ADULTS URGED TO BE KIDS AGAIN

Blah Blah Blah Improv is abetting adults living near the Queensland-New South Wales border to be in the moment and have fun, just as when they were kids with no inhibitions.

Starting from February 19, the comedy improvisation group are re-teaching adults important life skills they may have forgotten—such as how to have fun while embracing failure, running with the first instinct, connecting with others—through a niche style of performance art.

According to co-founder and teacher Mandy Plumb, people often lose their sense of fun when they grow up.

“Something happens when you become a ‘responsible’ adult: you forget how to have fun, you stop being in the moment, you get in your head and overthink everything, and these things steal your joy and enhance stress levels.

“We’ve been helping Brisbane adults for years to have fun, and make themselves and others laugh through improv.

“Our participants have fun learning how to make up short comedy sketches on the spot and they also get to play some of the hilarious Theatresports games made famous by the hit improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway?” Plumb said.

“The improv techniques we teach help increase self-awareness and skills, and this can enhance other areas of your life.

“For example, learning and performing improv has helped me to be better at accepting and working with other people’s ideas at work,” Plumb added.

Ben Keane, also co-founder and teacher at Blah Blah Blah Improv, believes where there is a supportive and inclusive community, people feel safe to play like children.

“It doesn’t matter if participants have previously performed or not, because we create an environment in our classroom that feels safe and is loads of fun!

“Some of my previous students learnt improv to become better at auditions or stand-up comedy, while most wanted to learn improv to apply the techniques socially or at work, or just to experience the joy of performing through a fun new hobby,” Keane said.

“The best thing about improv is there is no pre-planning or scripts, so you have to get out of your head, be in the moment, and have fun.

“It's like a team sport, everyone working together, supporting and training together, but instead of scoring a goal, you're creating a magical performance fuelled by joy.”

Blah Blah Blah Improv’s seven-week workshop-style course, Improv: Fun and Games, occurs every Sunday afternoon in Coolangatta from February 19, 2023.

For more information, visit the Blah Blah Blah Improv Facebook page or enrol here.