Client and Student Interviews

Hoopla facilitator and teacher Liam Brennan interviewed a diverse range of Hoopla clients and students to ask how they’ve applied improv into their work life and businesses. Here’s what they had to say.

Rachel Cader English and Media Studies Teacher

Rachel Cader: English and Media Studies Teacher

Liam: How have you applied improv into your work as a Teacher?

Rachel: I had a very, very shy A Level Media Studies class. They were terrified of sharing ideas, being bold and getting it wrong – which meant their written work was really limited. So whenever I had a lesson where I knew I wanted them to write to a high level (A level being really difficult these days!) I would always start a lesson with the classic beginners games. My favourite to use being ‘Piece of Cheese’ because it got them to a very silly place. I also like ‘Word at a Time Expert’ because it reminds them to just go one word at a time and build up*. But I’d play any game that took them out of their heads. I found that after these games they would be more relaxed, more likely to contribute to class discussions which in turn improved their written work.

As well as that I’m the union rep at school, which means managing different people’s reactions. I’ve found improv has supported my listening and support work for people I represent. I also have this dream of using improv within the youth justice system, working with young people that are at risk of/are involved in the system.

* Explanations of these exercises and more are listed on our resources page.

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