Top Ten Tips For Teaching Improv

Episode 136: Top Ten Tips For Teaching Improv Improvisation! Every student loves it, but does every teacher? Improv is one of those things that looks so easy but the tide can turn easily. When you have students who do nothing but try to be funny, and others who refuse to join one scene, it can get frustrating quickly. Listen in to hear Second City performer and long time teacher Jennine Profeta shares her top ten tips for teaching Improv. Show Notes Drama Teacher Academy Course: Yes, And... How to Teach Improv Episode Transcript Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. Welcome to Episode 136! You can find any links for this episode in the show notes – theatrefolk.com/episode136. Okay. Today, we are talking improvisation which might be the highlight or the bane of your existence, right? I think that’s where improv lands. Nobody’s like “meh!” on improv. They either love it and they love teaching it and it’s a part of their class or they hate teaching it and they hate that their students are always begging for those improv games – because every student wants to play improv games! But what if you don’t like it? What if you don’t have experience? You know that you should include it but you’re not sure what path to take? And what if it always goes wrong? Improv is one of those things that looks so easy and so effortless by those who do it well. And the fact of the matter is that it’s not easy and it’s not effortless and you also have students who try to maneuver situations – they’re always trying to be funny. And then, what about the other students who refuse to even join in because they’re so terrified of improv? I can relate to that a thousand percent. It all can get frustrating really quickly. Let’s try to solve that here today. Right; we’re going to solve all your improv problems – okay, maybe not! We’ll have a nice… you can listen to a nice chat with a wonderful improv performer and teacher and a long-time friend. I have known Jeanine Profeta… I think we talk about how long we’ve known each other so I’ll leave that for the actual interview but she is a Second City instructor and Jeanine is on the podcast today. We are talking tips for teaching improv. Let’s get to it! LINDSAY: Hello! I am tickled pink and coming up roses that I get to introduce this podcast guest, Jeanine Profeta. Hello, Jeanine! JEANINE: Hello, Lindsay! LINDSAY: Jeanine, we are sitting here in the posh surroundings known as the Second City Training Centre in Toronto. JEANINE: Yeah. LINDSAY: Let me describe the scene for you. We’re in a basement and the walls are plywood. Can you please tell me why the walls are plywood? JEANINE: Yes, the walls are plywood because many a student has put a fist through the wall, enthusiastically. No, it’s for real! People get all excited and limbs go flailing. At one point, there were so many holes in the wall so, yeah, they just put the plywood to stop them. Now, it’s all just broken knuckles and tears. LINDSAY: Well, this is the perfect segue into our topic which is we’re going to be talking improv. I did not expect that answer and I love that answer – that people get so excited to do improv that they put holes in the walls. So, Jeanine, we have known each other… JEANINE: Ugh, don’t say it! Don’t do the math.