Teaching improv to teenagers difficult? Let’s talk.
I started teaching teenagers when I still was one myself. At age 19 I got a (paid) job to teach students only a few years younger. I am now almost double that age, and let me tell you: teaching teenagers is not easier (or harder) when you are younger.
Teaching teenagers is just… Different.
One thing is certain…
Here I collected some great resources for improvisers: workshops, music, series. All from creators who are not native English speakers themselves.
Why? Because through the English language we get an emphasis on the culture of English speaking countries. While the rest of the world has so much to offer.
Do you have some additions to this list? I continuously update it with new stuff I found.
I know you. You want to do well, as an improv teacher. How do I know this? Well, you are reading this section on my blog. You want to keep getting better.
Your students are the same. They want to do well. But...
This wish to be ‘good’ can be the greatest enemy for improvisers. An improv scene can definitely be good (great even!).
At times, we need to remind our students (and maybe ourselves) that we need to be okay with the possibility of not being good. Especially for my fellow high achievers out there: get comfortable at being ‘bad’.
How? If the wish for ‘being good’ gets in the way of their play, let your students try to play bad scenes. Or introduce a fun game to stretch their comfort level with ‘bad work’.
I’ll admit, it was a bit of a mysterious announcement.
Recently I offered a free improv workshop in a Facebook post. Not very peculiar, so far.
The description was deliberately vague: ‘We will play scenes, I will give you feedback’. A little mysterious.
Also, the prerequisite was: participants should not have taken classes with me before. Only improvisers new to me were allowed in. More mystery.
Lastly, I was recording the entire workshop so I had them sign a quitclaim. Before knowing what it was about.
Curiosity. Question marks. Mystery!
Coming up with new exercises is a challenge for so many improv teachers. (Well, unless you always teach the same. But that is not me) This is why I started this section.
However, over the years I learned: keep it simple.
Your warmup game does not need 17 different rules. You can just play tag.
Your scene work does not need complex setups. Start with an inspiring suggestion (I never get bored of ‘a location’) and just play.
Especially when you teach something new, it actually helps…
Do you remember that one great teacher from your past?
And that one thing they said, that you always remembered?
When I pondered over this question, it wasn’t actually just one. My list of teachers kept growing. And with it, the list of lessons I learned.
I summarized the countless things I learned about performing into this list of 12 teachers, 12 lessons:
Silvia W.: Dancing is for the joy of it.
Ron H.: Explore the stage.
…
I love podcasts so much and I want to share that love with you. I selected some of my favorites. They are made with care for storytelling, timing, musicality, and immersing us in a new world.
Dolly Parton’s America
Dolly is one of the most delightful human beings to listen to. And she seems to connect to all kinds of people: young, old, progressive, conservative, liberal, religious, etc.
Hey, I know. Getting your improv students to move and not stand & talk all the time is hard.
But... getting your improv students to move in an ONLINE class? Even harder.
Maybe you don't even know which exercises would work for that.
Let me help you out!
I have tips for more movement in your classes. Some are big and ridiculous. Some are small and easy.
What is great about improv, is that every improviser is different. What is difficult about improv, is…. that every improviser is different. When we are teaching a group of improvisers, we might run into this particular challenge.
We look around the room and we see how our students are different. For instance: some people need to learn to take initiative, others need to learn to give space. There are exercises to train ‘taking initiative’ and there are exercises to train ‘giving space’.
“Maybe we discover it is not even possible.” The two of us stand in the middle of the theatre room looking at each other. Then we shrug our shoulders and… Play again, for nobody else than the white wall.