Yes, and – U of A employees on the joy and value of improv comedy

World Laughter Day, celebrated this year on May 4, honors the power of humor in creating connection. At the University of Arizona, several employees have embraced improv comedy as a creative outlet and found that the confidence, communication and collaboration at the center of their hobby translate to the classroom, the office and beyond.

Improvisational theater is a form of performance that is entirely unplanned and unscripted. In improv comedy, performers often begin with suggestions from their audience and use them to spontaneously build short- or long-form scenes. The art is built on quick thinking, collaboration and mutual trust.

For many performers like Cy Barlow, web architect with Arizona Arts, that creative spark has become a lifelong passion.

Barlow said she's always been a ham. After falling in love with the improv comedy television show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," she bought herself an Improv 101 class for her birthday in 2014. Since taking the class at Unscrewed Theater in Tucson, she has found a creative home on stage, becoming one of the theater's regular performers.

"It's the absolute joy of creating something with people when you had nothing to start with," Barlow said. "The idea of stepping out there and not knowing what's going to happen is a thrill. I love making people laugh. It's the most endorphin-producing thing."

Bringing improv to the office

One of the guiding principles of improv is "yes, and" – the idea that improvisers should accept what another performer offers and build on it.

Jessica Hill, assistant professor of practice in the W.A. Franke Honors College and a performer with the Tucson Improv Movement theater, said she quickly saw that principle reflected in the concepts she teaches: collaboration, creativity, communication and confidence.

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"The parallels are obvious," Hill said. "How do people work together to generate creative products or ideas, and how do those things emerge from seemingly out of nowhere? That's what we do on the improv stage all the time."

Hill's academic interest in improv runs deep. She focused her doctoral dissertation on the role improv comedy can play in developing group creativity. (For another story about someone who has mixed improv and academic success, read this profile of junior Ojas Sanghi, who was recently named a 2025 Truman Scholar.)

Others say improv has sharpened their communication skills in important ways.

Rob Sparks, senior communications, education and engagement specialist at the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab, said his decades of doing improv have turned him into a better listener.

"We practice active listening on stage," Sparks, a designated campus colleague, said. "It's not just about what a person is actually saying, but what the meaning behind it is. I get asked about near-Earth asteroids a lot, but I know what they're really asking me is to address their fears about the movie 'Armageddon' coming to life."

For Nooshin Warren, associate professor in the Department of Marketing, improv offered something else: the chance to let go of control.

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"I am very much a planner," Warren said. "I plan for every single scenario that might happen, and that can lead to overthinking. I wanted to experience something that is not plannable because it's all out of my control."

Warren said she struggled at first, since spontaneity didn't come to her naturally. 

"But as it went on, I lost that knee-jerk negative reaction I'd have when things weren't going exactly the way I predicted them to go," she said. "I became more flexible and fluid. I started trusting my scene partners. I started thinking on my feet better."

The power of play

Beyond boosting workplace skills, improv provides another important benefit: It's fun.

"It's a way to connect to your own individual joy," Barlow said. "And the idea that we should leave fun at the door when we go to work is crippling in a lot of ways. I wouldn't want to do something every single day if I couldn't find some kind of fun in it."

Play lets children build skills in a fun, low-risk atmosphere. Hill said the same concept applies to higher education.

"Play allows students to practice skills in an environment that is more joyful, more collaborative and generally more fun," she said. "Students who are learning in a more active or playful space tell me they get more out of that than they would in a more traditional lecture-based environment."

Keep laughing and learning

Even if you're not quite ready to take the leap into an improv class, you can use the art form's guiding principles to make your work more creative, collaborative and fun.

• Yes, and: Accept what someone else says ("yes") and build on their idea ("and").
• Make your scene partners look good: Listen actively to those you're working with, understand their cues and help them shine. It's not about "stealing the show;" it's about showcasing the talents of the group.
• Embrace mistakes and failure: When something doesn't work as planned, it's an opportunity to learn and adapt – and can often be an unexpected path to take you where you need to go.
• Embrace play and have fun: A playful mindset fosters collaboration and sparks joy. Learn and laugh in a low-risk environment.

Note: The writer is a regular performer at Unscrewed Theater.