Comfort Zone (Part 3)


My 8 week improv class ends on March 5, 2017.

I feel wistful about that.

Over the 8 weeks, you build up a lot of trust with your classmates.

Everyone participates in doing silly things (like having our right index finger “talk” to our left index finger) and when everyone does it, it becomes an accepted and normal part of the environment. 

We have a cool instructor who is very enthusiastic.

I will remember his coaching tip that we should say the first thing that pops into our head and not think too much. I suppose that by doing this we become more spontaneous.  

Is the improv course fun?

I think it is.

For example, last Sunday, we played a game where we had to become the card that we drew from a deck of cards. If you drew a low card, then you played a person with low status. If you drew a high card, then you played a person with high status. “High” status can mean different things like someone who sprawls him/herself in a seated position and takes up another person’s personal space or a person who initiates eye contact with another person or a person who takes on a supercilious tone.     
  
I played a scene with my partner. We had to make up a scenario. In the scene my partner played at selling smoothies. I came into the scene as a customer. I said that I wanted to buy a smoothie where money was no object. I put my hands on my hips and puffed up my chest. I held a high status card (ace) and my partner held a low status card (like a six). Our classmates had to guess if we were playing a high status or low status person and the suit of the card we held.

Is the improv course challenging?

I think it is. Sometimes I find it hard to come up with a sentence or idea in the spur of the moment. But with a challenge there comes the possibility for growth.

What do you learn in this course?

The course teaches you to focus on what people say and to be aware of their body language. It teaches you to be in the moment and to be creative. Through our games we learn to trust and to trust that our partner will support us when we choose to take a scene in a particular direction. We are learning to be empathetic.

Every week I have a sense of trepidation of what will we do in that week, but as soon as the class starts, I focus on the games and my trepidation melts away. For the 2 hours that I’m in class, it’s as if we create a bubble and I can leave my troubles behind.

The improv class is a bonding experience.     

When class ends we will all go our separate ways, but I know that if we were to accidentally meet on the street some day, we’ll say “Weren’t we in the same improv class in the winter of 2017?”


We’ll nod and smile knowingly at the memory.


Also Published on LinkedIn on February 14, 2017
Image Credit:  Florida Public Relations Association (Tampa Bay Chapter) www.fpratampabay.org

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