Improvisation

Improvisation is the act of making things up as you go along without a prescribed plan. It is used by musicians and artists; it is also used in theater. Improv Comedy is a style of comedy performance that is created on the spot without a script.

Improv performers often report that improv principles have a positive impact on their lives. I have noticed that a lot of these “improv principles” align with Christian virtues.

• Say “yes, and…” - Following God’s leading

• Be willing to make mistakes - Grace and forgiveness

• Serve your scene partner - Love your neighbor

• Make everyone else look good - Live for others

• Relate to your audience - Sharing Christ earnestly with those around you

• Be Authentic - Genuine heart change over false performance

Why include Improv in Meditative Sunday School?

Sunday School is more fun with games that the kids can look forward to. Improv games are fun but they also push kids a little bit outside of their comfort zone. Moreover, improv games specifically connect to the three skills we identified as Thinking like Artists and Thinking like Theologians. Improv forces players to confront ambiguity and grow more comfortable with it. These games all have open ended rules and no real winner, they’re just fun. Improv also is inherently creative. You cannot play an improv game without bringing an idea to the table that is unique to you in that moment. Finally, improv games force connections between different forms of outside knowledge. Making connections between seemingly random concepts in a game can serve as a practice for making connections between the various things we learn about in the real world.

In Meditative Sunday School, I always try to end with an improv game of some sort. It serves as an unstated reward for focus and good behavior (if we run out of time we don’t get to it), and it allows the kids to get to know each other better as friends, not just classmates or church acquaintances.