The Best Improv Classes In Wichita

Most inbound requests coming to The Radical Agreement Project come from companies looking to host an improv based workshop that focuses on developing critical soft skills for their employees. Probably the most common requests are for team building or team camaraderie workshops, but other likely workshop focuses include creativity, leadership skills, sales skills, customer service skills, negotiation, public speaking, agility in the face of the unexpected and working with difficult people to name a few.

In fact the development of any soft skill can be advanced using improv.

I'm always delighted, however, when I receive a request not for a workshop but for a performance. The Radical Agreement Project utilizes a wide network of professional improvisers in order to bring the absolutely most talented improvisers to our corporate events. As a general rule we only work with veteran Improv performers who have been previously cast to be a house performer at a major improv theater (like the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Second City or IO) for our corporate engagements.

So you can be certain the people will send you are hilarious.

I got a performance request recently from a large chain of roadside stores that service truckers in particular. They were holding a large gathering in Wichita and were looking for something to lighten the mood after their award ceremony one evening.

I scheduled a meeting with the contact and we had a robust conversation about expectations, goals and the facilities that the event would be in. Clients often don't realize that the facilities are extremely important for a successful improv performance. Yes improv is a low tech art form. You really only need to be able to see and hear the performers in order to enjoy show.

But for an ideal situation you want to make sure the space is intimate as well, and that the audience has a sense of community during the performance. Being able to see other audience members' faces and energy during a performance makes a giant difference. Now the client had scheduled the event in a cavernous auditorium that wouldn't be suited to the type of improv atmosphere I have been describing. Fortunately, because we spoke extensively early on, we were able to find a more suitable location elsewhere in the hotel where they were staying.

RA of course arranged for crack team of improvisers to delight their attendees. A big part of that was making sure the show was highly interactive and tailored to the company's culture. Improv comedy lends itself to interactivity (obvs) and there's a number of ways that you can engage audiences, even ones unfamiliar with or a little hesitant about improv, in order to make sure that your show speaks to their day-to-day experiences. Ideally you want the show to feel as though it was made specifically for them. And you can do that by making sure scenes and games are about common touchstones that everyone in the company experiences.