2019 AINx Talks - Angelina Castellini: Just Let Go' - Improv Platitudes and Burnout
Channel: Applied Improvisation Network
Date: 20/12/2019

Just Let Go' - Improvisation, Platitudes, and Burnout - Angelina Castellini
‘Be present’, ‘follow the fear’, ‘just let go’ — these are some of the most common phrases you will hear spoken in an Applied Improvisation workshop. But are they actually having the effect of freeing our participants’ minds and helping them become happier and healthier humans?

As Applied Improvisation facilitators, we strive to make sure that we are giving our students helpful tools and a safe environment to practice with them. However, this is easier said than done. Especially when we try to distill decades of wisdom into a half-day long workshop. Despite our best intentions, we sometimes miss the contextual mark and end up transferring perceived coffee mug wisdom and fridge magnet mantras. This miscommunication can make some people feel disengaged, frustrated, and unable to connect with our practices.

Through the lens of her own Burnout and recovery experience, Angelina explores how we can listen, acknowledge, and effectively build on our students’ complex needs rather than trying to make them fit into the mold of an idealised improviser.

Bottom line, in the words of Alan Alda: “Words can introduce you to an idea, but we think it takes an experience to transform you.”

2019 AIN World Conference at Stony Brook