The art form of improv — collaborating spontaneously with others — does not need to be a stressful experience. Improv can be enjoyable and fulfilling, but it requires letting go of the worries of being wrong or having lackluster ideas.

We’ll demonstrate that there are no wrong choices or lackluster ideas, there’s only lackluster support. And, we’ll demonstrate that improv thrives in an environment of acceptance and encouragement.

We’ll foster an atmosphere of trust among the group. Once trust is in place, fun begins to happen. We’ll focus on the tenets of improv, leading us to silliness, unexpected discoveries and poignancy together, without the worries of being wrong or lackluster…we’ll have fun while creating something new together, on the fly.

All are welcome no matter experience level.

Class minimum: 4

Class maximum: 20

About the Instructor:

For the past 30 years, Liz Allen has coached, directed and performed improv at The iO Chicago Theater and The Second City Chicago. In 1995, her improv troupe Frank Booth performed the first-ever longform improv show at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Liz was iO’s Training Center Director for 3 years, and she coached the long running house teams Valhalla, Fatty Four Eyes, and Mission Improvable, founders of the Westside Comedy Theater in Los Angeles.

– In 1999, 2000 & 2001 Liz won iO Theater’s Coach of the Year Award, which was renamed the Liz Allen Excellence in Teaching Award.

– In 2004, Liz directed a year long mainstage revue for The Second City at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, the first-ever improv on The Strip, receiving an A- from the LV Review-Journal.

– Liz co-created the Individual Assessment Workshop and co-wrote Improvising Better (Heinemann, 2006), with J. Carrane. The Vegas Theater Hub awarded Liz as Best Guest Speaker & Best Workshop of the Year 2015.

– Liz was honored to coach The Commune, the improv ensemble in Mike Birbiglia’s 2016 feature film Don’t Think Twice.

– At Rollins College’s 2019 Winter with the Writers Festival, Liz was a Featured Author & Speaker.

– Liz has taught improv workshops around the globe to theater groups and corporations. Clients include Improv Boston, Ernst & Young, Zurich American Insurance, The Improv Shop, Catch & Release, Mondelez, Google, Unscrewed Theater, RR Donnelley, Toronto Improv, Power Construction, Heritage Healthcare, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Washington Improv Theater.

• Created Train-the-Trainer workshops for MGM Grand’s Hospitality, Las Vegas
• Facilitated a team-building conference for Southwest Gas, Las Vegas
• Created specialized longform for Improv & Arts Show for Zmack Improv Shanghai
• Designed an improv program for Truro University’s Medical Ethics Dept.

– Liz coaches improv for public speakers, and clients include Josie Ahlquist, Digital Educator, and Neal Katyal, former solicitor general.

– From 2017 to 2020, Liz taught Level 5 Advanced Harold at the iO Chicago. She directed the Armando-style show A Family Affair, which performed at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2019.

– Liz began dipping her toes into the storytelling world in 2017 in Chicagoland venues. Liz continues to frequent open mic and storytelling events, crafting her show “Tonight I’m My Mother,” while coaching improv and performing online and in-person.

ACWL-Nuveen classes are supported in part by grants from the Michigan Arts & Culture Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Nuveen Benevolent Trust.