Improv brain training class starts Feb. 16
Left, Noah Johnson, founder of Levity Theatre, performs with Dartanion London in an improv show. Johnson will perform with 5 others in a Cover to Cover improv show, where performers will interview authors before using their lives as inspiration for comedy sketches.
Photo courtesy of Noah Johnson
Yes, an improv class can be a ton of fun, and it can also be a personal learning experience.
Enrollment is open for a four-week improv class Thursday nights starting Feb. 16 at the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center in Post Falls.
Students will learn to laugh again, in addition to picking up more major life skills — like active listening, spontaneity and being present.
Class instructor Noah Johnson has been doing improv since 2018, and performed in churches, schools and theaters. He’s taught improv to middle school and college students as well as adults.
“I love improv with a deep passion, and I delight when I get to teach people to step outside of their comfort zone, embrace their weird, and be okay with looking silly,” Johnson said.
In class, Johnson will address the basics of entry-level improv including connections, accepting ideas, building off of others, and building characters or scenework.
Students will play games, run through exercises and learn concepts like “yes, and …” or the basis of a scene, Character, Relationship, Objective and Where, or CROW, in the parlance of the drama community.
By the end of the course, students will have a grasp of the fundamentals to perform improv for an audience, which will be illustrated in a student show. They’ll showcase an ability to create characters or scenarios from the top of their heads, embrace their inner silliness, and to react authentically while being in the moment.
Classes from 6:30-8 p.m. begin Feb. 16 for $75, and students got to thejacklincenter.org to enroll.