Erica Clermont: This Improv Teacher Tells Her Story Of Overcoming Fear And Unleashing Confidence To Empower Others

I do really believe 100% from every part of me that everyone has the.

Capacity to be able to do the.

Things that they want and not to be held back by the mental baggage that's in our head that we want to push through.

Welcome to the do the Thing podcast. In each episode, we get down and personal with people who go after the things they want to make all their wildest dreams come true. Join us as we unveil and dissect a formula for what it takes to do the thing. Here is your host, Stacy Lauren.

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the do the Thing podcast. This is your host, Stacy Lauren. Oh, my gosh, you guys, I love my podcast.

It is so cool to be able.

To get connected to people that are doing extraordinary things. And then through those interviews, I get to learn about other people that are doing extraordinary things. And that's the case with my next guest. I actually had heard about her when I interviewed Shannon Lederman on my podcast, who I'd met through Toastmasters, and she went through a story about how she had gotten into improv and how that was one of the things that really helped her build her confidence back up. And there was so much that she talked about about this improv class that I just had to interview the person that helped her through that because of the way that she is creating this community of people and helping them overcome fears and getting more confident and doing it in a really fun and engaging way. So I'm just so excited to get a chance to learn about this amazing person and talk to her more about her story. So I am welcoming Erica to the show. Hi, Erica.

Hi, Stacey. So nice to be here. Thank you. Yes.

I'm so glad that you said yes.

Well, it's so great to be here, and in the spirit of improv and what I do. Yes. And is always what we say. So I say yes to a lot of things that just make my heart go, yep, that sounds fun. I'm gonna do that.

I love that. And it's like, if so many more people would do that, can you imagine?

Oh, I say that every time in class. I literally am like, I'll get all goose bumpy and start to tear up and be like, guys, it's not just about the stage. Improv is gonna change. It can change the world. It can change the way we react to the people around us. So it's not just about being on stage and being confident. I honestly believe it.

That actually brings up a good point. It's like, you're. You're helping them Flex the muscle. To have this. Yes. And kind of philosophy in life.

Oh, definitely. I've often said it's just like going to the gym. The things we're working in our brains when we learn how to do improv, they're just muscles that we're training to be like, you can do this thing. You can say, yes. You can do things that are fearful. And the amount of people that would rather jump out of a plane than get on stage is amazing to me because I'll go on stage every night.

Yeah.

Of a plane. No.

Okay with that. This is perfect. I'd love to hear where this came from. Can you please share with everyone your story and a little bit more about you?

Yeah. So I've been doing theater since I was 4. I have a theater degree from the University of British Columbia. And improv seemed to be something that was probably like, it was a very small part of my life. And then actually, ironically, 12 years ago today, my divorce was finalized. And I remember going to therapy and my therapist, therapist looking at me as I was getting ready to leave my husband because it was a few months it took for me to realize unhappy. And I was like, this is not my life. This is not what's supposed to happen. This is not. This is not it. And he looked at me, he's like, you need to go back and do some improv. And I was like, what? He's like, you need to get back to who you are. And I think improv will really help. So I took some classes from this sweet lady named Jackie Lowell out in Claremont at some weird friendship center. And it did a couple sessions and I was like, this is really fun. I need to get back on stage, though. This is not satisfying, this thing in me. And then, yeah, I auditioned for a place called Finest City Improv, which was actually just a few weeks ago, was also my 10 year anniversary. So a lot of anniversaries in February, beginning of March. But I just started doing it and it just felt like home. It just felt like the thing I needed to do. And I honestly came to a point in my life, I was like, I don't know what else I'd be doing if I wasn't doing improv and teaching improv. This is part of my gift. This is the thing I'm here for, for to share with the world. I think is to be a part of this thing for everybody.

Yeah. And I love that it was reignited after you went through such a hard time and then you pretty much got that little push or Nudge, saying, get back to who you are and do this. And then that gave you the confidence to get back into it. Yeah.

And sometimes I don't realize what it did to me until I look back and go, oh, yeah. That's why you were able to get through so much of that divorce with Joy. And I'm able to laugh at so much of my trauma. A lot of people don't know what to do when I make jokes about trauma. They're like, what is she okay? I'm like, yeah, we gotta laugh about it. We gotta get through it in a way that makes me feel better about things.

This is one of the things I work with a lot of women that have gotten divorced or have been widowed and are going through really hard times and just getting them to stretch outside their comfort zone to be able to expand to new experiences. So I think that this really speaks to that too.

