Carrie Carter

October 23, 2015

Improv, Fear, and the American Classroom

In order to be successful at improv theatre, one must not be afraid of failure. While teaching children improv in Austin, Texas, it quickly became apparent to me how stressed the children were about failing. In fact, I discovered that these young, American children seemed so nervous about being wrong that they often would opt out of participating to minimize the risk factor. This "opt-ing out" is something that I have also often seen in American schools. Is the fear of being "wrong" holding students back from learning in America and if so, is this a learned fear or an instinctual one? Follow me through my panel discussion on fear, the dichotomy of right and wrong, and the American classroom.