On Saturday June 8, the Listen Up Project hosted an improvisational theatre workshop with Northern Vermont University theatre professor and former member of the Blue Man Group Isaac Eddy.
The purpose of the workshop was to use comedy and improv to explore the realities of being a young person in 2019, and to inform the writing of the Listen Up musical.
7 young people, aged 13-17, were willing to give up their Saturday afternoon for three hours to join Isaac as he demonstrated some basic improv games and got the students on their feet, on the floor, and leaping through the air.
Isaac Eddy, a Vermont native, has taught theatre at Northern Vermont University-Johnson since 2015. Before that, he spent 12 years as a member of the award-winning Blue Man Group, performing shows in New York, Chicago, London and Las Vegas.
Through his theatre experience, Isaac has learned that "improv isn't about trying to be funny. It's about finding truth. And that often leads you to something funny."
The workshop lasted three hours, but it was clear to all that the group was only scratching the surface of what they could uncover using improv. The wheels are already in motion to get Isaac back for more workshops!
