Improv + Coaching = ?

"But Jess, what does improv comedy have to do with coaching?" you ask.

Great question! I'd love to tell you. ;)

Two years ago I was invited to attend an improv show at the local theater, HAPPIER VALLEY COMEDY, by my dear friend and veteran improviser Jenny Drescher. 

After the show, I was chatting with the founder of HVC, Pam Victor, and she casually mentioned the class she teaches called "Mindfulness for Improvisers". As a long time mindfulness student, my ears immediately perked up, and I my brain squiggled trying to figure out how mindfulness and improv could be related.

A few months later, I signed up for Pam's class. It was the winter session and this class became one of the bright spots of my otherwise dark and isolated weeks living in a very small town by myself and working from home. 

Week after week, we would explore concepts like "letting go", "feeling your feelings", "reframing", and "being of service". We would play improv games and practice failing joyfully. We would share gratitude and meditate together. 

It was the most delicious combination of things. So much so that I enrolled for another session. By the end of 16 weeks of Mindfulness for Improvisers, I felt ready to take on Improv 1. This felt like a big step--like I was graduating to the big leagues. 

But in Improv 1, the most extraordinary thing happened--I became a beginner again alongside 14 other adults. None of us knew what we were doing, but we showed up and messed up and laughed and watched each other's courage and skills grow week after week.

A year later, I completed Improv 4 with many of the same classmates from the beginning, and received my "Certificate of Joy". Through improv, I gained dear friends, a community of other playful and courageous souls, and so many skills and mindsets that have supported me in creating my coaching practice. 

Through improv I have learned how to "follow my feet" and jump out into a scene before I know what to say or do, trusting that I'll be ok. I've learned to look for how to "yes, and" each moment by accepting what is true and figuring out how to work with it to create more joy and ease. And I've learned that having no idea what I'm doing can actually be a cause for delight rather than panic.

Now, I use improv in my coaching to shift clients into a space of openness, play, and experimentation. To teach self-trust. To build connection in my workshops and groups as we play together.

Who would have thought all this would come from an invitation to attend a comedy show? I sure didn't! But I'm so, so grateful that it did.