What creative treats can you cook up during a pandemic? What can you “bake” that is fun, theatrical, social, delicious (imaginatively so), and doesn’t require yeast?
Improv.
Improv works on Zoom. You get to create your own dramatic scenes, as silly or as profound as you desire them to be. You get to do this with people living anywhere in the United States or around the world. You get to be socially distanced without being isolated.
So why aren’t you hovering over your PC breathing in the dramatic aroma right now?
Students who love improvisation occasionally preach the gospel to friends who say they are tired of watching Netflix. When improv is suggested, those friends often respond, “I could never do that.”
But you can! Improv isn’t about being “fast on your feet” or being the wacky, funny one at the party (introverts can be wonderful improvisers), it’s about listening and responding. One sentence at a time. Yes and. You accept the spontaneously created reality (yes) and you add something to it (and). Lather, rinse, repeat. Voila, you now can have backstory, interesting characters, dramatic conflict, and a satisfying resolution.
A good improv teacher will scaffold these skills for you. You will learn to become writer, actor, and director all at the same time. It will improve your writing, improve your understanding of the structure of a play, and the habit of saying “yes and” will improve your life. You’ll also laugh. Laughter is a good thing. You will laugh a lot.
You can do it. No subway involved, no masks, no hand sanitizer, just people creating theater on the spot and connecting.
Write to me if you have any further doubts or any questions: KissinImprov@gmail.com or via the website KissinImprov.com. Say Front Row Center sent you and I will start you off with an hour-long private one-on-one class on the house (as long as you sign up for just a single regular class).
Baking bread might leave a pleasant scent, but improv is gluten-free, zero calories, and feeds your artistic sensibilities.
