Since 2003 Improv 4 Kids has been an exciting annual highlight for many K12 schools throughout the New York Tristate Area. We present 100s of shows every year via field trips to our Times Square NYC Theater, and offering schools Assemblies, After-school programming and even PTA night entertainment. EMAIL for information about field trips, schools Assemblies, PTA nights, after school programming, workshops, residencies and professional development programming.
Improv 4 Kids is an original musical comedy revue that unique to every audience. Your students determine what the show is about as our MC gathers suggestions for skits and songs. Topics can range from favorite books, films, TV shows, music, vacations and more. There are goofy songs and sometimes goofier sketches.
Meanwhile, students learn you can have laughter without making the joke at someone’s expense. We simply play, in many ways as children, working together to create, never putting each other down for a laugh.
We teach about creating story, doscovering fun characters, loaing ourselves in rich settings and developing plots one simple choice at a time. We don’t fear failure because every mistake is a gift, a chance to learn, or more often, a chance to expand our creativity beyond our own expectations, embracing the new and unexpected instead of fearing the unknown.
All you need is a fired up imagination and a supportive team and voila: instant musical theater.
But we don’t do all the work. Many students are invited on stage. Every show ends with a teacher saying, “I have never seen that student open up and excel like that.” We give students a brief moment of agency, and more many that’s all they need to find out how excellent are. That’s all they need to stop self doubt from holding them back.
We hope you will continue the fun with our workshops, residencies and professional development programming. Our shows are awesome to introduce the programs. Our classes get every student and/or teacher up on their feet discovering their own power to create from scratch. Meanwhile, simply playing these games develops creativity, critical thinking, public speaking, self confidence, self awareness and more.
EVERY Show and workshop starts with:
- Our #1 Rule: HAVE FUN! But never at another’s expense. If you are not having fun you probably are not achieving your fullest potential.
- Improv #1 Rule: YES! AND…. Always say YES… AND…. follow up with supporting actions and words. Psychological Safety is the #1 factor in Team Success
- #1 Skill in Comedy: LISTENING! Listening with your eyes. Listening with the willingness to change! Listening is the #1 factor in Leadership.
These governing principles are key to success in Improv, in school, in the work place and life. Studies show humor builds a better brain. Laughter is cardiovascular and brings oxygen to the brain, to the whole body. Humor is the art of comparing two dissimilar things, which studies show literally builds brain cells. Focusing on creativity, flooding the mind with choice, blocks out the negative and depressive impulses. The brain is limited in its capacity to multitasking. Over time we train ourselves to have hope, joy, and even ambition to succeed. A world without fear and judgement frees us up to be our very best. This starts with moving past ego and insecurity.
Improv 4 Kids starts with a show to introduce laughter and the basic governing concepts, then demonstrated through interactive Theater. We follow up with workshops and professional development programming to show how easy it is to embrace the creative joyful sprit of improv, individually and as a community. Residencies provide further exploration, turning students into educational leaders, while preparing for a live performance.
The original improv 4 Kids 