IMPROV WISDOM for a MEANINGFUL LIFE
A Playful Path to Courage, Creativity, and Connection
Green Gulch Zen Center, Sausalito, CA * Mon-Wed, July 22nd-24th, 2013
Enrollment limited to approx. 14 participants
In the long history of humankind (and animal kind) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed. –Charles Darwin
Dig below the surface and improvisation means much more than comedy. Creating in the moment, artists and athletes sharpen awareness and build resilience in the face of setbacks. Business leaders learn to innovate with nimble responsiveness. Educators find profound direction for teaching and learning. And spiritual seekers of all sorts discover layer after layer of philosophical and ethical insight. Approached with an open heart and contemplative mind, improvisation opens up uncountable paths of wisdom and meaning—all over the landscape of human experience.
This workshop will explore such possibility from the inside out. Together, we’ll create a safe, playful, experiential learning lab that stretches self-awareness and strengthens connection with others. Holding up the mirror of improv insights and exercises and drawing from the well of rigorous contemplation, you will learn to:
- Find and express greater spontaneity
- Transform your approach to failure
- Increase your sensory acuity and in-the-moment awareness
- Trust your creative leanings
- Improve your communication: better listening, clearer speaking, deeper understanding
- Reach new levels of generosity
- Collaborate with greater ease
- Tell better stories
Prerequisites
This workshop is designed for those with little or no prior experience with improvisational theater. Those with more substantial improv chops who are just beginning to tap its deeper levels may also find the workshop fruitful. No particular religious or spiritual path is required, but those with an inquiring heart and open mind will gain the most from and contribute the most to the experience.
About the Instructors
Since completing his graduate work at Stanford (MBA) and Harvard (Masters of Theology), Ted DesMaisons has taught religious studies and philosophy at Northfield Mount Hermon in western Massachusetts. He has studied improvisation with Patricia Ryan Madson, Bay Area Theater Sports (BATS) and Loose Moose, and has trained extensively with the Center for Courage and Renewal. Combining humor with gravitas and intention with inspiration, Ted helps create safe spaces for exploring what really matters. He writes regularly about improv, contemplation, and positive reinforcement on his TED WORDS blog (www.tedwordsblog.com).
One of the most recognizable and most beloved teachers of improvisation in the world, Lisa Rowland has performed, coached, and conducted corporate trainings with San Francisco’s BATS mainstage company for more than seven years. Students from Palo Alto and the Presidio to Amsterdam and Arabia rave about the way she combines power and generosity in the service of their learning. A graduate of Stanford University and an uncannily astute observer of what’s needed next, Lisa was recently named the 2012 San Francisco Actor of the Year.
Founder of the Stanford Improvisors (SIMPS) and author of the artfully sage Improv Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up, special guest instructor Patricia Ryan Madson has followed a life path that has led her to landscapes, art forms, and deeper inquiries of all sorts. She has mentored multiple generations of compassionate players, many of whom continue to spread the good news of improv in her familiar, generous style. She has graciously agreed to join us for an evening’s session to share some of her insights and to help us generate our own.
Location and Accommodations
Gardens at Green Gulch.
This retreat takes place at historic Green Gulch Zen Center just north of San Francisco. The Center’s rolling hills, organic gardens, and meditative spaces will make an idyllic setting for our time together. Muir Beach lies a short walk away. With both private and communal space available, we will share three organic, primarily vegetarian meals each day. Guests will stay in simple, clean rooms, two to a room. For more information about the setting, please visit the Center’s web site: http://www.sfzc.org/ggf/.
Cost
$550 per person. Includes all program fees, two nights lodging, and three meals per day. Full program fee due with registration. Payment refundable (minus $25 processing charge) if the workshop is full and you or we are able to find a replacement. $35 discount for any referral who attends the workshop.
Registration/Contact Us
If you would like to register or if you have any questions about the workshop, please contact either facilitator. We’d be delighted to talk with you!
Ted DesMaisons: teddyd@stanfordalumni.org Lisa Rowland: lcrowland@gmail.com
Muir Beach, a short walk from the Green Gulch Zen Center.
Who am I here in this moment? What choice is needed now?
How can I help those around me?
How does this story connect me to something larger or deeper?
This is going to be fantastic! Wish I could be there.
This is all great, but $550.00? What about struggling people just working to survive? We are not worthy?
Hello, M. You’re right that $550 is a significant investment. Almost all of the fee will go towards the expense of holding the workshop in such a beautiful space. We hope to offer similar experiences in other venues and at other price points over time–and we hope you’ll join us then!