Workshop - The Power to Engage and Persuade - Theatre Techniques for Effective Communication

Sunday, August 4 from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Description:

This workshop will engage in an interactive training session based in improvisational theatre’s power of play. Theatre’s unique way with play builds community and empowers communication skills through its tenets of ensemble and “Yes/And” as applied within individual, partnered, and small group game-based activities. Creating a foundation in theatre’s active learning-by-doing, participants will have an opportunity to see (and celebrate) the diversity of working and learning styles within their team.

Building upon this foundation, the session transitions into making connections between play and story thus engaging participants within best practices of communication and presence.

Through a review of the most common concerns of public speaking presentations, participants will:

• Explore articulation and prosody, breath and relaxation techniques
• Discover how to identify and support the intention of presentation messaging
• Be provided with strategies for finding and activating play within their presentation content and delivery styles
• Learn how to creatively captivate and engage their audiences through welcoming body language and use of space during presentations

Meet the workshop lead 

Heather Curran loves to perform and teach and is grateful to combine these loves at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. She is proud to be a part of the talented and inspiring teaching artist team to which she has contributed since 2018. 
As a performer, educator, and human, her approach centers on the commitment to life-long curiosity, growth, and finding the fun (& funny!) within the process. Heather is always learning from her students and peers, and she strives to co-create healthy, vibrant learning and performance spaces that encourage self-expression, discovery, and connection. She is passionate about intentional instruction that celebrates diversity and honors both the individual and the collective through equitable, joyful inclusion. Heather has a Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and has taught students of all ages (locally and internationally) for 20+ years in various roles. She holds a Colorado professional teaching license and is trained in equity-based trauma informed practices and culturally responsive teaching.

As an improviser, she has studied with instructors far and wide and performed with many teams on various stages including Impulse Theater, Bovine Metropolis Theater, Voodoo Comedy Playhouse/Rise Theater, Avenue Theater, Chaos Bloom Theater, Second City Chicago, and more. Heather was an original cast member of ComedySportz Denver and a former Board Chair and member of the GroupMind Foundation, a nonprofit that produces the Denver Improv Festival. When she is not teaching, you can find her writing, performing her original music and comedy around town, or checking out more library books than she will ever be able to read.
In addition to her work with the DCPA, she is an instructional coach and works with the School of Education at MSU Denver as a supervisor for student teachers. She is a certified meditation and mindfulness instructor and believes improvisation, on and off stage, to be one of the most fun ways to practice being present and creatively engaged.

Pricing details

Member Price:

• $45 (through 6/27)
• $75 (after 6/27)

Non-Member Price:

• $75 (through 6/27)
• $105 (after 6/27)

This workshop qualifies for 10 TDM-CP credits

Pre-registration is required.