Synopsis:
Improvisation isn't just about funny games played onstage, it has also been used worldwide in the workplace, in the academe, in non-profit organizations and in many other settings to build better teams, deliver more authentic stories and even spur more personal growth.
Join long time Applied Improvisation Network members Gabe Mercado and Kim Tan as they explain how they use applied improvisation in their work and share stories of successful applied improvisation interventions with their clients.
What is Applied Improvisation?
Applied improvisation draws lessons from the arts (e.g. comedy, jazz and theatre) and utilizes them for non-theatrical or non-performance applications. It is the use of principles, tools, practices, skills and mindsets of improvisational theatre in non-theatrical settings, that may result in personal development, team building, creativity, innovation, and/or meaning. (Barbara Tint and Adam Froerer, Applied Improvisation Network)
In this applied improvisation session, Gabe (Philippines) from SPIT & Third World Improv and Kim (Singapore) from The Improv Company are running a sharing session around how ideas and techniques from applied improv can be used in the workplace. There will also be short demonstrations and debriefs on applied improv techniques.
Gabe will also be sharing a recap from the Applied Improvisation Network’s recently concluded conference in Prague, and what he’s been doing recently in his collaboration with Kat Koppett.
Kim will be sharing how he’s been melding his coaching training and techniques with applied improv, and how the reception has been with The Improv Company’s recent clients.
After the session, there’ll be networking and discussion around recent developments and future directions of applied improv in Asia.
Important information:
Kindly note that the workshop venue is on the 2nd level and is not wheelchair-accessible.
This workshop is open to all people curious about applied improvisation and applied improvisation practitioners from the region. No experience with applied improvisation or improvisation is necessary.
About the Teachers - Gabe Mercado (Philippines) and Kim Tan (Singapore)
Gabe Mercado (Philippines):
Gabe brings decades of experience as a corporate trainer, communications specialist, startup mentor and improvisational theatre actor and director. His pioneering work popularizing improv theatre in the Philippines started in 2001 after he trained with Paul Sills at the Wisconsin Theater Game Center. His group SPIT (http://www.spitmanila.com/) has performed to critical acclaim in festivals and venues all over the Philippines as well as Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
Gabe has worked with different corporate, government and humanitarian clients across Asia. Memorable engagements include leading a presentation skills workshop for government employees in Bhutan, sharing applied improvisation people management skills with the leaders of an international bank in Bangkok and co-designing and conducting workshops on using improvisational skills in disaster situations throughout different areas in the Philippines affected by super typhoon Haiyan.
He is the founder and executive director of Third World Improv, the only institution in the Philippines dedicated to improv instruction and is the founder of the Manila Improv Festival.
Kim Tan (Singapore)
Kim Tan is the co-founder and Artistic Director of The Improv Company and has been improvising for more than a decade. In that time, he has trained in the US, the UK and Australia under some of the most experienced and venerated instructors still alive. Kim has performed around the world, while also leading the charge to create a community around improv in Singapore, teaching the art form to thousands of people here.