Teamwork and overcoming fear are focuses of the Improv for Kids workshops offered at the Mountain Arts Community Center. Taught each semester by Colleen Laliberte of Skwalking Heads Productions, the workshop's second winter session will be held Mondays, Feb. 13-March 12 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Marrit Faris, left, and Garrison Clower, right, look on as Improv for Kids instructor Colleen Laliberte writes a mystery word on a hat for a guessing game. The next session of Improv for Kids begins at MACC Feb. 13.Young actors from second- to eighth-graders will learn improvisation by performing various exercises with a partner.
"Skills learned in improv are all about learning to listen to your partner and co-creating a story on the stage," said Laliberte, who has been teaching improv to adults since 1993 and began her workshops for children last year.
"I love teaching kids this age, because they naturally understand what makes a good story," said Laliberte.
Activities include storytelling and guessing games, such as creating a situation where the audience knows something the actors do not, or developing a story based around a particular scene.
"It's about learning how to be fearless - to not know what the next step is, but to be brave enough to go on stage and try it anyway," she said.
She emphasizes that children don't need to be clever or funny to be successful at improvising on stage.
"Part of it is knowing your partner is going to take care of you and turn anything you say into something positive," said Laliberte. "It teaches so many fantastic interpersonal skills: how to be a good listener, how to be a good team member, how to support each other and how to be a good communicator."
Participants will present a show at the end of the session to apply their new skills on stage in front of an audience.
Laliberte said the best part about teaching the class is when kids don't want to stop, and that she has many actors who return for repeat sessions, as each workshop is different.
The cost of the class is $75 per session.