The joy and power of improvisation
With The Unscripted Project, President’s Engagement Prize winners Philip Chen and Meera Menon create an improv curriculum and bring teaching artists to Philadelphia public school students.
Winners of a 2020 Presidents Engagement Prize, Philip Chen (left) and Meera Menon founded their nonprofit, The Unscripted Project, and created a curriculum incorporating improvisation. Unscripted provides artists to teach the improv courses in Philadelphia public middle and high schools.
Improv is much more than comedy sketches when teachers work with teens, helping them build confidence while fostering social, emotional, and communication skills. And the games can be fun, a welcome addition to an academic world confined to computer screens.