2019 AIN World Conference at Stony Brook

With deepening social, environmental and political crises worldwide, many who want to make a difference in the world are frustrated by the ineffectiveness of traditional ideologically driven (and often scripted) approaches to social change, and are looking to be more creative. This workshop will introduce participants to how applied improv can impact on how we engage in community organizing and activism, and will introduce participants to how our improvisational toolbox can be used in our efforts to make social change. 

Participants will begin by exploring non-ideological forms of activism, using “yes, and” as a tool for listening, building with what you’ve got, seeing “the other,” and creating something new with differences. We will go on to explore more advanced listening and responding improv exercises that invite activists to be playful, relational and inclusive even when they are faced with issues that generate outrage and passion. This will include exercises that  explore what it takes to influence someone without trying to convince them of anything, and how to use improv to create relational conversations across strong ideological and cultural differences. And finally, we will create an improvised discussion that examines the practical, political and emotional challenges of being improvisational in an age when the scripts of traditional progressive protests are failing. Participants will learn how improv is transforming traditional forms of protest into inclusive and relational community organizing, practice using “yes and” as a tool for non-ideological activism, as well as learn (and develop) improv exercises that involve non-coercive ways of building across differences and creating power.