Oh, for sure. I learned a new term for comfort zone. It's our self preservation zone. And I was like, yup, let's keep me here and keep me so safe and so protected. But yet at the same time, we're not living and we're not stepping into our light. And especially as women, we, we hold back so much and we're, we often put ourselves in relation to the other people in the relationships we have to those people instead of what's my relationship with myself and what do I want and what do I need to do? And so many people I teach are literally like, this is just for me. I just want to do something fun for myself. And it's like, oh yay.

So this is so cool because. So you have, you have this gift because you started since you were 4, so you sort been like you said, flexing the muscle and then it got reactivated. So it was almost like riding a bike probably right. Where you were able to just get back on. And I'm wondering because you're teaching and just to give more context, cause I sort of explained it in the intro, but why don't you share what you're doing now in terms of the classes and how you're impacting people in that way?

Oh yeah, sure. So I teach through a school here in San Diego and I teach usually level one, two or three, but I teach all the levels. But I'm usually the teacher you first meet. So the person that got you in contact with me, I was her teacher. And I just try to create. Well, I know I do. I've been told this by many of my students. I create a very Safe, loving, non judgmental, supportive space in which we just play a lot in the beginning. And I get people to be silly and get out of their comfort zone or their self preservation zone or this space where they think as adults, we don't think we're supposed to play and have all this fun. And so I just, for the first couple of weeks, we just play. But then I teach them enough that I go, okay, guess what? Because on the fourth week, you get to do a scene with one of the teachers, including myself, in front of a whole bunch of people that love and support you. And once they do that first scene, it's like, it's just a transformation happens and they recognize, oh, I can do this thing. And I'm like, yeah, I always thought you could do it. Now I'm just letting you see that you can do it. But, yeah, I just spent seven weeks with these students and we, we just learn new things that challenge them in different ways that they were expecting and games and lots of laughter and lots of failure. So much failure. But I always tell them, mistakes are beautiful gifts. Embrace them. Let's go forward.

It's funny. I mean, I got to see the product of your work because I remember Shannon and I. Shannon's the. For everyone listening, was the student that was Erica's student, and she's the one that I had her on my podcast, who introduced me to Erica. And we started Toastmasters the very same time. I think actually she might even been a week after me. And she started off ridiculous. So good. And I'm like, what in the world? You're supposed to suck when you first start something new. But I think that she had the improv experience already. It would just helped catapult her into a whole nother way. I was like, what is going on? I didn't realize she had the improv experience until I did the podcast.

That's so cool. And a lot of times people will come from Toastmasters to improv and they're good at stuff, but they're not. They're so used to having a script. Right. And things to look at and where to go from improv to Toastmasters, I think probably benefited Shannon immensely because she wasn't afraid to make mistakes. She was okay with having to figure out if something didn't work out the way she wanted. Or maybe she found a joke in something or found humor in a way that she wasn't expecting. She was already kind of ready to dance on the edges of her toes. She was like, okay, I'm here on this Unsafe zone. It's kind of cool over here.

I've been doing standup comedy. This is a new just started. I've done it twice now. This last time, my set was. It's like a six minute set and you do. The majority of it was pre scripted stuff. But I had a minute at the end where I was going to do Working the Crowd and I totally lost it. I didn't know what to do. I asked them the question, oh, and what is your thing that you want to do? What's in the back of your mind? Because it was this routine of how I recently gained weight and I'm overthinking it because I once was overweight and then I'm in my head anyway, future tripping. It was this whole thing and it was funny and but trying to work them through this climax of then doing the thing right. And not giving up. So then I was inspiring them to shout out with things they were want to do and they're all shouting stuff out. One person's dancing and singing and all this stuff. And I'm just saying they were looking at them.

I had no idea what to do.

I'm realizing improv is next on my list. But yeah, that's a special skill to be able to just kind of take that in.

Yeah. And I've done standup as well and I like it. And I had a tight five and I did well. There was something about it that a, I'm busy. I don't have a lot of time to write jokes and I really like to. I like being in that space of the unknown. I try to control so much in my life that I love that essence of it. I don't know, there's stand up or either I'm just a little too scared of it still, which is fine. I'm still trying to find that voice of that side of comedy for myself.

So that idea of just being able to be in the unknown is just such a powerful place to be because that's where you are able to come most alive. Because you're acting from your truest self.

Well. And you're in the moment. You can't worry about what just happened and what's going to happen. All you can do is just be there and listen and watch and pay attention. And it's just the amount of times I take the lessons I teach on stage. For people to learn to get on stage, to help them on stage, I often have to remind myself in my own life. Erica, pay attention. Be here now. Make a bold move. Just Make a choice. It's better than nothing. All these things I tell my students that I'm like, these are what help me get through the day all the time.

What's kind of the normal person that comes to you and comes to learn? Are they all across the board, or do they have any kind of general patterns of who they are?

