Tip & Exercise: Getting connected to your body

Teaching during a lockdown is different. The online space is fun but also challenging. Teaching right after a lockdown is also different. Many of us will be asked to teach with more distance between players in order to keep everyone safe.

But how do you make players be more connected to their bodies?

Here is a fun exercise for connection to each other and to our bodies

English, improvisatie, international, Teaching improvLaura DoorneweerdSeptember 4, 2020teaching, improv, improvisation, exercise, tips, games, applied improv, physicality, body, body awareness, moving, warm up, covid, corona Comment

But what if there is no more work for me…

Maybe this angle has better light?

Maybe another room has better sound?

Do I remember everything I said in the video lessons?

Do I know my own workbook by heart?

I am preparing for my first Q&A session ever. The course for improv teachers is coming to an end and the students can ask me anything.

This part feels a bit like a test for me. Let’s hope I can give all the answers. I like being right.

In the call we are having a really great time. There are smart questions, good talks, and a helpful, positive vibe.

And then one of my star students shares…

English, improvisatie, international, Teaching improvLaura DoorneweerdSeptember 1, 2020teaching, improv, improvisation, tips, improv theatre, improv comedy, mindset, abundance, scarcity, freelancer, entrepreneur, gigsComment

Staging in the class room

Imagine an improviser on stage. However, they are not standing center stage. They are all the way in the back, in the corner of the stage.

Maybe you are intrigued: scenes barely start from there. Or maybe you are annoyed, because you cannot hear them well. In any case, you notice their location.

Staging matters.

If you are a performer, you probably know this. But as a teacher, do you also think about this?

English, improvisatie, international, Teaching improvLaura DoorneweerdAugust 22, 2020teaching, improv, improvisation, tips, improv theatre, improv comedy, staging, class room, covid, corona, distance, social distancingComment

Learning how to brag

My hands are on the keyboard but my eyes are staring out to the garden. I am pondering. Considering. Digging.

My partner is working next to me. “What are you thinking about?"

“I am looking for something to brag about”

“Ah, bragging Thursday”. Gael knows by now.

But you maybe don’t. So let me explain it to you.

English, improvisatie, international, Teaching improvLaura DoorneweerdAugust 14, 2020teaching, improv, improvisation, tips, inclusive, confidence, confident, brag, women, womxn, non-binary, improv theatre, improv comedyComment

Tip & Exercise: Balancing stage time

I think we can help our students become better improvisers by balancing out stage time. It will give the stage hogs an opportunity to be patient and let their partner shine, and it will give the wallflowers a chance to take that space and show what they got.

It will make either type of improviser a better partner to play with and it is way more engaging for an audience too.

In this month’s Tip & Exercise I will share with you a fun game & an adaptation to help students with balancing stage time.

English, improvisatie, international, Teaching improvLaura DoorneweerdAugust 7, 2020teaching, improv, improvisation, pronouns, exercise, tips, games, applied improv, inclusiveComment

Help your teaching colleague better

Have a question about teaching improv? A great place to get answers to your questions are Facebook groups. Full of people with experience and with answers.

But I think some of us, especially experienced teachers can be of better help in there. Let me explain how...

If your niece asks you with a shaking voice whether there is a monster under her bed, do you say: “No there is not. Goodnight”?

English, improvisatie, international, Teaching improvLaura DoorneweerdJuly 26, 2020teaching, improv, impro, improv comedy, improv theatre, theatre, drama, teacher, support, facebook, facebook groups, compassion, communication Comments

Repeat, repeat, repeat when teaching non-improvisers

I hate to break the news but eh…. Not everyone is an improviser. What is normal to us, is pretty wild to most non-improvisers. And we need to not forget that when we teach ‘muggles’.

Take 1 exercise that fits well with your purpose. Let them practice that exercise, let them get used to the rules (and silliness) and then add on top of that exercise.

Here is how it looked like when my coachee and I did this for the language class.

English, improvisatie, international, Teaching improvLaura DoorneweerdJuly 17, 2020teaching, teacher, improv, impro, improvisation, improv comedy, improv theatre, applied improv, workshops, class, pr, students Comments

What if almost nobody shows up...

Imagine…

Tonight is your friend’s birthday party. You got all dressed up, wrapped a nice gift, you showed up at their doorstep and while you walk into their living room your friend starts complaining: “Look how few people showed up. So disappointing! My birthday is ruined.”

And there you are… Gift in hand, feeling awkward, apologising for all the friends who did not show up tonight.

Sounds pretty unpleasant, right?

And yet… Aren’t we a little bit that friend sometimes?