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SHERWOOD PARK, CANADA
Improvisation artist teaches
students life skills
by Julie Rice
Wednesday March 30, 2005
Sherwood Park News — The students at St. Theresa school
recently had a chance to learn from a world-renowned improvisation
artist, who taught them everyday values like patience, co-operation
and responsibility.
Shawn Kinley visited the school for the month of March thanks to a
grant from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Kinley, who is based
in Calgary, has been teaching all over the world for over 20 years,
has made appearances on Just for Laughs and worked with groups like
Disney and Cirque du Soleil.
“What I really liked about Shawn is that what he teaches the kids is
not about making them performers, it’s about life skills,” said Rita Astalosch, assistant principal at the school. “It’s co-operation,
self-esteem, being sensitive to others’ needs -- all skills you need
for everyday life.”
She added Kinley’s month-long school residency was very positive,
and she noticed students practicing what they had learned.
“They love him. It’s been a fun-filled month,” she explained. “They
loved the games and all the improv. The students would walk around
the hallways talking about what they’d just learned with him, and
they would play his games out on the playground.”
Astalosch noted Kinley
worked with every child in the school, even
those who were shy or more withdrawn, encouraging their ideas and
their improvisation skills.
On Wednesday, Kinley’s last day at the school, the gym was filled to
capacity with parents and students who came to see what the school
had learned from him. During the course of the month,
Kinley had
worked with the children to develop “scenes,” short improvised
productions that they acted out for their parents.
“When they were developing their scenes, I asked them to do
something that is important to them,” he said, noting many chose to
develop scenes around the topic of friends and family. “What they
can learn from this is far more important than being performers.
There are too many performers anyway.”
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One improvisation game he played with the
students involved taking risks and being willing to fail.
Kinley set up a scenario where there was a King and his
subjects, and the subjects had to try and take some risks
despite how they thought the King would respond.
“In some cultures, you’re taught that you must succeed at
any cost,” Kinley told the children. “We’ve got to learn
that failure is OK if you learn from it.”
He talked about the difference between adults and
children, and why it’s easier for children to learn
through improvisation.
“Their brains are more opened and they are willing to make
mistakes,” he explained.
Another scenario the children played out was about power
abuse, illustrating a chain reaction of how those in power
-- like a boss, or a parent -- can pass on their negative
attitudes to those under them.
With exaggerated movements, ridiculous actions and
hilarious scenarios,
Kinley taught the children that
feeling good about yourself and helping others is much
more important than performing well. For more information
on Kinley’s work, visit
www.shawnkinley.com.
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