Happy Valley Improv
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Our Tenets
    • Our Company Members
  • Youth Training Program
    • Youth Tenets
    • Youth Teachers
  • Classes
    • Economic Hardship Scholarship
  • 2023 Happy Valley XL Improv Festival
    • XL Improv Festival FAQs
    • XL Fest Accommodations
    • XL Fest Sponsorships
    • 2023 XL Fest Instructors
    • 2023 XL Festival Schedule of Events
    • 2022 Happy Valley XL Improv Festival >
      • 2022 XL Festival Schedule of Events
      • XL Fest Instructors
  • Shows
  • Work With Us
    • Workshops
    • Private Shows
    • Community Events & Outreach
  • Comedy Workshops
  • Improv & Pedagogy
    • Education-focused Workshops
    • Literature
  • Blog
  • Press
    • Press Kit
  • FAQs
  • Contact
  • Merch
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Improv Practice Group
  • Our Partners
    • The State Theatre
    • PASCP
    • 3 Dots Downtown
    • The Makery
    • Happy Valley LaunchBox
    • St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
    • Federal Taphouse
    • SCYP
    • Central PA Theatre and Dance Fest
    • Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts + First Night
    • CBICC
    • Happy Valley Adventure Bureau
  • Happy Valley XS Improv Festival 2022
    • XS Improv Festival FAQs
  • Member Sites
    • AWRebels (Jason Browne)
    • James Tierney
    • Samuel Jaye Tanner

Improvisation and Pedagogy

We believe that our tenets and the disciplined practices of improvisational theater have much to teach us about teaching and learning.  
​

All four of the founders of Happy Valley Improv share an interest in teaching and learning in formal and informal settings. We have a wealth of experience teaching improv, but also teaching academic disciplines to middle school students through university students.  

Each of the four founders of Happy Valley Improv is connected with teaching and school and university settings in unique ways. While Happy Valley Improv is not affiliated with any university, all four Founders are faculty or staff at Penn State University:

  • Andrea McCloskey and Sam Tanner are tenure-line faculty members of Education;
  • James Tierney is a lecturer of Economics;
  • Nate Rufo is a communicator and speechwriter for the Office of Global Programs and holds a Masters' degree in Global and International Education

These perspectives, combined with over 30 years of cumulative improv experience, make Happy Valley Improv uniquely qualified to work in educational contexts.

 

Education-focused Workshops

Andrea McCloskey leading a group of faculty in a workshop
Photo Credit: Jessica Buterbaugh, College of Education
Happy Valley Improv offers unique workshops that explore what improvisation might have to teach us about the work of teaching and learning. People often say that teaching well is improvisational work. We believe that people can refine and develop their ability to improvise well, and that doing so transforms all of our participation in learning environments. Simply put, the exploration of improvisation helps us to imagine and enact how we might transform our ability to teach and to learn together.

 An education-focused improv workshop will:
  • Allow participants to consider different ways to share power with their students
  • Allow participants to consider how they perform the role of teacher
  • Allow participants to practice responding to the unexpected
  • Allow participants to practice presence, mindfulness, and vulnerability in the classroom
  • And more!


Click Here for a Sample Workshop Syllabus

Book Now

 

Literature on Improvisation (link)

As individuals and as a company, we are dedicated to contributing to the research knowledge base through practice, reflection, and writing. Follow the link above for a list of improv-related scholarship. Feel free to add to our knowledge through the "Contact Us" form!

© Happy Valley Improv, LLC
happyvalleyimprov@gmail.com
209 W Calder Way
State College, PA 16801
(814) 954-0053

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  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Our Tenets
    • Our Company Members
  • Youth Training Program
    • Youth Tenets
    • Youth Teachers
  • Classes
    • Economic Hardship Scholarship
  • 2023 Happy Valley XL Improv Festival
    • XL Improv Festival FAQs
    • XL Fest Accommodations
    • XL Fest Sponsorships
    • 2023 XL Fest Instructors
    • 2023 XL Festival Schedule of Events
    • 2022 Happy Valley XL Improv Festival >
      • 2022 XL Festival Schedule of Events
      • XL Fest Instructors
  • Shows
  • Work With Us
    • Workshops
    • Private Shows
    • Community Events & Outreach
  • Comedy Workshops
  • Improv & Pedagogy
    • Education-focused Workshops
    • Literature
  • Blog
  • Press
    • Press Kit
  • FAQs
  • Contact
  • Merch
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Improv Practice Group
  • Our Partners
    • The State Theatre
    • PASCP
    • 3 Dots Downtown
    • The Makery
    • Happy Valley LaunchBox
    • St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
    • Federal Taphouse
    • SCYP
    • Central PA Theatre and Dance Fest
    • Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts + First Night
    • CBICC
    • Happy Valley Adventure Bureau
  • Happy Valley XS Improv Festival 2022
    • XS Improv Festival FAQs
  • Member Sites
    • AWRebels (Jason Browne)
    • James Tierney
    • Samuel Jaye Tanner