Unscripted is very proud to announce our first Improv for Anxiety for TEENS class! This initial class will be presented as a one-week day camp, hours 8:30-Noon at Riverside Revival in East Nashville. The camp is open to 9-12 graders. Unscripted programs are inclusive, affirming, safe spaces. The camp is not designed to prepare for a performance, but to use improv as a means for joyful practice and reflection. There will not be a final showcase or performance for this camp, but participants will be provided with numerous resources throughout the week.
Lunch is not provided, but registration fee includes a robust mid-morning snack each day and a t-shirt.
COVID-19 information: All camp staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. We highly recommend that all participants are vaccinated to the highest level of protection against COVID-19. Read more about our current policies here. We will have a staff nurse on site to help manage and respond to any and all medical instances.
The Improv for Anxiety program is designed to help people with mild to moderate anxiety build awareness and skills which help to manage their symptoms in work, home, and social situations. The class is co-led by an improv teacher and a therapeutic facilitator. The program was developed by Unscripted improvisers and teachers in partnership with licensed therapists to practice improv through a therapeutic lens. This class is not therapy and should not replace therapy, but provides an interactive and joyful opportunity to practice applying skills for anxiety management and awareness.
No improv experience or clinical diagnosis for anxiety required to participate. Each class will focus on a theme relevant to managing anxiety through improv principles and play. Registration is non-refundable. Financial assistance is available.
Meet the camp staff
Emma Supica (she/her) will be the lead improv facilitator for camp. Emma has over 15 years of experience in arts education, and has previously worked in public schools as a music teacher and band director. Emma is a mother to two young children, and LOVES musical improv. She’s already your biggest fan.
Lily LaBour Catalano (she/her) will be the lead therapeutic facilitator for camp. She loved improv games in middle school and finds they're just as much fun as an adult! Lily will complete her Master of Social Work degree this spring, and she currently works with clients to address life challenges and find wellbeing. Lily thinks that a little mindfulness helps everything, and laughing is probably not a bad idea, either.
FAQs
What will each class cover?
Day 1: Welcome! Norm setting. Listening. Being present.
Day 2: Defining and exploring anxiety - learn about and normalize what you’re experiencing
Day 3: Confidence day! Mistakes are gifts!
Day 4: Identities and personal experiences. Characters! A special guest panel of improvisers!
Day 5: Celebrate! Play!
What does a typical class look like?
We spend time playing improv games, we engage in exercises where we explore and define anxiety symptoms, we reflect on our experiences, we built community and trust with each other, and we have a lot of fun!
who will be in the class?
Class size is limited to 15 people. Two instructors leading the class. Other “instructor” types may participate, but no one will be watching. Everyone in the room participates, you won’t be observed.
What is different about this class from a regular improv class?
Each day focuses on ideas from improv which can help you learn to manage anxiety symptoms. We take time to talk through your process, reaction, reflection, and general thoughts. The class is open, encouraging, and designed to move at the right pace for each person to feel supported.
What are the clinical elements to the class?
The class is not therapy, but the therapeutic facilitator is a trained mental health professional, and the class is designed to be therapeutic. Facilitators will administer short, validated measurement tools (self-reported pre and post assessments) for participants to complete before and after camp.
Can’t make this session? Sign up on the waitlist.
We offer the adult Improv for Anxiety program both online and in person. Sign up on the waitlist to be notified whenever we have open registration for our next Improv for Anxiety class.
Meet the rest of the Improv for Anxiety team
Scott Field (he/him) loves everybody. He's annoyingly optimistic about people and situations and has gotten into trouble because of his open, tolerant disposition. Easy to laugh, Scott will make you think you're awesome even if you're not. A career classroom teacher in middle and high schools, Scott has a genetic goofball tendency which he honed at Improv Boston for seven years. He helped create the Improv Nashville Theater on 12th South and performed with Music City Improv before teaming up with Luke to open Third Coast Comedy.
Stevie Houtschilt, MD (they/them) did not have a theater or arts background until 2016 when a life-changing car accident prompted them to consider a new adventure. Following the encouragement they received in 8th grade when they won the runner-up award to “Best Laugh!”, they decided to enroll in Patch Adam’s Students for Designing a Society clown school, a residential school that uses Clowning as lens for compassion and social change. Afterwards, they went to Vanderbilt Medical School with dreams of pursuing psychiatry. As a student, they began taking improv classes and performing at Third Coast Comedy Club, eventually forming the all-LGBTQ+ troupe Carol, and they volunteered with Unscripted, helping to develop the Improv For Anxiety course. They are committed to providing inclusive and compassionate spaces for people struggling with mental illness to heal, grow, and share positive experiences together.
Sarah Rodgers (she/her) is a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist and Registered Drama Therapist, with a background as a trained actor. She loves playing and believes playfulness is a sign of health, and she became immune to performance-related embarrassment thanks to her years of working as a Karaoke bartender in a New York bar later closed for its connection to a murder. Sarah has also been a teaching artist, co-founded a NYC theater company, and worked in high schools and community mental health settings. Sarah runs a full-time private psychotherapy practice here in Nashville, is a clinical supervisor for up-and-coming clinicians, and also provides workshops, trainings, and otherwise collaborates with mindfulness-related and theater organizations in town.
Sarah Shannon (she/her) is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has a private practice in Nashville where she works with individuals and couples. Sarah enjoys helping her clients take control of their life narrative in creative ways.
Elizabeth Baum (she/her) is an intern at Northwestern University's Counseling@Northwestern program. She is working toward her Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling and she has her Bachelor's degree in Theatre with an emphasis in Acting from Middle Tennessee State University. She's excited to be a part of the Improv for Anxiety team because it feels like the perfect crossroads of two of her favorite things -- the creative arts and mental health. She's performed with theatre companies all over Nashville including Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Street Theatre Company, Actors Bridge, and many others. She is currently a clinical intern at Creative Counseling Nashville where she uses improv skills in counseling all the time. Her biggest inspirations are her cats, Professor Chaos and Lady Bug because they remind her to get out of her head and stay in the moment and also that there is never a bad time or place for a nap.