rest of us (who get hit by invisible hammers socially, not professionally), dabbling in the art of improv can be life-changing. It boosts confidence, teaches us to interact and collaborate with others, and feels wonderful. Best of all, it gets us in touch with our silliest and most genuine selves.
As Payne has found both as a performer andas a teacher, improv allows participants to be themselves. It’s something they can do “just for them,” she says, “not as a mother/wife/hubby/boss. Just something for them, without judgement.”
LOCAL LINKS
IMPROV YOUR LIFE
Find them on Facebook or e-mail
christina@improvyourlife.ca
OAKVILLE IMPROV THEATRE
COMPANY
2302 Bridge Road, Oakville
oakvilleimprov.com
THE STAIRCASE
27 Dundurn Street North, Hamilton
staircasehamilton.com
By Michelle Morra
