Improv in Real Life

We think we're listening, but are we really? In this episode, Jude speaks with Rick Andrews, Magnet Theater faculty and applied improv facilitator, to explore how listening is an active choice. They unpack how hearing another person's perspective is a powerful act of empathy, and how improv trains us not just to react, but to understand. *Connect with Rick - Website, LinkedIn, Kornfeld & Andrews show, Kornfeld and Andrews podcast This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn

Patricia Ryan Madson, author and longtime improv teacher who taught at Stanford, shares how improvisation anchors everyday presence. She explores attention, acceptance, appreciation, and action. Hear practical noticing and gratitude practices, a Japanese naikon reflection, and playful word-at-a-time exercises that spark connection and reframe ordinary life.

Improv has a way of turning strangers into lifelong connections, often in the span of a single scene. In this episode, Jude speaks with Michelle Gilliam about how improv builds community, fosters belonging, and helps us move from anxiety to connection. *Connect with Michelle - Improv MKE, Instagram, LinkedIn This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn

Caitlin Steitzer, a licensed clinical social worker and improviser, dives into how improv techniques can alleviate social anxiety. She shares her personal journey from anxiety to confidence through improv, emphasizing the importance of group support and present-moment focus. Caitlin discusses designing workshops that ensure safety, using exercises like the 'Firing Squad' to quiet inner judgment. She also highlights how fun activities like the 'Hitchhiker Game' foster community and courage, proving that embracing failure in improv can rewire our responses to social situations.

Many of us resist change. In this episode, Jude speaks with Belina Raffy, who uses comedy and improv to help us reframe that mindset. She takes on daunting challenges like climate change and social justice, showing how even the toughest issues can feel approachable and manageable. *Connect with Belina - Sustainable Stand Up, Giggling with Earth, Maffick, LinkedIn, Instagram, Courses: Clarity and Flow, Complexity, Compassion and Comedy, Sustainable Stand Up This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn

Parenting doesn't come with a script, which is why flexibility and a sense of play, the heart of improv, can be a game-changer. In this episode, Jude speaks with improvisers (and parents) Mary Theresa Archbold and Pat Shay who share how the principles of improv can transform family life. *Connect with Mary & Pat - Funny Parents Podcast, Website: Home | True Play Improv and Blog | funnyparents, Facebook, LinkedIn: Mary, Pat, Instagram To learn more about these concepts, check out: Yes, and … Clean Your Room This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn

Improv isn't just for the stage. It's showing up in hospitals, clinics, and memory care centers. In this episode, Jude speaks with medical improv trailblazer Beth Boynton, who shares how principles like "yes, and" are helping caregivers build connection, reduce stress, and bring more humanity to people with cognitive decline. *Connect with Beth - website, Facebook, LinkedIn, free workshop, more about Medical Improv. Purchase her book The Medical Improv Toolkit. To learn more about these concepts, check out: "Just Join Them": Improv and Dementia Care Pilot of a Communication Program for Dementia Caregivers Using Improvisational Techniques Effects of Improv Training on Older Adults in a Long Term Care Facility This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn

Emotional intelligence is learning how to be responsive, not reactive. In this episode, Jude speaks with Elana Fishbein, professional improviser and facilitator, about how improv can help us develop the self-awareness and flexibility we need to handle those tougher life moments. Connect with Elana - website, Instagram, LinkedIn To learn more about these concepts, check out: Intelligent play: How improv can improve clinician's emotional intelligence Be real, open, and creative: How openness to experience and to change mediate the authenticity-creativity association This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn

Join Gary Ware, a workshop facilitator and author of *Playful Rebellion*, as he explores the transformative power of improv-based play. Discover how positive emotions support resilience and creativity, while Gary shares his journey back to playfulness after hardship. He discusses using play as a rebellion against conformity and its role in navigating rapid change. Enjoy lighthearted improv games that foster joy and creativity, and learn how playful practices can aid in post-traumatic growth. Gary's insights promise to inspire both personal and professional development.