They're all across the board, but they tend to fall into either the category of, I just moved to town and I'm looking for new friends. I work a job where I'm in a boring environment, like, usually tech or some sort of. A lot of computer tech guys come, especially males, because they're in an environment that's not really fun and they want to have more fun. And they know they're funny, but they don't get to really express themselves. People that just want to have a good time, that are like, I heard improv was fun. I just wanted to be stupid and dumb on the weekends, so here I am. And then also the kind of those people that want to schedule time for fun because they realize that they weren't having enough fun. So that's kind of the general thing, but they can be all over the board. But, yeah, that's where they kind of fall into those categories.

And how do you help them overcome the fear of them being able to get up in front of people if they have that?

So it's a slow. It's not a super slow process, but it just starts from each class. We just integrate a little bit more. So the first day of class, they're performing right away without even knowing it. I get them to tell me their name and say an adjective that starts with the same letter of their name and then give us an action. So I often am like, effervescent Erica. And I'll make bubbly jazz hands with my hands or whatever. And so everybody does that after me. And we all say it together. Effervescent Erica. And we do it a few times so that we remember what it is. And the person that's next to me, I'm like, maybe he's jumping Joe. And he does an action and does his. His name and his word. And we go all the way around the circle, and then we repeat them so we remember what they are, and then we pass them around. And I'm doing this under the guise of we're learning each other's names. But by the end of it, these people have done a performance that they have done. They've been silly, they've said things they don't think they would have said they've done all these weird actions and without even knowing it, they stepped out of their comfort zone into a new space that they never even thought they'd be in. And it happened just subtly, ever so slowly. I opened the gates a little bit. I'm like, here we go. And so each day we just add a little bit more of that and a little bit more and a little bit more. By the end of the seven weeks, two people on stage get a suggestion. All right, let's go. So you just nudge them. And also I like to meet people where they are. So if someone's really scared, I'm just like, okay, as much as you can handle. And then I just try to create a really safe space for them. And a lot of times students that were terrified at the beginning are the funniest ones. And the more we support them and laugh at them because that's what we want, but also laugh with them and just encourage them to be themselves. It's amazing how the more you just support that, they recognize they can do it.

Yeah, there's so much power in this. Because I think a lot of times when people think they want to do something new, they try to go all the way to the end to start. They don't realize you can just start with the slow, smallest thing. And this just reminds me of what the comedy class, what he does the very first class. And I didn't even recognize this the first class, cuz my. I was chewing my head and freaking out. But the second class, I got to hear how he really set it up. And it was like, just get used to the mic. If you can hold the mic, then you've done in this whole class.

That's all that I want you to.

Do is get to know the mic. And I feel like there's some there the permission of you just doing the name and the adjective and the action and then the way he does it with the mic. That's such a life lesson, right. It's meeting them where they are and then just starting with the smallest thing. That sort of gives you a win already when you're doing something.

Yeah. And then once you say your thing and it's. Maybe you feel silly because you did something strange, but then everybody repeats it a few times and it kind of dissipates it. But also you get all this immense amount of support because we're all like, what you did is perfectly fine. We're giving you permission to accept it and we're going to support you by Repeating it and just loving it. And there's so much love that comes with that, too, without people even recognizing it, what they're doing. Yeah, I'm just here to support you.

What's the next one? I'm curious. So now that's the first week. Is that what it is? And then what's.

So that first week we do that, I teach them the concept of yes and yes. And like, Erica, you want to do this podcast. Yes. And it'd be really nice to meet someone new. Yes. And perhaps you become friends. Yes. And whatever. You just add a little detail to everything. So that first week, I actually get them to learn that cons. I just kind of teach them about that. And then we do. We'll tell a story a word at a time in a big circle. Everybody gets to say one word. So you're working together. Sometimes they make sense. Sometimes they're complete disaster. And I'll do a thing where I get staged in groups of four. It's called Dr. Know It All. And the students in the class will sit in the audience and ask questions. And then one word at a time, these four students will answer the question. So, like, why is the sky blue? And one word at a time, they'll be like, because the sky is made of candy canes or whatever. And they try to answer it together. And so they learn to work together, but also fail with just great abandonment. And the biggest thing is learning them that failure is not. It's not a problem. It's a beautiful thing. We get to celebrate it. We cheer. Every time we mess up, we don't go. Yeah.

So if you think most people are worried about. Right. They're scared of failing. They're scared of looking dumb. They're scared of being made fun of. So you just show that all those things are welcome and accepted and loved here.

