Improv is a great way to practice co-creation, helping to develop important skills such as accepting ideas from others, listening, staying in-the-moment, quieting judgment, letting go of fear, getting comfortable with making “mistakes,” and communicating.
Participants will be given a guidebook of digital improvisation games before the workshops. By the end of the sessions, participants will have the tools to lead their own improvisation games at home and contribute to the guidebook.
Enrollment is limited to 16 people. Each session is 1 hour. You will need stable internet and access to Zoom. Some activities might require you to have space to move around and some household materials (see individual workshops for more details).
March 22nd, 2021, 4pm-5pm EST
Workshop 1: Improvising Winter Soundscapes with Ben
What do our winter soundscapes sound like? Together, we will listen and reflect on the sounds of winter, and improvise together using three musical improvisation tools: imitation, interaction, and imagination. How might we imitate the sound of a snow shovel, interact with the heat vents, and imagine new sounds of the Canadian goose? After listening and playing several games, we will compose winter soundscapes using simple graphic score techniques. Musical experience not required, only winter experience and paper and writing utensils required! Join performer-composer and bassist Ben Finley as we sonically explore how music connects us with our surrounding ecosystems.
March 23rd, 2021, 4-5pm EST
Workshop 2: Musiking, (grAnd) Parenting and KidDing with Reza
Let’s allow our kids to lead us. Let’s be informed and inspired by children. In this workshop, playing with musical elements (rhythm, pitch, loudness), each member of the family will conduct others. This workshop will teach our children responsibility, and remind us adults that we still have our childhoods inside us, even if we are grandparents. In this way, we will all explore new dimensions of ourselves through improvisation. We will play music, LAUGH, and learn together. No experience or history in music required. Join Iranian musician Reza Yazdanpanah for an unforgettable afternoon of releasing our pandemic stresses and connecting through each other’s laughter.
March 24th, 2021, 4-5pm EST
Workshop 3: Family Storytelling Hour with Jemma
Gather around our imaginary online campfire for some after-school family storytelling. This workshop will have grown-ups, young people, and children alike immersed in reminiscing, inventing, and dreaming up stories. Join community theatre practitioner Jemma Llewellyn with your friends, relatives or guardians for a fun-packed hour of improvised storytelling and drama games. No experience necessary in drama or theatre–just your imaginations!
March 26th, 2021, 4-5pm EST
Workshop 4: Co-creating Improvisation Games with Ben, Reza, and Jemma
Would you like to co-create some new theatrical and musical improvisation games and exercises that you can play throughout the pandemic? Join Ben, Jemma, and Reza for a final day of improvised fun for the whole family. Using theatrical and musical improvisation, we’ll come together and share what we have collectively created over the last 3 days.