Empathy thrives when we meet each other in our imperfections. In this episode, Jude speaks with Louis Kornfeld of Kornfeld and Andrews, about how improv comedy reveals the flaws in human behavior, which helps us see ourselves more clearly with humor and compassion. *Connect with Louis - Kornfeld & Andrews Show, Kornfeld & Andrews Podcast, The Truth Podcast, LinkedIn This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn
What if the best way to prepare kids for an unpredictable future is to teach them how to improvise? In this episode, Jude speaks with Beth Hagenlocker, Executive Director of the Detroit Creativity Project. By bringing improv into schools, their organization helps teens grow more imaginative and emotionally resilient, all while discovering themselves in a space built for creativity and connection. *Connect with Beth - Detroit Creativity Project, Instagram, YouTube To learn more about these concepts, check out: Improv Training as a School-Based Mental Health Intervention Improv experience promotes divergent thinking, uncertainty tolerance, and affective well-being This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn
We think we're listening, but are we really? In this episode, Jude speaks with Rick Andrews, Magnet Theater faculty and applied improv facilitator, to explore how listening is an active choice. They unpack how hearing another person's perspective is a powerful act of empathy, and how improv trains us not just to react, but to understand. *Connect with Rick - Website, LinkedIn, Kornfeld & Andrews show, Kornfeld and Andrews podcast This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn
In real life, there's no stage. So how do we learn to play our part with presence? In this episode, Jude speaks with Patricia Ryan Madson, author of Improv Wisdom, about how improvisation teaches us to accept what's given, quiet our inner critic, and appreciate the overlooked gifts of daily life. *Connect with Patricia - Improv Wisdom, LinkedIn, Facebook. Check out Patricia's book Improv Wisdom. This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn
Improv has a way of turning strangers into lifelong connections, often in the span of a single scene. In this episode, Jude speaks with Michelle Gilliam about how improv builds community, fosters belonging, and helps us move from anxiety to connection. *Connect with Michelle - Improv MKE, Instagram, LinkedIn This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn
Many of us second guess what to do in social situations. In this episode, Jude speaks with Caitlin Steitzer - a fellow improviser, therapist, and social worker - who explains how improv's focus on the group can help people overcome social anxiety, shifting attention away from self-criticism and into the present moment. *Connect with Caitlin - website, Instagram, LinkedIn To learn more about these concepts, check out: The Brilliant Genius: Using Improv Comedy In Social Work Groups by Caitlin Steitzer Comedic Improv Therapy For The Treatment Of Social Anxiety Disorder This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn
Many of us resist change. In this episode, Jude speaks with Belina Raffy, who uses comedy and improv to help us reframe that mindset. She takes on daunting challenges like climate change and social justice, showing how even the toughest issues can feel approachable and manageable. *Connect with Belina - Sustainable Stand Up, Giggling with Earth, Maffick, LinkedIn, Instagram, Courses: Clarity and Flow, Complexity, Compassion and Comedy, Sustainable Stand Up This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn
Parenting doesn't come with a script, which is why flexibility and a sense of play, the heart of improv, can be a game-changer. In this episode, Jude speaks with improvisers (and parents) Mary Theresa Archbold and Pat Shay who share how the principles of improv can transform family life. *Connect with Mary & Pat - Funny Parents Podcast, Website: Home | True Play Improv and Blog | funnyparents, Facebook, LinkedIn: Mary, Pat, Instagram To learn more about these concepts, check out: Yes, and … Clean Your Room This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn
Improv isn't just for the stage. It's showing up in hospitals, clinics, and memory care centers. In this episode, Jude speaks with medical improv trailblazer Beth Boynton, who shares how principles like "yes, and" are helping caregivers build connection, reduce stress, and bring more humanity to people with cognitive decline. *Connect with Beth - website, Facebook, LinkedIn, free workshop, more about Medical Improv. Purchase her book The Medical Improv Toolkit. To learn more about these concepts, check out: "Just Join Them": Improv and Dementia Care Pilot of a Communication Program for Dementia Caregivers Using Improvisational Techniques Effects of Improv Training on Older Adults in a Long Term Care Facility This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn
Emotional intelligence is learning how to be responsive, not reactive. In this episode, Jude speaks with Elana Fishbein, professional improviser and facilitator, about how improv can help us develop the self-awareness and flexibility we need to handle those tougher life moments. Connect with Elana - website, Instagram, LinkedIn To learn more about these concepts, check out: Intelligent play: How improv can improve clinician's emotional intelligence Be real, open, and creative: How openness to experience and to change mediate the authenticity-creativity association This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn
Positive emotions aren't just pleasant, they're powerful. In this episode, host Jude Treder-Wolff speaks with facilitator and improviser Gary Ware about how improv-based play can build resilience, ease stress, and strengthen our sense of self. *Connect with Gary - website, Instagram, LinkedIn. Purchase his book Playful Rebellion. To learn more about these concepts, check out: Progress in Brain Research Failure With A Side Of Funny: How Improv Helps Us Deal With The Messy Unknown This podcast is brought to you by Lifestage. Lifestage designs and facilitates experiential workshops, classes, and presentations for professional and personal development. For more information, visit lifestage.me. *Connect with Jude - Substack, Instagram, LinkedIn.