Improv for Real Life (IRL) is a joyful experience full of laughter and community, rooted in improv and personal storytelling, designed to help you turn neighbors into friends .Making friends as an adult is hard! There was the pandemic, the Seattle freeze, increasing social isolation... It's rough out there. IRL is for people who don't want to waste time on friend-making apps and are willing to show up in person to grow their communities. IRL is hosted by Saya Jenks, a theatre educator with experience teaching improv to everyone from Pre-K kids to engineers and lawyers.

No prior experience with improv is required! Beginners are enthusiastically encouraged to attend. Being “good at improv” is not the point of this event -- we’re using improv as a means to an end, where friendship is the end goal. You’ll play silly improv games, try some personal storytelling exercises, and get to know other kind Seattleites.

Why go to a workshop for building friendships?
We all know we need friends. We lived through a pandemic where we experienced the alienating jolt of being cut off from in-person interaction. But just because we value friendship doesn’t mean it’s easy to foster, especially in a new city. A third of Americans report that they don’t know any of their neighbors, and a nearly 90-year longitudinal study conducted at Harvard found that the quality of a person’s relationships is the number one factor that predicts whether someone will have a happy and healthy life, more than exercise, income, or sleep. In this workshop, we’ll cut through the awkward, repetitive small talk and get right to the fun.

Zero experience necessary!
Beginners are enthusiastically encouraged to attend! Being "good at improv" is not the point of this -- think of improv as being a means to an end, where friendship is the end goal. While we firmly believe that everyone is inherently creative, you don’t need to identify as a “creative type” to get a lot out of this workshop.