Oh, totally. We play a game that called tape ball, where we just throw some tape up in the air and hit it and count as many times as we can go up. It's a kids game. But then when we drop it, instead of being like, oh, man, we just cheer and we clap and we move on. And it's like the minute. It feels silly at first, I can always watch their faces. I've done this enough times where everyone's like, we're going to do what, Erica? Like, yeah, you're going to clap and you're going to cheer. But then you start getting used to clapping all the time. And you get used to realizing that the failure is actually where you find the Humor. And the. The more joy. And there's actually more fun and more laughter when you mess up than if you do things perfectly. So. And I'm like, aren't we here to laugh? Aren't we here? I have a good time. Yeah.

The other thing that's so cool about this is we were talking earlier about that open mind, you know, being open to what's to come. And I feel like there's so many people that might hear, oh, take an improv class or even take a comedy class, whatever it is. They have this thing built up of whatever it is. But before you say no to something, find out what it even is and hear about it. Because when I'm hearing this, I'm like, I'm. I'm in my mind now. I'm like, oh, I'm definitely going to do this. Because before we talked, I'm like, oh, this will be cool. I get to meet Erica. Maybe this will be something I want to do. And we even right before, I'm like, oh, let's talk after, because I want to talk to you about something. Like, this is what it was. I'm, like, thinking about doing the class, but I'm scared because I haven't been in an improv kind of situation before. But now hearing you talk about it, it just takes away the pressure of what it's going to be.

You're going to be in a room full of 10 to, well, usually 14 people, 12 to 14 people that are exactly in the same boat. Scared, terrified, quiet, unsure. Literally, like, I just moved here three months ago from another city and state. I don't know anybody. I just want to make friends. And by week three, they're giggling with each other. And you're not just making friends, you're making capital letter friends. Actual people that see you for who you are. And I think so many people we know, people, we have all these acquaintances, but who actually really looks at you and goes, I get you. I totally see you. I've seen you do the dumbest stuff, and I love that about you. And I get to see this inner child version of yourself. And I think that's gorgeous to me, because nobody lets that side of themselves out. We're also worried about being serious and fitting into these boxes and this job. Let it go. Yeah.

It's just you're coming out from who you are from the inside, and then people are just accepting and encouraging, whatever that may be.

Yeah. And each class, you're kind of like, I see people let themselves out a little bit more and A little bit more, and their doors open, and all of a sudden they perform. And all of a sudden you can see them. They're like, I. I get it. I feel it. And you can see these. I can watch these people. I wish I literally was telling one of my friends. I'm like, I want to take pictures of these people on the first day of class and on the last day of class and be like, look at the difference in. In the way you look. Because it's just. It's amazing because it's just. You can see them there fully realizing who they are and they're. But without this, there's no. Like, you were saying, I'm afraid. It's like, yeah, we're all afraid. We're all afraid to be who we are, but sometimes we need a little nudge and also really safe space to do it. And also someone that goes, hey, I got you. I got your back. I'll be there for you no matter what you do. Even if you fail. Guess what? I'm going to fail with you. We're going to have fun. And it just. I don't know, it brings me so much joy to be able to facilitate that for people.

Oh, I'm sure. And I was going to ask you to mention the. I got your back. Shannon was saying that you have them say that to each other before the performance. I wanted to just hear more about that. That an improv thing or did you come up with that? Or where did that even start?

That's an improving. It just comes from this idea of no matter what happens on stage, I'll be there. I got your back. So if you fail, whatever move you choose to do. Yes. And, baby, I got you. You step outside, you step on stage, and you're a weird alien cow. Guess what? I'm going to be an alien cow. Or I'm going to be an alien cow farmer. Whatever it's going to be. And needed, I'll be there. It's just very much. It feels like a very girlfriend thing to do. But, like, I got your back, man. I back you up. But it's. It's in life, too. It does. It just doesn't just extend onto the stage. It's like, I got your back and everything. I'll be there to support you and help you and listen and care for you and watch you fail and watch you succeed.

How do you help people? Or how, like, okay, what's my question? This is hysterical that I'm going through this right now, because my question is literally, how do you help people get out of their head and into their heart. I'm stuck in my head for this question.

Oh, God. Well, that's a process we're all going through. Right. I think the biggest thing is just encouraging people to shut off those voices in our heads that tell us we can't do things. A lot of times on the inside of the stage during improv, when you first learn, you have ideas and you're like, no, that's not good enough. No, that's not good enough. No, that's not good enough. And a lot of us have that voice in our heads that says, no, it's not good enough. In most of life. I named mine Tammy. I tell her to shut up all the time. Tammy, shut up. I don't have enough time for you to tell me I can't do things because I have a hard enough time with that in itself. But what I really try to do is just encourage people to listen to their body a little bit more. Follow your feet. You'll know when you need to go on stage. If all of a sudden your. Your body moves in a certain way and follow it, let it be the thing. It's your subconscious leading you in a certain direction. It's intuition. And a lot of us don't listen to that. And it. For me, in improv, a lot of it comes through this like, oh, I just feel compelled to be there. I'm gonna go. Whether or not I have an idea that's actually gonna come to fruition. But it's that I think the more you do it and you fail and nothing bad happens, and you fail and guess what? Something great happens and it's hilarious. And people are dying of laughter and they tell you, you were so great after the show. Then the more I. Thrills me. The more I do that, the more that voice in my head just goes, okay, Tammy's going to. She's not here. Erica's in charge. Or I'm there and I'm just following what makes me feel good. It makes me. I follow my smile. I'm like, this feels right. Let's do this. But I don't know if there's like an actual process. To tell you the truth. I think it just. It's training.

