Improv-ing Disaster Response: Preparing for Disaster in a Creative Way
Abstract as pdf
Corresponding Author:
Justine Walter
Contingency Institute Germany
justine.walter@posteo.de
Author(s):
Initially used to teach immigrant children to integrate into US society, improvisational theatre has since gained increasing popularity: improv shows are well-known on TV and most larger cities across the (Western) world have at least one improv theatre group. While improv is often associated with comedy, what makes the scenes funny is the actors’ embracing uncertainty, collaborating effectively, and working around constraints creatively – skills that seem more important than ever in a post-pandemic world.
While secondary and tertiary educators have long discovered the usefulness of techniques and approaches originating in improv theatres, the rise of agile software development, the implementation of self-organised ways of working in many companies and the acknowledgement of the world as vuca (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous), have now made improv a buzzword in the business context as well.
Central improv principles like teamwork and trust, making quick associations, relating to the environment and the present situation as well as making sense of seemingly chaotic events, however, are not only relevant for successful team and project work, but are crucial for effective and creative reactions to extreme situations like disasters. Both disaster response teams and the public may thus benefit substantially from utilising improv to simulate disaster, train response, and build a culture familiar with disaster. The paper will introduce ideas on why and how to do that.
References:
Goddard, P. (2015): Improving Agile Teams. Bradford on Avon: Agility Ltd.
Paradis, M. (2020): Teaching Improv. The Essential Handbook. Beat by Beat.
Storytelling, Gamification & Co: Using Creative Tools to Design Disaster Cultures in the Anthropocene