Blog
Please note: the Squarespace formatting on this front page is . . . weird. We’re working on it. For nicely formatted blog posts please click on the title of the post you want to read. Thanks!
Improv 1 is free . . . ish!
“It is the cardinal difference between gift and commodity exchange that a gift establishes a feeling-bond between two people, while the sale of a commodity leaves no necessary connection.” — The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World by Lewis Hyde
ENSEMBLE MEMBERS SHEA SONSKY AND AIMEE GOLDSTEIN
This week, the teachers of our Improv 1 class, ensemble members Aimee Goldstein and Shea Sonsky, decided to make it free to enroll, and “pay-what-you-can”. They are inviting students to make donations as they go, or to join our Patreon if they choose to. Of course, this is simply a request and anyone can take the full eight-week class without a donation if they need to/choose to. In making this decision, they were responding to some prospective students who have expressed an interest in attending, but can’t because of financial constraints, most of which have been brought on by the pandemic. This decision will mean that Aimee and Shea will make drastically less money as teachers, and Bright Invention will forgo its percentage of this tution income. Aimee and Shea are facing their own financial stress. Why would they do this?
There is a relationship to the concept of value which guides Bright Invention as we negotiate remuneration. We make a distinction between the gift economy and the commercial economy, a distinction I first understood by reading Lewis Hyde’s remarkable book The Gift. We understand that our artistic creative gifts - the ones that we refine as we become better and better actor/improvisors - have no price tag, and are not for sale. Likewise, our artistic creations - our shows - are also pay-what-you-can. We expect cash payment for services we render in the commercial marketplace, primarily our work as consultants through our Creative Corporate Training Program. Yes, we are using our creative gifts here too. But the relationship to our “audience” in this case is defined by a fee-for-services arrangement. You hire us to help you solve a problem in your workplace. Our ensemble members make between $50 and $100 per hour for this work, which, it should be noted, has taken a hit during the pandemic.
WHAT YOUR ONLINE BRIGHT INVENTION CLASS MIGHT LOOK LIKE!
Classes have always fallen into a grey area between the commercial and the gift economy. It’s not stated explicitly, but as Executive Director I never want money to get in the way of someone taking a class with us. And - I want our teachers compensated fairly. So this decision by Shea and Aimee - which was entirely theirs - touched me.
We have spirited discussions in rehearsals about the word “free”. Some feel it denigrates what we do, and makes it feel like it has no value. Others feel it is a powerful marketing word and gets people’s attention. I have landed on “free-ish”.
“[The] art that matters to us—which moves the heart, or revives the soul, or delights the senses, or offers courage for living, however we choose to describe the experience—that work is received by us as a gift is received.” — The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World by Lewis Hyde
Something mysterious and fundamentally unquantifiable happens when an actor moves us, or a teacher inspires us. We feel like we have received something personal and precious. Most people, if you asked them to put a dollar amount on that experience, would look at you like you were nuts. Because even if we paid money somehow for access to that experience, the experience itself feels gifted, not sold. It has to do with “feeling bond” alluded to in the opening quote above. The world “gift” swirls around creativity. We speak of God-given gifts, creative gifts, artistic gifts. We artists understand that the urgent and mysterious energy that drives us to make things as something we have been given. It can be refined through practice and instruction, but its origin is essential, fundamental, innate.
This is why it’s so profoundly painful for so many if us when we feel how misunderstood and cheapened we become by selling that gift in a commercial marketplace. Because in the commercial marketplace of the performing arts, what’s actually being sold is a person. And as soon as you are in the business of buying and selling people (auditioning and casting, for instance) that person becomes a thing, a product. This is why the commerce of entertainment is dominated by visual forms: body shape, skin color, height, weight, etc. These are the measurements of things, not people. This warping of people into products does deep and lasting harm to the psyches of young performing artists - I speak from experience. Do I sound bitter? That’s okay. It’s actually outrage. And Bright Invention is my humble way to begin to address it.
So go ahead. Sign up for Improv 1 with Aimee and Shea! And play with them in the flowing circle of gifts they create online with you. You won’t be sorry, I promise. You may be inspired to make a gift in return.
“ . . . a gift is consumed when it moves from one hand to another with no assurance of anything in return. There is little difference, therefore, between its consumption and its movement. A market exchange has an equilibrium or stasis: you pay to balance the scale. But when you give a gift there is momentum, and the weight shifts from body to body.” — The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World by Lewis Hyde
The Benathon!
Bright Invention Executive Director Benjamin Lloyd
runs an Olympic-distance triathlon to raise money for
Bright Invention!
Saturday, July 25, 9 am - 2 pm!