Yeah. You're just conditioning yourself to see the other side of it, that you're not dead, you're still alive and you're thriving from it.

Yeah. And that the voice can also just say, go, and you can just follow that. It's that self judgment that all of us have, but it's. We. We get in our head a lot because I'm an overthinking Aquarian. I'm a be in my head all the time. But improv really helps me get out of there. Because you have to be in the moment. So the minute you get into your head, you're not present. So you miss beautiful opportunities. So the more you recognize that, too, you're like, oh, I missed something, because I was too concerned about making sure it was right instead of just doing what was needed.

What do you think helps someone be able to stretch their comfort zone, support somebody else?

I think sometimes it's really great to do these with other people. Right. A lot of times we're stretching out of our comfort zone all on our own, and it can feel really scary. So when you look around and there's 10 to 14, 13 people there doing it with you, it feels. It doesn't feel so. So terrifying because you're all in it together. And the amount of times I teach people that just say, I just felt so supported because I knew that y' all knew how I felt. And I think that's so important when you're. You're stretching your comfort zone and stepping out. Yeah. Community is huge. Because when people recognize themselves in you, it's such a beautiful connection. You're like, oh, I get it. I'm here with you. I completely understand. I am you. I see you.

I'm glad that you brought this up, because with do the Thing, I have a formula that works through everything that we do, and I'll kind of go through, because this might actually apply where you're using parts of the formula, and I'd love to see which ones you've seen. I'll kind of talk through the whole thing and then address the one that you just mentioned. But it's I'm game. And so it's an acronym. And the I in I'm is identify the Y, M is mindset, and then the G in game is goals, and then A is accountability, M is my people, and E is educate. And so what you were just talking about, which I think is one of the most important ones, is my people, which is not just the five people that you're around that are great. A lot of people say, oh, I want to be around those five people, because I'm the average of the five people. But my people is you're around people that are doing the same thing as you, that want the same thing. Because if you're running a marathon and you just have supportive and encouraging friends, that's not going to help you run the marathon. You're going to have to be around other runners. And it's the same thing. I think when you're doing improv comedy or whatever else you want to do, it's being around people that want the same thing. So then you're failing together, you're celebrating together.

One the five closest people. It's like my five closest people don't live in actual close proximity to me. The people that have shaped me and I care about. My best friend lives in Seattle, and she's the person I talk to most of, but she's not here. So it's like, where are my people? Who are the people I go to when I need support, when I step out of my comfort zone? They're the people in my coaching class. They're the people at improv. They're the people that have done the same thing, that understand me. Because you're like, yeah, you get me. You've been here before. It's hard to go to people that don't get you or understand you or what you're going through.

And then you have that safe place to fail with them, too. Yeah. What that's what I think pulled so many people back, is if they're not around my people, then they're with people that are like, why are you doing that? That's stupid. What's the point of that versus the people that are excited about it and that are doing it.

Yeah. And a lot of times, you know, you get your close group of friends, and they are like, that's so cool you're doing that thing. But they're doing all their own things, and so unless they've done the improv thing, they don't really understand it. So your improv friends get that, and your other friends get your other part of your life. I think it's important to have all these different facets of friends that understand these different parts of ourselves, because we're multifaceted, different people. No one's going to ever really, truly understand. Not one person's ever going to get all those different sides of you. Right. So I think to have those friends that get you in these different parts of your life that you're willing to fail in is so great. You're like, great. My friends let me fail, and we have fun at it. Awesome.

Yeah. You just said something that I haven't really articulated yet, which is that different part of yourself. It's not just the thing you're doing. You're capturing These different parts of yourself through these different communities. I love that. That's so good.

Yeah. And a lot of times, it's a part of ourselves that's always been there. So many of my students are like. So many of my family tell me I'm so funny or that they see this potential in me, but I've never really tapped into it. And it's like, a lot of times it's always been there. It's just we needed to wake it up. We just needed to poke the bear a little bit and be like, I know you're funny. The coolest thing about improv, it's not just, hey, let's stand up, we're going to tell jokes. Improv. I'm like, just be yourself, because guess what? You are funny and you are enough, and you're beautiful. So be the weirdo you are, because someone will connect with that. And you just being you is funny enough. I guarantee it. It's amazing what happens.

