29 Sep Jeffrey Takes A Step Out Of His Comfort Zone and Flourishes

Growing up I had introverted tendencies and I didn’t always feel like I fit in the performer mold. However, after asking a professor at St. Kate’s University about improv classes, I felt compelled to step outside of my comfort zone. In my senior year of college I tried an improv class at Brave New Workshop Student Union and I instantly felt the satisfaction of performing live.

The classes taught me how to collaborate with my fellow classmates while giving me the freedom to individualize my own improv journey. For example, when I first began improv I was never quick to go first in an exercise. I felt anxious anticipating my performance in class. Now I feel at home when I perform.

The four levels of improv classes offered by the BNW Student Union are necessary for an improviser I think to recognize that there is always room for improvement. I’ve learned through each course that it’s okay to feel uncomfortable, because that means you’re only getting better. The feeling of unfamiliarity and discomfort is finally met with personal fulfillment and conscious development. Self growth is readily available for an improviser.

The irony of me coming to Brave New Workshop is in the past I never felt brave enough. To overcome this, I simply had to keep going. I continually put myself out there which allowed me to make mistakes, sometimes repeat them, but ultimately grow from them. I encourage anyone who feels similarly to step out of their comfort zone. Remember that 99% of the time the anticipatory anxiety is more nerve-wrecking than the actual step! Improv won’t tell you how to take that first step, but it will give you the courage to move.

– Jeffrey, BNW SU Student