How does this work?

In a safe and trusting environment, participants will have an opportunity to take positive risks, discover new parts of themselves and being with others, and become part of an ensemble.  Engaging in playful theatre games help to sharpen their ability to focus. Playing in a group helps to reduce the terror of debilitating anxiety.  Through learning to create characters, players can ‘try on’ different ways of responding and reacting to life situations. Learning how to avoid ‘blocks’ when building scenes will strengthen listening skills. Practicing improv games frees you up from the fear that you don’t have anything to say...we always find out that we do! And sharing in a therapeutic conversation will give participants a deeper appreciation and understanding of the possibilities for personal transformation that improv offers.

Working in the world of improv, therapeutics and bringing the experience of performance and improvisation, Lesly and Murray have witnessed the enormous impact this approach is having on all who attend our classes. 

Participants have shared how improv allows them to be in the world differently: to be more mindful, less anxious, more playful, recover from past traumas and become more generous in support of themselves and others

The rules of improv invite students to step into this new way of being…

• To say “yes”

• To accept everything as a gift

• To make your partner look good.

This kind of ground work creates a safe space for participants to start wherever they are, to build trust, and to learn how to think outside the box and embrace risk-taking.

Teen Groups

Being a teenager is tough. Teens today need all the help they can get to navigate the stress, conflict and confusion of an increasingly crazy world. We are offering a resource to help. Grow through play and improv!

Our teen group is about learning to stretch through improv and performance games. We will create a supportive and safe environment to improvise new performances of ourselves, do it with fun and with laughter, and support you to stretch and develop more confidence with others. 

The group will also have opportunities to talk with each other in conversations sharing thoughts and feeling about what is going on in the world and about what kind of young person you want to be.

Professional Workshops

Play-acting,  improv and creative performance is fun. And we all might live well to include those activities in our lives. Moreover, performance is serious business that has much to teach us about the foundations of growth, learning, rewiring, and development. In short, it can be about helping people to become.
 

Utilizing theories on how children imitate, learn and develop, professionals are applying these findings to working with various populations.Theorists from many fields have been exploring the ways in which performative activity can lead to transformative and developmental experiences.

This workshop will explore these issues in a number of fun and innovative ways: through performed discussion, experiential, improvisational and performance work, and through other media support. 

Curtain Anxiety:

A new approach to social anxiety, social phobia and shyness!

Theatre professional and creativity coach Lesly Fredman and psychotherapist and development coach Murray Dabby, LCSW have teamed up to provide a new and innovative approach to helping people who suffer from social anxiety, phobia, some forms of OCD, difficulty speaking in front of groups, or ordinary forms of shyness and difficulties in social environments.

Participant will be able to identify the theoretical principles of a creative performance based approach to clients’ growth and dealing with social anxiety.

Participant will explore the utilization of performance with multi where human development is involved.

Participant will define initial tools for utilizing creativity-based approaches in their therapeutic and work environments

Participant will be able to identify the theoretical principles of a creative performance based approach to clients’ growth and dealing with social anxiety.

Participant will explore the utilization of performance with multi where human development is involved.

Participant will define initial tools for utilizing creativity-based approaches in their therapeutic and work environments