So you actually, now that I'm thinking about it, you did talk about the eye, and I'm game the identify the why because you talked about. Some people are doing it because they want to make new friends or to be surrounded by or move. Just moved here or were tech guys that just wanted to have a fun place to have fun. Is that something you talk about in class where they. You get to hear their why?

Oh, yeah, definitely. It's so funny because class starts with the tape ball game, and then we do Zip, Zap, Zop, which is a very standard improv game of just passing energy around. And then we get to know each other's names. So by the time you even know these people's names, you just spent, like, 20 minutes with a bunch of strangers in a room having fun, but you don't even know them. You're like, who are these people? So then we get to know each other's names. I'm like, great, now that you know each other's names, let's sit down. And then I tell them my story. A very abridged version of what got me to this moment and why I'm here and what I love about improv and what I get out of it and what I hope they'll get out of it. And then basically, another chance for them to say their name again so that we remember it. And then I asked, what brought you here and what are you hoping to get out of it? And only thing about improv, what do you like about it? And a lot of times it's, yeah, it's their why. It's the what I'm getting out of it. And we finished class with a positive feedback circle on the very last day of class, where everybody gets everybody that, you know, everyone gets everybody and talk about them and how wonderful they did and all the great things they did and all the scenes they did, they loved about them and what they love about them on stage and off of stage, and all you do is sit there and say thank you. And it's so beautiful to watch these people change from what their why was and then what they got out of it. And a lot of times people get that. They get what their why was because it's what brought them there in the first place. It what brings them there to every class. And then they find other stuff too. Right. They find other joy and other beautiful things in it along the way too, which is so cool. Yeah.

Because they're what they're starting. Why is may not be with the ending? Why? Because they're getting so much more out of it than they even thought when they first started.

A lot of people are like, I just came here to make friends, and little did I know I'd find myself or I just wanted to do something different. And little did I know I'd make some of the best friends I've ever had. It. It's quite amazing what. What happens with thin prop and how it changes people and makes people. Just makes people more who they are.

And that's because they're having the permission to show all the sides of themselves, and then other people are. It's coming out more because it's, like you said, poked in a way.

Yep, exactly. The permission is given, and not only by the person, the facilitator, myself, and the classroom and whatever the permission is given by us, but they're also giving the permission to say, you know what? Break me. Break me open a little bit. I'm here to do this, so I encourage you and I allow you to. So we're both giving permission, Right. We're. We're stepping into that space together.

And then for mindset, what's the best way that you approach mindset for them to help them kind of get through the hard stuff or to get through the scary stuff?

Well, there's the big concept of yes and right. You say yes and add a little detail. Because we're so used to saying no in life or yeah, but a lot of yeah but happens. So I really encourage them to see how yes and works. That's a huge mindset in improv. And Then no mistakes, only gifts. Right. It's not a failure. It's a beautiful opportunity to make this a beautiful new opportunity. It's a chance to change this because we don't know which way we're going. So it's not a mistake. It's now. If you pay attention, it could be the direction that we're in now leading, and it's the best place to be. So that tends to be mine. And then make bold choices because it's way more fun.

I love that. So I'm in the middle of. I'm doing a Start a Podcast challenge that starts in April where I'm encouraging people to start a podcast because for me, that was my reset in life after my divorce.

Yes.

So yay for divorce is waking you up and getting you to do cool stuff. But I kind of come up with people doing the thing where they're like, oh, I don't want to start a podcast. But then they're not realizing the name is just Start a Podcast. It's not like you have to publish your podcast. It's just to get them to understand that it's a vehicle to connect with people like you.

Right.

I never would have met you without my podcast. So it just accepts your network and your getting to do all this great stuff. And so anyway, I was curious because I'm imagining you find the same thing with improv, where you love improv, that's your reset, and then you probably want to help other people do it. Do you have any way of helping people kind of open their mind up to what you're doing without feeling like you're preaching?

Well, when I love something, I'm pretty passionate about it. And so you can kind of tell when I. It's in my body language. It's in me. I probably start to cry. I may. Or get teary eyed. Most people in my life know how passionate I am about improv. I usually just kind of be like, it's amazing. It changed my life. I usually am pretty real and authentic about it. So I've watched people's lives completely change, give it a shot. And there's people I've encouraged for a long time, but they're gonna have to get past. They know improv will help them. It's not about me convincing them. It's about them getting past their own anxieties or their own bs. Right. There's other stuff in that space, but once they take that first step, a lot of times they're just like, erica, I'm so glad I got here. And I'm like, I told you. I just knew you'd get here eventually. You just had to. It's like anybody, when they're changing their career or something, we just gotta have to. We're like, I know you can do it. I trust you. I'm gonna keep showing you all the joy I have in my life with it. A lot of times I just think. I think I just show people, right? And I'm like, look at the good things it's brought me. And I. Yeah, I just encourage people to come, and if they come, they come. If they don't, they don't.

