Our Guidelines

Understanding Begins With Acceptance

The two approaches

There are two approaches most people use when bringing a community together:

  • The Corporate Approach: Give everyone a list of behaviors and language that will not be tolerated. We call this the “Lowest Common Denominator” approach because it focuses the community on problems that can arise in the community. Worse, lists like these kinds are rarely generated with input from those they police. This might work in the business world, but it’s a terrible approach for creating art, meaningful connections, or community.

  • The Community Approach: The approach we take asks everyone to focus on the joys of participating in a community. From this place, we then ask everyone to understand our responsibilities as a member of a community. This approach, by design, begins with self-awareness and, therefore requires input from members of the community.

Keep it simple

Improvisation is spontaneous. The unexpected not only CAN happen, but it often DOES. Because of that, we strive to create an environment of artistic exploration and freedom in a safe and permissive atmosphere. In our studio, participants are allowed and encouraged to experiment while they learn. If we make mistakes - and we most certainly will!! - that's OK. We don’t believe our goal is to avoid mistakes: it’s to learn from them when they occur.

Our community asks all participants & instructors to follow these simple guidelines:

  • Be welcoming and kind to everyone!

  • Have fun!

  • Accept and celebrate differences!

  • Communicate & respect boundaries kindly!

  • Assume good intentions!

  • Allow for mistakes! 👍🏼 😊

We include many opportunities to speak/share during class. If you’re feeling uncomfortable: tell the community why so we can have your back and support you. If you prefer, we invite you to speak with an instructor privately. We’re here to help you on your journey.

Humans and communities change over time. As a result, we’ll evolve and re-evaluate these guidelines as the need arises. Thank you, in advance, for helping our community to gather in kindness, joy, and personal responsibility.

Last Update: July 12th, 2023