This past Saturday, I had my first improv class at Impatient Theatre. It’s been just over a year since I took my first ever improv class at Second City Toronto, so I was really excited to get back into it!

One of the exercises we had to do was a name game where each of us received a cool nickname. You can’t choose your own name though – the rest of the class does this for you. You’re also given an action to do while you say your nickname. I was Bionic Bianca! As for the rest of the class:

Richard Ratatouille! Mariachi Meghan! Alana the Slamma! Sea-Farin Aaron! Doug Douglington! Cosmic Chris! Shawna Seashells! Vivacious Vincent! Jump-five Jamal! Allan Island!

We spent a good amount of time saying all of these names and doing all the actions associated with them. We were all crazy/energetic and we were really getting into the exercise. Fun is definitely the word to describe it.

The exercise after this was called Panel of Experts. We were in groups of 4 and we sat in chairs in front of the class. If you were in that group of 4, you were there for us to watch and interview about something you’d be an expert in. (Our class had experts on Mealworms, How To Manage a Restaurant, and Heroes). This exercise was great for team-building exercise. The things people came up with were not only creative, but funny too!

So where am I going with this?

After this class, I immediately had the urge to go and write. The energy in that room was intense and it really gets your creative juices flowing. When we all got in a circle to talk about how the first class went, there were a couple of us who mentioned that we were in the mood to write all of  a sudden. Writer’s block? What’s that?

Here’s a few things I got from the first class:

• You’re in a supportive environment. If you’re really shy or self-conscious (which I still kinda am sometimes), don’t be afraid: we’re all in this together.
• Being “in the moment”. You have no idea what’s gonna happen next and pre-planning everything never really works. It’s a scary, nervous feeling – but once you’re up there, you’ll notice that it’s also a great one (thank you, adrenaline rush!).
• There are no bad ideas, bad choices, or a bad scene. You’re thinking on your feet and that’s what makes it entertaining! I’ve learned not to edit myself and to not be so self-conscious about my ideas and what I’m contributing to the scene.

The last point can especially be applied to writing. I often find myself having writer’s block, but that’s because I was either getting too caught up in little details, being a perfectionist, or doubting myself. This class reminded me that the writing process can be fun and that I need to just keep writing no matter how bad or silly an idea of mine is. My main goal should be to just keep spitting out my ideas and to take care of editing later.

So to all my fellow writers out there, I strongly encourage you to join an improv class if you can. Besides have a blast playing all the different exercises, you’ll really get to flex your creative muscles.