Third Fridays Improvisation

Shawn Kochhar, staff writer

I visited the Third Fridays Improv workshop in the V. Earl Dickinson Theater at PVCC on Oct. 19 to observe and take notes. Instead, I found myself thrust into an eye-opening learning experience. We did warm-ups and exercises that keep your mind sharp and make you think on your feet. Although the event focuses on improvisation in the theater, the lessons learned hold true to all aspects of life.

Improvisation at its core is doing something unpracticed and unplanned. In our daily life, whether we are aware of it or not, we improvise. A conversation, the ways we move our body, any experimentation in our daily lives are all done spontaneously. “A conversation is improvisation,” said Brad Stoller, assistant professor of theatre arts, after our first exercise of having a simple chat at the beginning of the class.

“Being with feelings of nervousness and doing what we do consciously is a game,” he added. The movements and sounds we make are all things we do simultaneously without thinking. This is improvisation, and on stage we can learn the freedom to separate and recombine them.

The principles and exercises of improvisation are not only helpful to those who want to perform theater, but also for all people who want to learn about themselves and how our brains work. One of the main takeaways from this lesson, for me, is how we make decisions depending on what we think the outcome will be.

On stage you are encouraged to make mistakes, to say something when you can think of nothing, to stop worrying so much about possible negative outcomes and just do. This is a great life lesson for those of us who may have trouble in our daily lives with speaking out or being overly timid about life decisions.

To take part in this inspiring experience and learn about improvisation, contact Brad Stoller at 434-961-5246 or email bstoller@pvcc.edu.  The next class takes place on Nov. 16.