Conversations About God and Improv

Teddie Frock, staff writer

On March 27, Charlottesville’s Festival of the Book event, God, Improv and the Art of Living with author Rev. MaryAnn McKibben Dana took place at the First Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville.

Dana, a Presbyterian minister and mother of three, studied theatre in college and became interested in how people can use improvisation in their lives to help problem solve, create, communicate or resolve the present issues that we face as humans.

According to Dana, “Life is always handing us things that we couldn’t have planned for, so we have to learn to make the best of those circumstances. I have found that the tools of improv, of improv comedy, give us some really surprising ways to do that.”

In the interactive session, Dana encouraged the audience to participate and express their thoughts about using the techniques to look at situations in a different perspective by using principles of improvisation.

Dana talked about several situations that she encountered as a pastor. Improv has allowed her to help them, by encouraging conversations and problem solving during the best and the worst of life’s journey.

Those who encounter illness and situations with their children, family, and friends are faced with hard decisions and choices for everyone involved. Acknowledgment and acceptance of reality allows them to move in the most positive and productive way possible. She encourages the use of the concept of “yes, and.” Yes, this is happening, and this is how I can create the best
path forward.

As Dana explored the art of improv, she found that “there are tremendous learnings to be gained from this practice listening to each other, of taking risks, of putting our ideas out there, and also just playing with each other, we don’t play enough in our culture. I have found it to be life giving.”