You said help them get over their own anxiety. How do you think they finally get over it? What do you think's the thing that gets them to. And whether it's improv or something else. Have you noticed anything with people on that?

A lot of times I have noticed they came and saw a show. They came to our theater and they, like, I saw a show, or I came with a friend or my boyfriend or girlfriend or friend signed me up. And so I. They just knew I wanted to do it. So, like, it's either like someone forces them, right? And they're like, I know that you can do this. Let's just go together. So a lot of times it's. Once again, support is huge. I think seeing improv and recognizing, oh, that looks really fun, I think I could do that. A lot of my students were like, I've. I watched a show, and you were hilarious. So I just wanted to be able to do that one day. So I think that helps them sometimes. I think some of them just pull the trigger and buy the class, and then they just are like, now I'm in it. I paid for the money. Now I gotta show up. And I'm kind of one of those people when it comes to my own anxiety. I. If I paid the money for something, I usually am more inclined to show up.

And then for the G in game for goals for improv, are they just showing up to the class once a week, or is there any other goals that you have set for them to do?

Well, they come to class each week, and then within four weeks, they're on stage for the first time. And then there's a final class, final show at the end of class. So you have two classes, two shows in each of your classes, if not more. Wow. Yeah. So the goal is to get them on stage as soon as possible. So I tell them that first day. I'm like, so you have. You have two shows and they look at me, I'm like, yes. In front of an audience at night with lights, the big thing. And that first show, which is usually about four weeks into class, they don't give them a lot of anxiety in the beginning because they don't know what's happening. They're like, we haven't done any scenes, but yet I've taught them so many beautiful ways to say yes, to fail, to trust, to know that they're supported. And then when we put them on stage, it's with me or another teacher. So it's a two person scene. And so they're with someone that knows what they're doing. So they succeed immediately. It's a successful scene. Often some of my most favorite shows. And so once they do that, you can see the spark. They just go, oh, it was good. My friends laughed at me. They thought it was so fun. That was amazing. So then the next goal of getting to that next show often drives them. And then once they get through what level one and level two, if they're still there, they're just kind of hooked. And then the goal is to finish and know that they completed the six levels and they learned all they could and just to keep learning and learning and learning. Right. So the goals with us are to get them on stage. And I think that's what drives a lot of people. Some schools don't put you on stage right away, which I think takes away that little bit of extra edge of fear. Right. There's that sense of like, no, we're really actually gonna show you that you did the thing, you did it. And now we're gonna show you that you did it. Because now we're gonna do it. And I think that's.

Yeah, I actually, I realized this the other day. Cause my. The comedy thing's new. Cause I just did the performance last weekend and there was three people from the class that didn't wanna do the performance. Cause they didn't think they were ready. And in my mind, and I actually, I didn't think I was ready the whole time until the last week. It finally, my thing finally came together other than the improv moment, which was a big hysterically hysterical disaster.

As it should be. Yes, it should be.

Yeah. And so I was thinking about it and I was like, I think the difference is. And I. I'm going back to the marathon example. I've never run a marathon, but I've run, I've run half marathon before. And you're never gonna. Whether you're registering for the race, you're not gonna register and pay the money and then not run it. You're gonna maybe walk it. You might not run the whole thing.

You're still gonna finish it.

You're gonna do it. Yeah. And so I feel like anyone when they do something like this, they should just commit, no matter if they think they're going to be good or bad to do it. Because I think it's the same type of thing. That's the ultimate goal, is you seeing that to the end, regardless of how you're going to do well.

It's like, you know, we sign up with a trainer, you take an exercise class. We're there to get better eventually. Right. So, yeah, we commit, we spend the money. I'm a very obligatory. I need to be held accountable to do. To be. To do the things right. So if I have a trainer, I'm more inclined to go. And when it comes to class, that same thing I think holds a lot of people accountable, though. Kind of come to class, they won't do it on their own. They might not come every week if it was free. They might not. I think hitting your pocketbook sometimes, then committing, not so much even like making it have to spend a lot of money, but just, yeah, you committed, you did something. You said, I'm gonna do this Facebook. Right. I'm gonna go to this class. That's huge. To get your friends to hold you accountable.

