Workshops & Classes
Upcoming Classes
A list of upcoming public workshops and classes. (Jump to Full Catalog.)
Nothing upcoming in the next few weeks; check back soon!
Full Catalog
A complete list of workshops and classes I offer. (Jump to Upcoming Classes.)
Improvisation and Mental Health
University of St. Thomas; St. Catherine University
2 credit hours.
Course description: The ability to tolerate ambiguity is essential to mental health. In this course, students will explore this premise by learning the fundamentals of improvisation and discovering how these skills can enrich their lives and make them more flexible, effective, and empathic, both personally and as future mental health workers. Through dynamic exercises and personal feedback, students will understand how an improvisational mindset can deepen communication skills, reframe negative self-talk, reawaken a sense of play, and strengthen awareness of mind-body connections. At the same time, students will reflect on our experience as a group, one that is guided by improvisational tenets. Our time in class will be primarily experiential, and students will be given the chance to give presentations about various psychological topics—cognitive schemas; positive psychology; psychodynamic unconscious forces; mindfulness and its benefits; group development; creativity and cognition; and ethical development — as well as read studies about improvisation and the ways it can guide psychological growth.
Inquire about this classImprovisation and Anxiety / Improvisation and Stage Fright
University of Minnesota Learning Life; Guthrie Theatre; Brave New Institute
Course description: Improvisation can be an antidote to many anxious feelings; we will talk about creating a safe, nurturing, educational space in our class and how doing so will give the students a lived-experience of facing anxiety in a novel, healthy way. We will look at "catastrophizing" and how it creates debilitating stories in our minds. We'll explore how an improvisational mindset diminishes catastrophizing and allows us to let go of our limiting stories and experience new, less anxious outcomes. We will also explore the benefits of taking an ensemble approach to life; how this gives us empathy, perspective, and humor when facing social anxiety. We will look at the value of "failure" and how looking outside of ourselves and at tasks takes us out of self-consciousness and judgment. Finally, we'll look at specific situations — interviews, dating, difficult conversations — and how an in-the-moment approach to these situations can free us from limiting, anxiety-provoking beliefs.
Inquire about this classImprovisation and Vagal Tone
Hennepin County Library
Course description: Vagal Tone refers to the nervous system’s ability to distinguish safe situations from unsafe ones. The higher your vagal tone, the more quickly you can relax after stressful situations. High vagal tone promotes health, growth, and restoration. In this class, we will learn improv-based techniques for increasing vagal tone. These techniques can be learned alone or as part of a group — we will explore how “co-regulating” can help us to reassure each other by offering and receiving safety cues.
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