1500 meter swim
40 kilometer bike ride
10 kilometer run
Since last year, Ben has been training to compete in triathlons as a tribute to his deceased friend Jim MacLaren. He ran his first Sprint-distance tri last fall, and this year is moving up to Olympic Distance (see the distances above)! Since most organized triathlons have been cancelled or postponed by the coronavirus, Ben is running this tri solo, using the Willow Grove YMCA as his base.
Like most nonprofits, Bright Invention finds itself facing some challenges this year. The board, staff and ensemble are united in doing what we can to continue our mission: Bright Invention uses improvisation to empower people and organizations to unlock their potential. Your support of The Benathon will . . .
Support the Bright Invention Ensemble by providing fees to them for leading free workshops online.
Expand our work with people with disabilities through our Ability In Action program, by allowing us offer scholarships to a more diverse population.
Invest in our Creative Corporate Training program as we acquire the technical support we need to offer our workshops online.
Check out our social media pages for real-time updates on how Ben is doing throughout the day!
With thanks to Peter Andrew Danzig and Theatrical Trainer!
Talking Improvisation
Pandemic Update
Hello friends!
The board, staff and ensemble of Bright Invention hope you’ve been safe during the COVID-19 crisis. Like you, we are sheltering, disinfecting, distancing, zooming, uncovering old hobbies, learning new skills and new ways to stay connected. We're also finding new ways to tell those around us we love them and to laugh together.
BOARD MEMBER APRIL COHEN
I want to take a moment to thank our board of directors who have been steadfast in their support of me and Bright Invention in these uncertain times; our staff including Finance Director Bob Stineman - juggling new numbers and making new projections in response to this “new normal”; Development Consultant Allison Pokras - donating her time to support our strategic initiatives and assisting in marketing content; Executive Assistant Francine Brocious - champion note-taker and social media engineer. Lastly, I wish to thank our ensemble, who have dived directly into the deep end with me as we co-create online content and offer new programs, working for the love of this organization, each other, and in the belief that we will again generate meaningful income for them in the future.
Since the quarantine began mid-March we have been moving a lot of our programming online. Here are some highlights!
We have been holding Zoom rehearsals with the ensemble each Monday night. The Inventors and I have come up with some great online formats for fun improv shows. And we are continuing to hold each other up with emotional and practical support. A few lucky ones remain at work, but most of the ensemble work in the performing arts “gig economy” and so have been especially vulnerable to the delayed unemployment benefits and loss of work.
We maintained our spring show schedule and are offering online improv shows we call Improvademic! These are fun, hour-long shows with some opportunity for audience play-ins, and also function as fundraisers for causes the ensemble cares about. At our April show we raised over $1,000 to feed frontline healthcare workers at Temple University Hospital, and supplied them with 100 meals from a local restaurant, the West Avenue Grille. For our May 2nd show, we are raising money for MANNA, which feeds those who are homebound by age, sickness or disability.
Our classes have been meeting once a week tuition-free with our actors with disabilities and our adult improv class. These are Zoom meetings with the instructors to play games, do some improv and check in with each other.
New online programs:
FINANCE DIRECTOR BOB STINEMAN
Our Creative Corporate Training program has created three new online offerings:
Games with Bright Invention! Do your online socials or Zoom happy hours need a boost?
Virtual Meeting Bootcamp. Basic training for effective online participation.
People Not Products. For managers who want to lead online teams with humanity and clarity.
You can learn more about these workshops here. We will be featured by L&D of Greater Philadelphia for their online happy hour May 13th!
We have launched our Improv Playgrounds - hour-long, gently facilitated improv classes with me plus a member of the ensemble. These too are free/pay what you can. These meet on Zoom Wednesday night at 7 pm and bring the kids to our Saturday morning playground at 10 am!
We will face many challenges in 2020. Like other nonprofits, we have applied for grants and loans (we are waiting on the much ballyhooed PPP loan). We understand and respect that many philanthropies formerly supporting arts and culture are now bending their efforts to essential services.
I continue to deepen my skills in developing online content by taking workshops through our affiliation with the Applied Improvisation Network, Yes And Brain, L&D Philly and other groups. However, our primary revenue generator, Creative Corporate Training, is a deeply “in-person” program, bringing groups of people indoors, to learn, laugh and explore complex interpersonal dynamics together in close quarters. It’s a pretty tough sell these days - a non-starter, really - made even harder by the contraction of our clients’ budgets. Luckily, one of our biggest clients Merck Pharmaceuticals is working with us to see how we can move the workshop we were designing for them into virtual space.
ZOOM ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL . . .
How will the summer and fall play out? There’s no way of knowing right now. When it’s safe, we will again offer our fun and meaningful in-person workshops, classes and shows. But here are a couple of things I’m sure of:
There will be a Bright Invention in 2021. Our nonprofit was designed to be economically nimble. We have few expenses. One of our mottos is “People, Not Products” a slogan which reminds us to bend all our efforts to supporting the people we serve and the people who work for us. So much of what we do - our shows, our playgrounds - we offer for the satisfaction of sharing our gifts with new friends. We ask our audiences to place their own value on what we create. So all of that will continue.
