• Home
  • About April
  • Portfolio
    • Directing >
      • Community-Engaged Productions
      • Devised Work
      • Theatre-in-Education
    • Teaching >
      • Classroom Instructor
      • Teaching Artist
    • Training >
      • Pre-service
      • In-service
    • Writing >
      • Articles
      • Plays
      • Poems
    • Arkansas Artist Roster
  • Press
April Gentry-Sutterfield

Improv Improves the Old Self-Confidence

7/25/2011

1 Comment

 
Picture
Last week I taught Improv Insanity at Pulaski Technical College's Arkansas Teen College--a two week enrichment program for 6th-12th graders.  Between large group warm-ups and large group rehearsals for a few songs from *Wicked,* I taught five students.  We learned the basic rules of improv such as being spontaneous, accepting offers, and assuming our partner's brilliance through improv games and scenarios.  Improv has technique just like acting, and improv technique can be particularly difficult for middle school age students in particular.  One of the cardinal rules of improv is never to say no in a scene.  If your partner says you're riding a horse, you don't say:  "This is not a horse.  This is an elephant."  You must accept whatever your partner sets forth.  Middle school students often operate in the negative with each other in everyday life--self-deprecating jokes, "harmless" put-downs, etc.  Most of my students were middle school students, so we worked A LOT on the never say no rule.  By the end of the week, I felt all students had improved...even if improvement meant simply speaking in front of others.  I am constantly reminded how good theatre is for kids' self-confidence.  Teaching Improv Insanity reinforced that belief.

Picture
1 Comment
Socorro sex link
10/23/2012 06:05:58 pm

I liked your blog and went ahead and created a weebly blog too!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Current Work

    About the Author:  April Gentry-Sutterfield is a director, deviser, educator, and mom who uses theatre as a tool for social justice, education, and community engagement.


    Contact April at april@aprilgentry-sutterfield.com.

    Archives

    August 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    Categories

    All
    Arkadelphia
    Arkansas Governor's School
    Arkansas Teen College
    Art And Science Center Of Southeast Arkansas
    Bentonville
    Bullying
    Cabot
    Choosing Sides
    Community-engagement
    Conway
    Creative Arts Playgroup
    Dawson Educational Coop
    Devising
    Eastside Elementary School
    Healthy Choices
    Hendrix College
    Horace Mann
    Horace Mann Middle School
    Improv
    Interactive Theatre
    Laman Library
    Lily And The Aple Seed
    Lily And The Apple Seed
    Little Rock
    Mosaic Templars
    North Little Rock
    Pine Bluff
    Playwrighting
    Production
    Pulaski Technical College
    Rehearsal
    Rehearsals
    Safeplaces
    Teaching
    Theatre In Education
    Theatre-in-education
    Trike Theatre
    Upcoming Project
    Wildwood

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.