Not too long ago, Becky Torvik was studying to be an American Sign Language interpreter. There was just one small problem: An audience larger than one left her feeling terrified.
"I was so scared to get up in front of people," she says. "I mean, my body would be physically, visibly shaking. And I just thought, this is something I'm going to have to do all the time in my career. I need to get over this fear."
Inspired by a class that her preteen daughter was taking at the Spokane Civic Theatre, Torvik signed up for an eight-week Improv 101 workshop at the Blue Door Theatre's Spokane School of Improv.
But then, just as the very first class was about to start, she was consumed by self-doubt. She hesitated outside the front door.
"I was like, 'Why did I do this? I don't even want to go into the building.' I didn't know anybody there. I wanted to leave."
Fortunately, she persevered.
"Within 10 minutes of the class starting, I was completely calm," she says. "I wasn't shaking. I wasn't scared. I was laughing with complete strangers."
That rapid transformation from crippling nervousness to relaxed composure was, according to Torvik, a result of the complete absence of judgment that she felt in the room.
"It was a safe place to just completely be myself. I didn't have to worry about being seen as kind of weird or if I say the wrong thing or whatever, because everybody was doing that together."
Improvisational theater has long been associated with self-confidence, spontaneity and teamwork. Those qualities perhaps find their purest expression in the genre's well-known mantra of "Yes, and..." — a phrase that's rooted in positive thinking. When it's the default response to any given situation, "Yes, and..." helps to maintain forward momentum and foster creativity.
"It was a safe place to just completely be myself."
It can also be a powerful builder of trust. Lawra Gosselin-Harris, a longtime Blue Door performer and instructor, has seen how quickly the bonds can develop not only among the theater's regular troupe of improv players but also its workshop participants.
In one of the classes that she teaches on improv and self-care, Gosselin-Harris saw a young woman with severe social anxiety form strong friendships with her classmates.
"She enjoyed the fact that she was just sharing her ideas with this improv team and everyone was supporting her. It's just such a healing thing," she says.
In another class, Gosselin-Harris taught a couple who initially took a directorial approach to improv exercises. They tried to control how the scenes played out instead of letting other participants shape the way the scenes developed.
"By the end, I had taught them to listen to each other, to listen to others. And they were telling me that it was helping them in their own relationship. You learn to trust each other, to listen and to accept offers to be validated," she says.
Gosselin-Harris has even brought Spokane School of Improv classes into unlikely places — with similarly encouraging results. While leading a weekly class at the Airway Heights Corrections Center for the first time, she saw a transformation in the group of inmates the moment she started making funny gestures as an icebreaker.
As the weeks passed, the group coalesced in ways that challenged the common stereotypes of prison life.
"I would see them do the exercises where one guy would make an offer. Then the next guy would accept it, furthering the offer. And then they would go back and forth, a little like volleyball, finding a story," she says.
"Even when they weren't in the scene, they would listen and be actively watching. They would actually be clapping for each other, laughing for each other. And if someone wasn't doing well, they would pat them on the back and stuff."
Anecdotes like these are familiar to Blue Door Theatre Executive Director Jim Mohr. One of the reasons the theater launched its Spokane School of Improv was because the improvisational toolkit can be used in poetry as naturally as it can be applied to the legal profession or mindfulness training.
"We use improv as the strategy for teaching these other kinds of topics, whether it's leadership, communication, creativity, innovative thinking or strategic planning. It can all be done through improv," he says.
And the perks of improv aren't limited only to the players or participants. As Gosselin-Harris notes, its ad hoc nature engages spectators differently than scripted or choreographed performances do. Even if the audience isn't being asked for prompts (although that certainly drives Blue Door shows like Multiple Choice), there's a feeling that they're both watching and interacting with something that's unfolding before their eyes.
"As an audience member," she says, "when you see these connections happening, it builds a sense of community in that moment. Everyone's laughing, and they're all participating in something that only they will experience. Because the next time we do that show, it'll be completely different."
BUSTING A GUT
Interested in taking an improv class or catching a show? Here are some that are happening soon.
Blue Door Theatre
319 S. Cedar Street, Spokane bluedoortheatre.org
March 7-28 (Fridays)
Blue Doors and Dragons
A fantasy adventure in which a roll of the dice changes everything.
April 4-25 (Fridays)
Poets Up
Local poets compose in the moment, and the Blue Door players improvise their words.
May 2-30 (Fridays)
Multiple Choice
Your suggestions drive the twists and turns of an improvised choose-your-own-adventure story.
School of Improv
Check the schedule at spokaneschoolofimprov.org
Intro to Improv
An eight-week introductory course that's designed for veterans and newbies alike.
Scenework: Beyond the Basics
Building on Intro to Improv, this class focuses on scene development, attentive listening and committed contribution.
Summer Youth Camps
Various workshops (All-Day Improv, Sketch Camp, Fun with Improv) designed for ages 7-9, 10-13 and 14-18.
