Applying Theatre To Social Problems: How I Got Started
How did someone grow up a non-theatre kid start a business where they apply theatre? Well here’s how it happened…
I took my first improv class in August 2014. At the time I was a Director of Training and Learning Development for a nonprofit focused on leadership development and was training my largest cohort, ever so I sought out a stress reliever from work. I knew I wanted something that was completely different from my day-today, so I signed up for an improv class!
I tend to try things outside of my comfort zone so I signed up to learn some skills to de-stress from my job and expected to walk away after the class was over. That first day, those eight weeks, changed my life forever.
A picture of Mary on stage smiling and look eagerly towards her scene parter during an improv show. The stage is intimate with alternating black and white glittery curtains with an audience looking on.
Within six months after my first class finished I began meeting regularly with a group of folx who wanted to create more socially conscious improv. It was during these meetings that I began to take a strong interest in applying improv to explore identity and bias. This led to three outcomes in 2016. An applied improvisation workshop on “Applying Improv to Microagressions, ” a social justice-themed improv, and a workshop on improv workshop on “Playing with Vulnerability.”
Applying Improv to Everday Microaggressions- January 23, 2016
This was my first applied improvisation workshop presented in collaboration with other improvisers for the Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit. In this 90-minute workshop participants strategized how to challenge microaggressions through understanding the basics of improv, “Yes and” as a way to listen when triggered and feel empowered to intervene in uncomfortable situations.
Social Justice Beta Stage- April 30, 2016
During this show audience members wrote six-word stories about their identity. This concept was inspired by Michelle Norris’ six-word stories on race. Following this show was a talkback with the audience where people talked spoke about the impact of the show. The audience expressed, the power in hearing their words read aloud and played out on stage.
Playing with Vulnerability, Workshop to Performance, 2-part workshop, August 2016
Following this performance, I was inspired to create my first improv workshop, “Playing with Vulnerability.” In that workshop participants explored what would it look like to learn to play as your most vulnerable self. Through this workshop participants answered this question, “How can our perceptions about identity shape our approach to improv?” This two-part workshop led to a collaborative performance between the audience and performers. Audience members wrote six-word stories that inspired monologues that then led to improv scenes.
A group of students and teachers after completing their performance following the “Playing with Vulnerability” class.
Over the next two years, I started exploring ways to more consistently combine applied improv with the bespoke consulting work I was delivering for organizations on diversity, equity, and inclusion. This led to a Masters in Applied Theatre at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama which I completed in 2019.
Mary C. Parker smiling wiht a traditional UK Masters cap and gown.