Reasons to Learn Improv

Improv, more specifically known as improvisation, is a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters, and dialogue of a game, scene or story are made up in the moment. Steve Carell, lead actor of The Office and known as Michael Scott, used a lot of his own improvisations that worked with the T.V. show. The executive producer, Greg Daniels, wanted to ensure that the cast of The Office knew about improvisation and had a background in in it so that the show would "seem more natural." Now, the question is, why should I, or anybody learn improvisation? The first point is:

• It helps in creating more person-to-person interaction. Today, we live in a world where people are constantly looking down at their phones or technological devices, and it tends to drag you out of actual communication, which should be interacting with another human being in real life, not through random text messages or through social media. Improv is created by a group of people that work together to accomplish, as mentioned before, a game, scene or story, and so it helps in helping others to connect and communicate effectively with each other.

• It teaches you to be in the moment, and it helps you to react in a faster and more better way when facing surprises. If a group were to play a game of associating words and someone were to say 'cat', the next person to say 'dog', and the next person to say 'pig', you would assume that the group were stating pets, and you would try and think of a word related to the topic. But if the next person were to say 'a man', you would automatically have to transition from thinking of a word associated with pets, to a word associated with pigs.

• It disciplines you in becoming more patient and listening to what a person is saying. A lot of people, (I myself included) may start talking when someone else is talking, even before they could finish their sentence. This is a bad habit which could be seen as very rude to the speaker, but moreover, what the speaker was going to say may have had a change in direction in what they were saying before. It's important to wait until the end of a person's message, and what it has to get through.

• Many people are pressured into doing or saying the "right/perfect" thing, and it is a fear that many people share. In an improv class, you can fail without any fear. It is a place to grow and push boundaries into saying what you want to say, without being judged. This aids in building up courage and performing in a way that can help in different situations you may have in life.

These are all excellent example for why it is a good choice to join an improv class. It really gives you a new sort of perspective and a way of thinking, as well as expanding your creative imagination. It can be a fun way to interact with new people, and it could help in shaping the way you listen to other people (effective communication!) Happy improvising!

This is how Michael Scott got into improv:

https://youtu.be/XpuzzJxjzro

~Alexis

Asghar, Rob. "Four Reasons To Take An Improv Class." Forbes.com. Forbes, 12 Aug. 2015. Web. 13 May 2016. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/robasghar/2015/08/12/four-reasons-you-need-to-take-an-improv-class/#4991551f5664>.