I recently subbed a class on their last day. Their super-talented teacher had something come up last minute, and fortunately I was already nearby doing working with a class to put together their musical direction for their show; so, I volunteered to take it. Once I was confirmed I got it, I checked out their syllabus; there was nothing on it too hard to take them through. I figured we would play the games the teacher requested and I'd tweak things here and there to get them ready for the next term of classes.
Things went way differently than what I expected.
The class was very large but friendly. We met informally outside of the classroom while we waited for it to be vacated by a previous class. Everyone seemed psyched to enjoy their last day and I recognized a few students from the improv jams I have been leading previously. We all got along great. They even laughed at my corny jokes so I felt pretty comfortable with them already.
Once we got in the room, we immediately got to work. I did my usual thing of tying the warm-ups to what we would be exploring later in class. Their energy picked up from the beginning and soon they were buzzing. Eventually, we go to the point of playing the games. With me stressing them utilizing object work to discover the play within the games, they took to the instruction like fish to water.
We took a break and I left the room to go retrieve something from another theater. Once I returned, I saw a large group of them bunched up talking. One of the students asked, "Are you teaching the next class in the next term?" I told them "Yes." A roar of cheering erupted and a student asked if she could hug me. I was caught off-guard by the reaction but I'm not going to lie - I loved the attention and the appreciation and most importantly the confirmation that I provide value to folks in their improv journeys. We played some more afterwards with some new games and finally ended the class.
One of the students approached me telling me that they were at first thinking of giving up on the improv program but after that class and knowing they would have me as a teacher, they decided to give it another shot. Again, it felt good to be wanted and not just tolerated.
I got this from that same student via email:
"I wanted to thank you again for the incredible class on Sunday, the entire crew's energy at the bar afterwards was electric and we're all super excited to take part in [class] with you."
I can't wait to get in a room with these cats and share what I have to offer.
