Children's Social Improvisation Sets the Stage for Academic Achievement and Relationship Skills

A child’s work is to play. Imaginative play is crucial to the development of a child, and deeply motivating. “Child’s play” engages children in social readiness, necessary in forming relationships. Normal conversation is social and improvisational. Social Improvisation in front of others becomes effortless theater.

Theater of Human interaction.
Few performances in life actually happen at a proscenium (the theatrical facade to a stage). Anyone willing to accept Shakespeare’s assertion that “All the world’s a stage,” is available to a very useful idea: The stage is everywhere we go and our audience can be anyone. Each introduction to someone new is an audition, every conversation is improvised.

Any afternoon gathering with your child’s playmates and parents sets your stage. Creating your own “home theater” might include a few friends and improv games that enjoyably involve children and stimulate their imaginations. Social Improvisation helps kids flow at home with parents and siblings, and interact confidently with friends and classmates.

Forget the toys, give your child an audience.
Small informal groups are a perfect opportunity for children to shine. Social Improvisation groups ideally provide a supportive place for children to present native social skills (like speaking, listening and responding) and learn new possibilities.

Consider the example of Carrie, a new workshop student, grateful of parents who paid a lot of money at a franchise acting school to prepare her for TV commercials. But by the time she stepped into our improv workspace, she was missing from her own auditions. She was well memorized, but had lost all that makes her uniquely ‘Carrie.’ Frustration quickly lead to tears, as she was sure she just wasn’t getting it. By redirecting her attention into Social Improvisation, Carrie’s face immediately lit up, realizing that she already knew how to relate and express herself. But her dad’s face beamed even brighter because of her self-validation.

Unleash your child’s potential.
Theater is humanity’s enduring host to imaginative play. Children learn even more easily from watching each other and taking turns. Having a parent or caregiver in attendance, simply watching, further increases each child’s involvement.

The theatrical experience arises from audience attention on a performance. Whatever we put our attention on, flourishes. Attention is power.

“What we play is life.” (Louis Armstrong)
Playful interaction can be an effortless performance. It’s so easy and all that is required of a child is participation. Setting a stage for Social Improvisation enriches children with enjoyable and rewarding performance experience - and nothing succeeds like success.