ON ISLAND
On Troubled Shores? Just IMProvise!
By Anne McCarthy Strauss
The first rule the students learn in IMP, a Troubled Shores improvisation class, is to “Always Say Yes.” IMP is the Island’s premier comedy improvisation troupe, the segment of Troubled Shores that works with children aged six through 16. (WIMP, created in 1994, offers improv opportunities to people of all ages.)
Saying “yes” ensures that, as actors, the young people who participate in IMP will keep the scene and their characters open to all possibilities. If applied to life, this rule can open doors in every direction. People are naturally attracted to positivity. When kids bring that quality into their daily lives, their peers are drawn to them in a positive way. It’s a phenomenon brings great opportunity to those who can bring themselves to say “yes” despite whatever fears or insecurities they may have.
Donna Swift is the woman behind the power of yes. As the founder and director of IMP and the executive director of Troubled Shores, she was a member of the original improvisation troupe, WIMP, in her twenties. A ‘summer kid’ she moved to the Vineyard in 1990 after receiving her theater arts degree from Emerson College. Believing that children deserve quality training and professional opportunities, she created the IMP performance troupes and teaching programs in 2002 to further her mission of providing quality oppor-tunities to young performers.
Donna has worked professionally as an actress, stage manager and teaching artist. She teaches the IMP students and travels with them to improv festivals in Chicago, Boston, Providence and all around the country.
“Research attests to the positive effects of drama on reading and other academic skills,” Donna says. “Other benefits to the young actors are harder to quantify but equally important – self-confidence, pride, and teamwork.”
Donna was inspired to found IMP by the enthusiasm her two stepsons and her daughter found by watching performances of WIMP. “We needed something for the younger kids.” she said.
Asked why she chose improvisation as a theatrical medium, Donna said, “I like all theatre. In fact, most of my background is in scripted work. But improv is a great actor’s tool that gets the most results. There is no right or wrong when you’re doing improv. It’s good for shy kids and, at the same time, helps to center the unfocused kids. And the need for teamwork fostered by improvisation teaches the actors to trust each other and work together as a team.”
Perhaps the best way to see what the power of yes brings to the kids of the Vineyard is to take a look at the comments some of them have posted on the Troubled Shores website.
Ashley Girard says, “IMP has given me some of my best friends, a place to express myself, and training that I can use in my future ventures in the theatre and real life. I was always the shy kid. Within the first minute (of IMP) I had come out of my shell, I was a crazy character, and for once I didn’t care what my classmates thought.”
Clare Boland wrote, “Improv is important to me because it gives me a chance to be crazy and no one will care.”
And from Ray Ewing: “Not only have the skills and ideas I have obtained from my time at Troubled Shores, Inc. trained me to perform better, they have trained me to live better. If the only difference between improv and life is the stage and the lights then why not apply the rules that make an improv work to life?
IMP, located in Edgartown, is open to any Island child who feels ready to say yes – and especially to those who don’t. At IMP they’ll learn that the power of “yes” can bring the path of a scene or the path of a life to exciting new places.
Saying “yes” ensures that, as actors, the young people who participate in IMP will keep the scene and their characters open to all possibilities. If applied to life, this rule can open doors in every direction. People are naturally attracted to positivity. When kids bring that quality into their daily lives, their peers are drawn to them in a positive way. It’s a phenomenon brings great opportunity to those who can bring themselves to say “yes” despite whatever fears or insecurities they may have.
Donna Swift is the woman behind the power of yes. As the founder and director of IMP and the executive director of Troubled Shores, she was a member of the original improvisation troupe, WIMP, in her twenties. A ‘summer kid’ she moved to the Vineyard in 1990 after receiving her theater arts degree from Emerson College. Believing that children deserve quality training and professional opportunities, she created the IMP performance troupes and teaching programs in 2002 to further her mission of providing quality oppor-tunities to young performers.
Donna has worked professionally as an actress, stage manager and teaching artist. She teaches the IMP students and travels with them to improv festivals in Chicago, Boston, Providence and all around the country.
“Research attests to the positive effects of drama on reading and other academic skills,” Donna says. “Other benefits to the young actors are harder to quantify but equally important – self-confidence, pride, and teamwork.”
Donna was inspired to found IMP by the enthusiasm her two stepsons and her daughter found by watching performances of WIMP. “We needed something for the younger kids.” she said.
Asked why she chose improvisation as a theatrical medium, Donna said, “I like all theatre. In fact, most of my background is in scripted work. But improv is a great actor’s tool that gets the most results. There is no right or wrong when you’re doing improv. It’s good for shy kids and, at the same time, helps to center the unfocused kids. And the need for teamwork fostered by improvisation teaches the actors to trust each other and work together as a team.”
Perhaps the best way to see what the power of yes brings to the kids of the Vineyard is to take a look at the comments some of them have posted on the Troubled Shores website.
Ashley Girard says, “IMP has given me some of my best friends, a place to express myself, and training that I can use in my future ventures in the theatre and real life. I was always the shy kid. Within the first minute (of IMP) I had come out of my shell, I was a crazy character, and for once I didn’t care what my classmates thought.”
Clare Boland wrote, “Improv is important to me because it gives me a chance to be crazy and no one will care.”
And from Ray Ewing: “Not only have the skills and ideas I have obtained from my time at Troubled Shores, Inc. trained me to perform better, they have trained me to live better. If the only difference between improv and life is the stage and the lights then why not apply the rules that make an improv work to life?
IMP, located in Edgartown, is open to any Island child who feels ready to say yes – and especially to those who don’t. At IMP they’ll learn that the power of “yes” can bring the path of a scene or the path of a life to exciting new places.