WELL 173 — Everyday Spontaneity: Improvising Our Lives
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Patricia Ryan Madson
Date(s): Jan 4—Mar 8
Class Recording Available: No
Class Meeting Day: Mondays
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Class Meeting Time: 6:30—8:00 pm (PT)
Please Note: No class on January 18 and February 15
Tuition: $475
Refund Deadline: Jan 6
Unit(s): 1
Enrollment Limit: 26
Status: Registration opens Nov 30, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Winter
Day: Mondays
Duration: 8 weeks
Time: 6:30—8:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jan 4—Mar 8
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $475
Refund Deadline: Jan 6
Instructor(s): Patricia Ryan Madson
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Enrollment Limit: 26
Recording Available: No
Status: Registration opens Nov 30, 8:30 am (PT)
Please Note: No class on January 18 and February 15
You will need to improvise today. We all will. Most of us, however, doubt our ability to navigate change with confidence. The study of improvisation can help us learn to trust our own ideas. This course will give you the tools to experience new ways of responding and adapting to change, and it can help you become more comfortable thinking and speaking spontaneously. Improvisation is not about comedy or being clever; it is about recovering and using our native common sense to solve problems. Improv basics include paying close attention to reality, learning how to work with a spirit of cooperation, and coping positively with mistakes—they teach us how to be kinder, more attentive, and more willing to take a chance. In this course, our focus will be on the application of improv maxims in everyday life.
Students are required to attend the first class session.
PATRICIA RYAN MADSON
Senior Lecturer, Emerita, Department of Theater & Performance Studies, Stanford
Patricia Ryan Madson founded the Stanford Improvisors (SImps) in 1991 and is the author of Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up. She received the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Distinctive Contributions to Undergraduate Education. Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Patricia Ryan Madson, Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up (ISBN 978-1400081882)
(Optional) Keith Johnstone, IMPRO, Improvisation and the Theatre, Any edition is fine (ISBN 978-0878301171)
(Optional) Keith Johnstone, IMPRO, Improvisation and the Theatre, Any edition is fine (ISBN 978-0878301171)