Training for Change in YOUR Context with Improv
Improvisation is recognized for promoting people’s ability to be flexible and adaptable through change, but for most people, the words “change” and “improv” make them want to hide under their desks. We will show you that all it takes to put improv to work for you are some simple, structured interactions (aka low stakes games), and an integration tool called a “6-phase debrief.” This integration tool helps bridge the gap between theater improv and real-world contexts, creating a way to support participants in making meaning of their immediate lived experience and leveraging the power of the group to promote transformative adjustments to behavior in the face of change. Come for the insights, stay for the zero-judgment environment where your context is the star, not your stage presence.
Presenters
Mira Azarm is a designer, maker, improviser, and educator. As The Innovation Instigator and Learning Experience Catalyst in the Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (that’s some word soup!), she provokes learners into becoming creative problem-solvers. She specializes in teaching how to build at low resolution, collaborate radically, lean into wild ideas, and most of all, engage across disciplines and perspectives in meaningful ways. In addition to teaching, she designs artifacts to communicate concepts and tools; co-creates programs, classes, curriculum, and workshops; and prototypes ways to weave innovation into the cultural thread of the institutions she works in. She recently completed a certificate in Experience Design through Odyssey Works, and has been learning long-form improv through the Washington Improv Theater. She’s a world recognized leader of repurposed craft and building materials, leading to her designation as the Mayor of Toilet Tube Town. This makes her a triple threat: she can build real things with scrappy materials, pretend to build things with imaginary materials, or do some combination thereof.
Christine Alexander is a play-based and arts-integrative educator who combines her facilitation skills and passion for human development to create purpose driven learning experiences. Before earning her M.A. in Teacher Education and Professional Development from UMD, she worked as a Teaching Artist in schools, museums, and theaters. Her training includes 7 years of applied improvisation for educational contexts (Smithsonian Associates), and two years of Gestalt Theatre training for educators (Gestalt Theatre Association), along with coursework in Design Thinking (UMD). She now works as a Lecturer and professional development provider in the Science, Technology, and Society program of College Park Scholars and the A. James Clark School of Engineering.