Documentary

A documentary about my first improv class in Portland for middle schoolers

The United States, like most industrialized countries, teaches Math, Science, and History in our primary and secondary schools. However, we overlook the equally important topics of emotional, social, and psychological learning. The good news? Improv classes teach these essential skills, even to participants who have NO DESIRE to become actors/performers. Improvising isn’t an acting skill; it’s a life skill.

Change Through Play Founder, David Koff, designed a curriculum to teach life skills to students at a local Jesuit middle school. His theory was that the tools of “applied improvisation” could create a fun and creative environment in which his students might learn these valuable soft skills and change their lives.

This documentary focuses on Sandra, a 7th-grade Latina student in Portland, Oregon. Sandra confronts her powerful social anxieties when she chooses to enroll in David’s class. What happens as she battles her own demons is a remarkable testament, both to her bravery and to the power of theater arts to help improve lives.