We will ask you for help. Getting to 2021 will be a group effort. Our ensemble, staff and board have already begun the work of creating innovative strategies for remaining a vital and attractive organization for entertainment, education and corporate training into 2021 and beyond. One of the benefits of meeting much of our budget through earned income is that when we do fundraise, we’re often doing so to benefit others (see our Improvademic shows above!) However - like everything else in these strange times - that has to change this year, in a “put your own facemask on first” kind of way. It’s not an ideal time to launch a campaign, but in order to respond to the challenges we’re facing we’re developing strategic fundraising for Bright Invention . . . and we will be inviting you to “play-in” be to be a part of it.
THE ENSEMBLE IN MARCH - PRE-SOCIAL DISTANCING . . .
It’s become a cliche, but it’s true: this crisis has exposed our strengths, and our weaknesses. As an arts nonprofit, we have accomplished the “big ask” funders make to arts nonprofits: diversify your funding streams and find a new ways to generate revenue. We innovated. We invented. We used our creative foundation - improvisation - to create a dynamic program in Creative Corporate Training that empowers organizations to navigate sticky professional, interpersonal situations and create more stable work cultures . . . and we get paid well to do it. And we use that income to subsidize our creative work and stabilize our work with the disability community.
On the downside, our dependence on a single program with specific application makes us vulnerable to a disruption in that marketplace. On the upside, we have discovered that we are ideally positioned to energetically serve our mission in this difficult time. We designed our creative work to serve diverse communities independent of financial constraints, and we are committed to ensuring that will continue.
We’re excited about our new programs and invite you to join in. Here are some links to to discover your potential with us!
Bright Invention uses improvisation to empower people and organizations to unlock their potential.
Many times during the past several weeks, I have been grateful for the essential skill improvisation has taught me: to say yes, this is happening; and to say and, let’s build a story about it together . . .
Stay safe,
Ben
Benjamin Lloyd, Executive Director, Bright Invention
IMPROVATHON update #2: Special Guests!
Can you feel it? That’s steady rumble of mad Bright Inventors prepping for THE IMPROVATHON!
Aimee Goldstein is ascending to yogic nirvana to cleanse her mind . . .
Shannon Hill is trying to keep her eyes open for long stretches of time . . .
Benjamin Lloyd is improvising on treadmills . . .
Eric Walker, Jr. is improvising with the ghost of Del Close . . .
Kiersten Adams is doing improvised monologues whilst hanging upside down in playgrounds . . .
Owen Corey is improvising with strangers on the Broad Street line . . .
Suzanne Anderson is practicing intersteller subcrustaceanous improv (we don’t know what that is) . . .
Shea Sonsky is improvising in the hidden language of dogs and cats . . .
Patrick Poole is still learning what a sweep edit is . . .
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR AMAZING ENSEMBLE BY CLICKING HERE!
Anything to get ready for . . . EIGHT CONTINUOUS HOURS OF IMPROV!
Each hour will go like this:
Brief welcome by BI member (1 minute)
Brief pitch by WPSI staff (2 minutes)
Genre spoof with Bright Invention + special guest (20 minutes)
Long form improv by Bright Invention (30 minutes)
Click here for your free tickets!
But wait! There’s more!
We have some amazing special guests lined up to play in with us!
10 AM: Jack Presby
Jack is currently appearing in episode 1 of Global Curation, the pilot episode produced by ACRidea, that should drop next week. He is also an improvisor with Time Bandits, because improv ain’t just for kids . . .
11 AM: Cait Garozzo
Cait is the Senior Manager for Learning & Development at West Philadelphia Skills Initiative. She spends her early mornings weightlifting and drinking serious coffee. The rest of her free time is spent collecting and reading literary fiction, taking her perfect dog swimming and hiking, listening to podcasts, cooking with her husband, and eating lots of ice cream.
12 Noon: Mary Carpenter
Mary has been improvising in Philadelphia for the past 27 years with ComedySportz, Dangerous Fools, 'Til Death Do Us Part, and many other ensembles. She is an actress, director, teacher and writer as well, who has recently published the book: Do Or Do Not: How To Improvise Like A Jedi. Her next upcoming project is I'll Have What She's Having in May at CSZ Philadelphia.
2 PM: Joy Weir
Joy Weir has been an actor and improviser since 2011. She is also in the upcoming Tongue & Groove performance of "In Bed" on February 7th, 14th (both performances), and 15th. You can also catch her as Rose in Enchanted April at Playcrafters of Skippack opening April 2020.
