WHO:
These experiential workshops are designed for participation by students with Aspergers, High Functioning Austism, ADD and ADHD, bipolar, Tourette's - anyone with a developmental difference is welcome!
BENEFIT:
Teens develop effective social skills and cultivate friendships as a byproduct of playing "cool" comedy improv games.
SKILLS ADDRESSED:
Eye Contact
Focus & Impulse Control
Reading Verbal, Emotional, Physical Cues
Expressing Oneself Verbally, Emotionally, Physically
Flexibility, Adjusting to Situations
Creativity
Voice Projection & Stage Presence
Concept of Beginning, Middle and End
Teamwork
- Initiating and Carrying Conversations
CLASS CONTENT: The workshops consist of comedy improvisation games like those seen on the TV Show WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? The students ask for suggestions from the audience (in this case fellow students) and plug them into simple structures, games and scenes. At best the outcomes are hilarious, at worst they are interesting.
CLASS FORMAT:
Session Length: Can be: 45 minutes to 2 hours
Number of Sessions:Sessions may vary from one-time Sessions or up to 6-Session Workshops or an ongoing club. In many cases the 6-week workshop ends with a show. Sessions consist of:
TESTIMONY OF A SATISFIED CUSTOMER
Letter of Recommendation by Cheryl Granville, LCSW,
School Social Worker, The Norman Howard School
September 2007:
"The Norman Howard School is a private school for struggling learners and students with different learning needs. We serve grades five through twelve. Our students come from many different school districts, and live in the city, suburbs and rural areas.
Carol Roberts has provided services to our high school and middle school students in an after-school Improvisation Club, and has also worked with myself and teachers in providing Improvisation classes as part of our Skills for Life Program.
Skills Taught:
Expressive and receptive language, accurately interpreting social cues, boundaries in inter-personal communication, appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication, and predicting the consequences of behavior are some of the skill areas that are addressed in the class. Listening skills, ability to focus, and displaying tolerance for self and others are some of the specific skills that students learn during the exercises.
Method:
For students who do not learn well in a traditional setting; children with learning disabilities, and autism spectrum disorders, Improvisation Classes tend to allow students an opportunity to view differences as strengths. Classes run well within a setting that may be described as "organized chaos". Needless to say this is a big draw for students. Adding to this is the freedom to move around physically. This usually results in high interest among students, resulting in a more openness to acquiring the specific skills that will make them successful in the activity.
Improvisation class is an experiential learning experience that engages students of all ages. It is an effective and beneficial learning tool for teaching social skills and can easily be adapted to fit the needs of all ages and abilities.
I have been teaching social skills for eight years, and I have seen students that do not participate easily in groups, find the courage and ability to become a successful communication partner while participating in class.
Carol's ability to facilitate the class in an instructive, clear, non-judgmental way is a key ingredient to the success of the program. She is always aware of the needs of the students and is flexible and open to incorporating changes that would be beneficial.
Carol's expertise and creativity provides the students an opportunity to express themselves appropriately and to learn appropriate ways of communicating with others.
Cheryl Granville LSCW, School Social Worker
EXAMPLES OF GAMES: (Soon to be video examples.)
Mirrors: In pairs.
Face one another; maintain eye contact. The leader slowly moves so that the follower can mirror their movements. Then switch leaders.
Skills learned:
Great for focus, concentration, eye contact, physical control.
Hitchhiker with a Contagious Emotion: 6 students
In a pretend car (6 folding chairs) students hitchhike one by one, each with a different emotional attitude such as frightened, happy, sad, grumpy... Each emotion is "contagious". Upon entering the car the students already in the car must (silently) guess the emotion and adapt to expressing it. For example, first hitchhiker is perky, the driver and hitchhiker become perky. Second hitchhiker is angry, the driver and first hitchhiker also become angry. The third hitchhiker is sad, those in the car also act sad.
Skills learned:
Reading physical, facial and verbal emotional cues, Displaying physical, verbal and facial emotions
Slide Show: Participants: 4 students:
3 "Sliders" who move around arbitrarily;
1 "Narrator" who asks for a suggestion such as a vacation destination.
1. The Sliders move with random gestures.
2. The Narrator calls Freeze.
3. The Narrator then interprets and justifies the sliders' positions based on the suggestion. For example, the narrator might say, "This is my family going through airport security." Or "Here we are at the beach about to be devoured by a giant whale."
Skills learned:
Physical control and creativity, beginning middle end, impulse control, physical expression, cooperation, spontaneity, appropriate physical contact with others.
Pass the Story: Participants: 5 students and a conductor.
The audience suggests a topic. The 5 students must narrate a story by passing the story from person to person when the conductor points at them. When the conductor stops pointing at them they must stop speaking mid-sentence or mid-word. The conductor points to someone else and they must pick-up and continue the story mid-sentence or mid-word. If any errors are made the story teller must "die" creatively based on audience suggestion. "Creative death" examples: death by paper cut, death by being licked to death by a puppy, death by blow dryer. Eventually one person remains, the winner.
Skills learned:
Concentration, following narrative, building on narrative, spontaneity, impulse control, flexibility.