Improv Theater, Curriculum & Instruction

Catalog description

This course will engage students in the study and practice of longform improv theatre in ways that will develop their knowledge of the field of curriculum and instruction. At Penn State, we are all familiar with the chant, "We Are!" and the purpose of this course is to learn together about ourselves and our collectiveness through creative performance. Improv theater is the performing art of spontaneous, collaborative, embodied story-telling. It is often presumed to be a comedic art form, and while it is true that there are often joyful moments that arise from shared experiences of surprise or upended expectations, we will be studying the disciplined practice of longform improvisational theater, which consists of more sustained, narrative constructions. In longform improv, creative outcomes are just as likely to be serious, or tragic, or thought-provoking, or any number of emotions, but in all cases: what we create together says something about who "We Are!" to each other as co-performers and as observers. The course will culminate with a public performance. Throughout the course, students will write and reflect on practitioner and academic readings from the field of curriculum and instruction, which are relevant not only to aspiring professionals in education (e.g., Educators preparing to teach in both formal and informal settings, Instructional Leaders, School Administrators, and Athletic Coaches), but also to university students who will benefit from more scholarly-informed reflection on their own educational experiences. In particular: we will draw from literature on learning theories and epistemologies; curricular approaches to diversity and inclusion; and improvisational pedagogies. We will learn improv theater exercises, but more importantly: we will practice the collective embodiment of an improvisational ethos, such that we develop our skills at affirming difference, embracing risk-taking, vulnerability, and uncertainty, listening without judgment, and attuning to our entanglements with one another. Participants will cultivate skills to be responsive to students and other populations for whom they may be providing care or leadership. These are the skills and practices that contribute to living a wholehearted life-as individuals and as communities.