Improv

So I just got back from an improv performance at Speech Night. If you weren't there shame on you, you should've been there supporting your school! However, I would like to talk about group improvisation or improv. It's so much fun to do, it feels exhilirating and terrifying at the same time. You form a wonderful camaraderie with your fellow improvists (improvers?) and the self-confidence you can find in it is absolutely wonderful. I think that being in improv should be required at Kennedy for every single student for the invaluable skills you learn while performing.

Improv is so important to Kennedy. The first memory I have of Kennedy was the improv performance by Shane Nielsen and Andrew Hanzelka during freshman orientation. I instantly thought it was the funniest thing that I had ever seen. Just when one of my ideas was thrown out onto the stage, it felt absolutely empowering. It might be a little bit of the attention hogging, but I love seeing the ideas come to life on stage.

At the same time I thought I would never ever be able to do what they did. I didn't audition the first two years simply out of fear. That is why I think improv is such a valuable experience. It teaches you to overcome nerves to create something wonderful, and to operate under tight pressure. Even four year improv veterans get extremely nervous before competitions. There is a ball of tension deep within your gut that you have to work around. Because if you show the nerves, your improv skit will not work. It is an invaluable life skill.

Another amazing ability improv teaches you has been, relatively unsuccessfully, attempted at teaching in high school. The ability to work as a cohesive team has been emphasized throughout education and especially in the workplace. Improv relies on harmonic chemistry between each person on the team. The ability to craft an idea together with three voices in two minutes is a talent. One that took us weeks and months to be able to work with. It was tough, but I feel much more comfortable working in a group now.

It seems fitting that all of my drive to be in improv had started with Youtube. There is an absolutely amazing tv show that was canceled called "Whose Line Is It Anyway?". They did a series of improv games each show, the ones that we use in improv today. They were my favorite comedian's in the world when I was a kid. I am so happy and lucky to be able to do improv. It makes my day every single time we do improv. I wish that happiness on every Kennedy student. I think it would make our school feel a little smaller and more friendly. Thanks for reading