Clay Drinko says Play Your Way Sane: How Improvisation Changes the Brain
Clay Drinko gets it! After stumbling into Improv over 20 years ago, he has made a career as an educator, an improviser and author. He has very insightful and interesting things to say – you should get to know him! Read here how to ‘Play You Way Sane“.
Neural Substrates of Spontaneous Musical Performance: An fMRI Study of Jazz Improvisation – A Study by Charles Limb and Allen Braun
Charles Limb and Allen Braun used fMRI (Functional MRI) to study the parts of the brains activated during spontaneous musical performance or improvisation. This study showed that there is a ” distributed neural pattern may provide a cognitive context that enables the emergence of spontaneous creative activity.” We find this very interesting as it applies also to improvisation in endeavors other than musical improvisation, such as comedic improvisation and the day-to-day…
This is your brain on improv – a Podcast by Patrick Cox from the World in Words series
We were blown away by this podcast. Listen to the Worlds in Words’ explore how an improvising brain behaves differently than a non-improvising brain. You can also subscribe to the World in Words podcast series here. But right now listen to “This is your brain on improv” .
Characters Building Character
Comedic Improvisers are known for their ability to create absurd and wacky characters, often including funny voices or strange physicalities. These performances are entertaining, as the characters might remind us of people we know, or are simply so outlandish we cannot help but laugh. In Improv Therapy, character work is a difficult skill that is often saved for more experienced groups. But encouraging patients to experiment with taking on heightened…
Radical Acceptance: What Makes Improv Therapeutic
In the past decade the field of Improv Therapy has slowly crept its way into psychological scholarship. Frontiers in Psychology and the Journal of Mental Health published articles in 2013 and 2017 respectively outlining the potential therapeutic benefits of comedic improvisation. Around the country professionals ranging from neuropsychologists to therapists to life coaches and wellness experts are incorporating improv techniques into their work. As such improv is currently being used…
“Is he allowed to do that?” – Improv gives us a rare environment where there are no wrong answers
Before an idea is a good idea or a bad idea, it is a new idea. To write a book, start a business or simply change up a go-to dinner recipe, we have to test out a new idea. But with every new idea put into action we take a risk; many businesses don’t succeed and sometimes the new ingredient we try out ruins the dish. For so many of…
Empathy and Storytelling
Improv is often explained as theater that you “make up on the fly.” Indeed, improvisational theater in a performance setting features entire stories and characters invented on the spot entirely from imagination. But improv in a therapeutic setting is deeply rooted in exploring personal stories through drama, and thus requires us to be able to share such stories. Telling personal stories in a group setting fosters empathy between the group…
Child’s Play: Life conditions us not to be silly – Improv reteaches us how
Lisa cupped her hands in the air as though she were holding a baseball. She explained to the group that she was holding an invisible ball of energy which she passed along to the people sitting around the circle. Each individual could mime an action with the invisible ball (dribbling, juggling, etc.) before passing it along. It is one of the simpler improv warm ups, but to most adults the…
7 Ways to Practice Self-Care and Prevent Stress from Taking Over Your Life
When the workload piles up, it’s easy to get buried in it and let the ensuing stress control your life. Spending after-hours answering emails or leaping from one task to the next may feel productive, but actually only increases your anxiety even more. Give yourself a well-earned break and try these self-care tips. Make Your Home More Serene Just like it takes up space in the house, clutter can overwhelm…
Using Improv to Become a Self-Advocate
Being a self-advocate is all about speaking up for yourself so that you can live the best life you can. Improv can be utilized for self-advocacy skills by assisting in confidence and public speaking, as well as communication, on-the-spot thinking and decision-making. The University of Montana’s Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities has a toolkit that uses improv to help build self-advocacy skills in Independent Living leaders…
Articulation (Do you Know What I Mean??)
Being sufficiently articulate can greatly help you on the path of life. By being able to articulate your thoughts and feelings on any given situation, you are able to live your life to its fullest potential and have more meaningful experiences. You are also better able to understand and absorb the world around you, through the method of processing your experiences into cohesive words and phrases. Improv teaches articulation by…
Improv is just fun!
Many have asked the question: why should we learn improv? And many, including myself, have answered with things like it’s good for education, useful in traveling, it’s therapeutic, etc. All of those reasons are true and fine, but there can be a much simpler, yet no less valid, answer as well. Improv is fun! Many people seem to be under the impression that in order to do something, one must…
Improv in Schools – Improv for Students
There are so many articles and studies about how teachers can use improv in the classroom to help their students, but there aren’t many discussions on how students can use improv training to help further their own education. Improv can be used in everyday class life ranging from elementary school, all the way up to university. There are many types of class activities and projects that appear frequently throughout all…
Improv and Traveling
Some people don’t travel because they’re scared of the unknown. With improv training, it is easier to face the unknown and have an awesome time doing it! That’s why improv can be a great help with traveling. The first integral part of any traveling experience is figuring out what you’re going to do, whether this be planned months in advance or on the day of. The improv skill that comes…