Improv Is the Answer (and So Is Saying Yes)

by Norah Vawter

What is IMPROV?
 
Improvisational theater is the art of coming up with something out of nothing. No script. No direction. Maybe a prop if you’re lucky. You stay in the moment, and you don’t overthink. Starting with a blank canvas, you add to the scene as you go along – using your body, voice, and imagination to paint the scene. You can be silly, even ridiculous!
 
At CARE Actor, we’ve found that improv helps kids to open up and helps parents to find fresh ways to interact with their families. It also aids problem solving and team building.
 
This is why we developed Family Improv Events, where parents and kids can learn and laugh together!

Video credit: CARE Actor Family Improv

What are the benefits of learning the art of improv? Here are seven ways improv helps families be families:
 
1. “Yes, And...” is the first rule of improv and the basis for many improv exercises. What's the big deal and how does it apply to parenting? It's an alternative to saying a straight yes or a straight no. When you say yes, and ... you validate your child's feelings without giving in to unreasonable requests. This parent gives a great example of how to use improv lingo when faced with a stubborn kid. Want to learn how to play “Yes, Let's”? Check out our recent blog post on friendship.
 
2. Families who improv together collaborate together, in so many ways. This article from Second City, aimed at teachers, applies to families as well. “Improv teaches participants to step up when another idea is needed (taking the focus) and to cede the floor when another student wants to share (giving the focus).”

Photo credit: CARE Actor Family Improv

3. Comic Mike Birbiglia agrees that improv is key to teamwork, collaboration, and getting stuff done as a group.  “The rules of improv, I believe, are so profound because they apply to almost any kind of collaboration. ... Number one: Say yes. Two: It's all about the group. And three: Don't think.”

4. Keep yourselves sane during road trips! Second City has a list of suggested games for the whole family to play when stuck in a car for a long drive. Go beyond counting license plates by getting silly and creative with activities like “One Word at a Time” and “1001 Mermaids Go Into a Juice Bar.”
 

Photo credit: CARE Actor Family Improv

5. It's a powerful tool for helping all kids get in touch with their emotions, regardless of what makes a particular kid special. Researchers at Indiana University are even working with children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, to help them share emotions and understand others' feelings. According to one researcher, Jim Ansaldo, “What improv really does is create a safe and fun and authentic environment in which to practice, where mistakes really don't matter.” We think lessons like these apply to all of us.

6. Want to help your kids trust themselves? Alan Alda, who co-founded the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York, believes improv is a tool for building trust. He says [improv]'s humor “is not a jokey kind of humor. It’s the pleasure of spontaneity. So that if something occurs to you in that split second, it’s free to come out. You trust it, you trust yourself.”

Photo credit: CARE Actor Family Improv

7. Improv teaches us to stay in the moment. This mom talks about improv teaching her to not overthink, but to be in the present. She says, “[practicing being in the moment when on stage] is highly valuable for anyone who has been dragged down a five-year-old’s rabbit hole of ‘...at my next birthday party, I’m gonna....’ Being in the moment short-circuits your lingering work angst and inspires you to yell, 'Today IS your birthday!' and print out a bunch of cupcake toppers just for the heck of it.”

This month at CARE Actor, we're gearing up for new Family Improv Events, on April 21 and April 22. We'd love to see you there! In these events, we’ll even introduce activities you can do at home. Browse our blog for more at-home improv, such as One Word at a Time, Walking Blind, Mirror, and more.

Photo credit: CARE Actor Family Improv

If you've participated in Family Improv in the past, or seen your kids transformed by improv in classes or camps, sound off in the comments below! Have you found that improv, or other creative pursuits, helps your family's group dynamic? Share tips and tricks on social media, and be sure to use hashtags #careactorkids and #CAREaboutfamilyimprov. Your idea may even be featured!

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