Paris, here I come!

Hello everyone, I’m very excited you’ve checked out my brand new website! These are very exciting times for both me and Total Improv Kids as I look to expand the school and find new places to share The Fulton Method, to better teach kids valuable life skills!

The biggest piece of news I have right now is I have been asked to speak at the Applied Improvisation Network conference this August in Paris, France! I am both honored and incredibly thrilled. I’ll be talking about Child Development Through Improvisation and I can’t wait to share with this group of experts.

AIN is an acclaimed improvisation organization that focuses on using improvisation for practical application. They understand the non-theatrical purposes improv has to offer every individual. It’s an organization that helps people discover abilities within themselves either as individuals or as groups. They believe that improvisation has a far bigger purpose then just making people laugh for an hour. They believe in the skills that improvisation has to offer every living being.

So basically, I found my tribe and I couldn’t be happier!

For the longest time, I thought I was alone in my practical application for improvisation. But here is an organized group of teachers from all over the world who feel the same way I do! So far they are approximately 5,000 strong, and I now have the honor of introducing the Fulton Method to them directly. What a fantastic opportunity!

But, where do I start? I have 45 minutes to address these amazing teachers with a lifetime of research I want to share!

I want to tell them about how Improv saved me and enriched my life by taking me from a self-loathing and struggling teenager to a successful business woman and community leader?

I want to talk about my classes and how I use the Fulton Method to expose my students to corners of their brains and personalities they didn't know were there, and to help them navigate through issues and situations that await them in their future? For example, I do this by posing leading questions on a specific topic like, “Why do actions speak louder than words?” Then I instigate a conversation until they wind up discussing it among themselves. This alone encourages listening and how to construct and present a valid point. They also learn how to respectfully agree to disagree. Then, when I feel the discussion has gone on long enough, I will say “Let’s play.” I make that topic the theme of the day. You would be amazed at the things they discover when they find themselves in a situation where the topic actually applies and they have to organically maneuver through it to come out on the other side with their intended result, or learn to adapt to a new and different point of view.

See…how am I NOT going to go off on a tangent?!

I want to talk about the psychological implications, and the science behind how improvisation actually grows neural nets, the corpus callosum and grey matter in general.

I want to share examples of how some of my past students used their improv techniques successfully in their lives and their professions and how it made them successful people. I want to talk about the success I’ve had with children on the autistic spectrum, specifically high functioning Asperger’s Syndrome. Or about the shy kid who recently was teaching his peers in the 6th grade how to be an effective public speaker (without realizing it) so his group gets a better grade.

I want to talk about the influences of improvisation on the child’s developing brain and how the lessons learned become in intrinsic part of the very fabric of their being, to the point where the tools they have developed in class will carry them through their lives. It helps people become more confident and quick-thinking, giving them the ability to size up a situation in a moment and developing the ability to be clear-thinking under intense pressure.

I especially want and need to address the consequences of children being unable to go outside and play freely and spontaneously like we used to when we were children before the world got so crazy and dangerous. The importance of play for every species on the planet cannot be understated. Play has been an intricate part of every species survival training for every species on the planet since before man and still continues to this day. I need to talk about the importance of play in general for social awareness and maturity which is sorely lacking in our communities today resulting in an incredible rise in lack of empathy, personal responsibility, bullying, and the rampant rise in juvenile depression and even suicide.

Yes, improv can help with ALL of this!

These topics are just the tip of the iceberg. Oh boy! A lifetime of study in 45 minutes!!!

Wish me luck!