Social Skills Workshops Monterey County Weekly February 2018 article about classes: http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/people/831/a-new-improv-workshop-goes-beyond-humor-teaching-communication-skills/article_1f57ec02-06cd-11e8-bbdb-e36a00e4eac3.html WHO:
These
experiential workshops are designed for participation by students with
Aspergers, High Functioning Austism, ADD and ADHD, bipolar, Tourette's -
anyone with a social communication challenge is welcome!
BENEFIT:
Teens develop effective social skills and cultivate friendships as a byproduct of playing "cool" comedy improv games.
SKILLS ADDRESSED:
The
workshops consist of comedy improvisation games like those seen on the
TV Show WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? The students ask for suggestions from
the audience (in this case fellow students) and plug them into simple
structures, games and scenes. At best the outcomes are hilarious, at
worst they are interesting.
CLASS FORMAT:
Session Length: Can be: 45 minutes to 2 hours
Number of Sessions:Sessions
may vary from one-time Sessions or up to 6-Session Workshops or an
ongoing club. In many cases the 6-week workshop ends with a show.
Sessions consist of:
Link to Monterey County Weekly article about classes: http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/people/831/a-new-improv-workshop-goes-beyond-humor-teaching-communication-skills/article_1f57ec02-06cd-11e8-bbdb-e36a00e4eac3.html Link to YouTube video: Comedy Helps Autism Spectrum Students EXAMPLES OF GAMES: (Soon to be video examples.) Mirrors: In pairs.
Face
one another; maintain eye contact. The leader slowly moves so that the
follower can mirror their movements. Then switch leaders.
Skills learned:
Great for focus, concentration, eye contact, physical control.
Hitchhiker with a Contagious Emotion: 6 students
In
a pretend car (6 folding chairs) students hitchhike one by one, each
with a different emotional attitude such as frightened, happy, sad,
grumpy... Each emotion is "contagious". Upon entering the car the
students already in the car must (silently) guess the emotion and adapt
to expressing it. For example, first hitchhiker is perky, the driver
and hitchhiker become perky. Second hitchhiker is angry, the driver and
first hitchhiker also become angry. The third hitchhiker is sad, those
in the car also act sad.
Skills learned:
Reading physical, facial and verbal emotional cues, Displaying physical, verbal and facial emotions
Slide Show: Participants: 4 students:
3 "Sliders" who move around arbitrarily;
1 "Narrator" who asks for a suggestion such as a vacation destination.
1. The Sliders move with random gestures.
2. The Narrator calls Freeze.
3.
The Narrator then interprets and justifies the sliders' positions based
on the suggestion. For example, the narrator might say, "This is my
family going through airport security." Or "Here we are at the beach
about to be devoured by a giant whale."
Skills learned:
Physical control and creativity, beginning middle end, impulse control,
physical expression, cooperation, spontaneity, appropriate physical
contact with others.
Pass the Story: Participants: 5 students and a conductor.
The
audience suggests a topic. The 5 students must narrate a story by
passing the story from person to person when the conductor points at
them. When the conductor stops pointing at them they must stop speaking
mid-sentence or mid-word. The conductor points to someone else and
they must pick-up and continue the story mid-sentence or mid-word. If
any errors are made the story teller must "die" creatively based on
audience suggestion. "Creative death" examples: death by paper cut,
death by being licked to death by a puppy, death by blow dryer.
Eventually one person remains, the winner.
Skills learned:
Concentration, following narrative, building on narrative, spontaneity, impulse control, flexibility.
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