"I started taking improv classes after I read
Yes Please by Amy Poehler, where she says 'Improvisation and sketch comedy let me choose who I wanted to be.' I was a shy kid from a small town in a moment of transition, and improv taught me I didn't have to be those things. Creating a persona on stage with teammates is so fun, and freeing, and fascinating to live in different shoes for even a moment.Through improv, I can be whoever I want! A party-goer wearing a possessed Guy Fieri costume? Sure! An off-brand Christine Daaé singing to the Phantom of the Opera from a high school bathroom? Definitely! One million variations of a mid-western mom? Honestly, weekly!
In real life, the ability to "play characters" has given me so much confidence and helped me make choices I never would have made before. Move across the country? Sure! Eat alone at a restaurant? Definitely! Take on a new hobby with the gusto of someone who's been honing the craft for their entire life? Honestly, weekly!
Improv lets me be who I want to be. Whoever I want to be. I can make fun and weird and bold choices, and I can trust that my teammates will always be there to support me - on and off the stage."