3 PM: Ralph Andracchio
Ralph Andracchio is an 11 year improv veteran and has traveled all over the US performing and teaching classes and workshops for hundreds of students. Former Artistic Director of Philly Improv Theater, Ralph currently holds the role of Education Consultant for Liberty Improv Theater. When not teaching or performing, Ralph owns his own business and is a transformational life coach helping clients of all kinds make big, bold changes in their lives through the lens of applied improvisation. You can visit him at www.informationcoaching.com.
4 PM: Josh Park
Josh is the Senior Manager for Employer Services at West Philadelphia Skills Initiative. Currently, he lives in Fishtown with the smartest and cutest 7-year-old the world has ever known. He enjoys listening to local music, watching the Phillies, and finding new adventures with his son.
5 PM: Brian Anthony Wilson
Recent Theatre: Looking Over The President's Shoulder (Act II Playhouse), The Resistible Rise of Artuo Ui (Lantern), Gem Of The Ocean (Arden * Barrymore Award) & Thurgood (Olney Theatre Center). Film/TV selected credits : Glass, Oceans 8, Creed, Limitless, The Arrangement, The Postman / Mare Of Easttown, Dispatches From Elsewhere, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Siren, Bloodline, Gotham, Blue Bloods,The Sopranos & The Wire.
These amazing guests will play in one of our genre spoofs - but we will need YOU to tell us which one to do from this list:
Disney princess movie
Soap opera
Reality show from audience prompt
PBS kids show
Hallmark Christmas movie
Spaghetti Western
Film Noir
Horror
High School play
Remember: we won’t stop improvising until we raise $1,000 for The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative! Save us from ourselves by attending and donating to this amazing organization!
Bright Invention’s
Improvathon 2020
Saturday, February 15th, 10 AM - ???
Inner Rhythms Music and Therapy Center
37 South 42nd St.,
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Please note: there is a staircase up to the venue, which is not wheelchair accessible.
It's back! Announcing . . . IMPROVATHON 2020!
That’s right! Bright Invention’s feat of “extreme improv” returns for Philly Theatre Week 2020!
L - R: BENJAMIN LLOYD, BRIGHT INVENTION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; CHRIS BARTLETT, WILLIAM WAY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; BOB STINEMAN, BRIGHT INVENTION ENSEMBLE AND DIRECTOR OF FINANCE PRESENTING CHRIS HIS CHECK AND OUR FUNDRAISING THERMOMETER!
Last year, our band of over-caffeinated inventors and special guests improvised their butts off to meet their goal of raising $500 for The William Way LGBT Center. And you responded! We doubled our goal and were able to present William Way with a check for nearly $1000.
This year, we will improvise non-stop raising money for The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI).
The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI) was created in 2011 as an innovative response to the dichotomies of Philadelphia’s economy. In spite of large swaths of substantial growth driven by anchor institutions and private employers, Philadelphia remains the poorest big city in America. Our work bridges this gap by building a talent management solution that connects Philadelphians seeking opportunity with employers seeking talent.
WPSI works closely with its employer partners to understand their talent challenges and aspirations. We recruit, assess, select, train and place residents in career-ladder jobs that offer stability and opportunities for advancement.
Since WPSI’s inception, program participants who had previously been unemployed for an average of 53 weeks have gone on to earn more than $30 million in collective wages while increasing employers' productivity and excellence.
Partnering with WPSI was an obvious choice for us, since we have been providing workshops for their program since 2015. Over the last four years, Bright Invention has delivered nearly 25 workshops to various cohorts moving through the WPSI program. Using our Creative Corporate Training program, we design and deliver scenarios dramatizing real-life challenges the cohorts may face when on the job.
ENSEMBLE MEMBERS KIERSTEN ADAMS, ERIC WALKER, JR AND LEAH HOLLERAN DELIVERING A WPSI CCT WORKSHOP!
We are still putting together the details of this year’s IMPROVATHON, but here’s what we know:
our goal is to raise $1,000 for WPSI
The event will be on Saturday February 15th
Location to be announced shortly
It will begin at 10 AM and end . . . when we raise a grand for WPSI!
the format will be similar to last year’s IMPROVATHON. Each hour will feature a special guest who will play in with us in a “genre spoof”, then the ensemble will perform one of our own forms.
we are hoping that luminaries from WPSI and their parent organization University City District will be our guests, as will as graduates from the program!
So mark your calendars! The event is free, but you will be able to reserve tickets for various hours of the show during the course of the day. Ticketing will be available through the Philly Theatre Week website in January.
We hope to see you there, as we push our creativity to the edge supporting a great cause!
HAPPY (AND EXHAUSTED) INVENTORS AT THE CLOSE OF LAST YEAR’S IMPROVATHON!