Yeah. And you're leading perfect right into the A in game, which is accountability. So it's. It's perfectly timed and it's sort of designed to go that way, but. And you mentioned the paying money posting on Facebook, telling your friends about it. I was curious too. Is there an account? Do they feel an accountability to each other? Will the class not be as good if as many people don't show up? Does that come up, do you think?

They definitely notice it when some class doesn't show up. And they'll notice it more when they start to perform with each other. In level one, you're really just performing with the teacher and only at the very end of class with each other. So I think once you start playing with each other more, you start to recognize when people aren't there with the theater. We have, we call them teams. So it's like a group of people that perform together pretty regularly. So your team can be anywhere between two people to eight people. So you do start to feel like you don't want to let the team down. And it's a different dynamic when certain people are there and certain People aren't there, so you definitely miss people when they're gone. And I. There are certain people you love to play with and certain people you enjoy because you know they're going to be weird and like, oh, we get to play crazy people on stage. It's going to be so much fun. We get to be weirdos. Yay. And I say crazy in the sense of weirdos, not any sort of mental health issues, but you start to feel kind of like a little bit of. I don't want to let them down. I think as the team, as the group of people in the class, the longer they stay together, by the time they get to level three, been in the same class with each other, they really don't want to let their team down. They really form this group bond. And it's so beautiful to watch These teams, just eight or 10 people, be best friends, and they all love each other, and they all have these cool dynamics and all this great chemistry. And it. It starts to develop, and they really do start to really care about each other in ways that I don't think they ever expected.

And then we talked about the M, which is my people, and the E is educate. And it sounds like that's just kind of evolving as they're learning from each other. Is there any other way that you approach education in terms of improv?

So a lot of, you know, in between teaching the exercises and learning how to do improv, a lot of times I'll throw in a lot of my. Because improv philosophy, it's a huge thing. Every teacher's got their own. So I'll throw in my ideas about things or what I've learned and aha. Moments and big things that I've noticed over the years of teaching. So that kind of gets put in there. As I. A lot of my students love the fact that I have 10 years of experience and I'm a little baby in the grand scheme of things when it comes to improv. But I've learned from a lot of different teachers, so I try to bring a lot of that knowledge to my classes. Even in level one, I'm teaching them the stuff I know right away, and then I encourage them to read books. There's so many good improv books and clowning books and theater books out there. There's tons of books on improv. So I'm like, if you love this stuff, takes 10,000 hours to be good at get learning. So it's. But there's so much good knowledge out there. There's a really a Lot of education on improv these days. It's really quite nice.

And what about in terms of them educating others? Do you encourage that in the class?

Oh, yeah. Well, I tell them, notice what happens in your life, especially after week one. I'm like, see what happens if you just say yes to stuff that normally you'd say no to? Or see what happens to allow a mistake to be a beautiful gift. On the weekends, they work out the same way. And a lot of my students will mention how they'll play some of the games at home with their family. They're encouraging their family to look, especially I think, with kids, encouraging their families to look at things in a new possibility light if things don't work out the way they expected, just the way they deal with their friends and perhaps colleagues. A lot of times in meetings, a lot of them will notice, encouraging other people to like, hey, why don't you just yes and that idea, and then let's see what happens. And I know people have said, I've used this in meetings where I just go, hey, guys. So anytime someone has an idea, you say yes and add a detail about what you liked about it. And I was like, that is so cool. I love that so much.

I love that you're able to get them to see it from the class to life. And then they're getting to flex the muscles in both ways. So then it's just almost like a supercharged way of doing it. Yeah.

I have this thing I say in class all the time of, okay, you just have to be yourself and the other person has to be themselves and you just have to live in a world together and you can't change each other. And someone was like, oh, my gosh, Erica, that's like a life lesson. I was like, well, yeah, all we're trying to do is just exist with each other. Don't try to change people. Just live with each other and figure out what connects you and connect on that and be happy. And it's funny how a lot of times the stuff I say first, stuff on stage is very applicable to life. A lot of times it's not, because a lot of times I'll tell people, make it worse, make it worse. But that's because it's a funny thing. And I'm like, it has to be good to see the lessons go from the stage to life. It's beautiful.

I'd love to hear what your biggest piece of advice for people is on doing the thing.

No, just do it like Nike, but trust your gut. If you Feel like you want to do something. I think we just need to look at fear. Like it says, beautiful adventure. And we just got to go. You. I'm going to do life anyway. I might as well do something that makes me maybe a little bit excited. And there's a possibility of something at the end of it, but our guts are often telling us what to do, but we just don't listen. And just trust yourself. You'll be okay. You're not gonna die. You're just gonna do some improv. It'll be fine. So I had a student, literally told me, erica, I was. I would rather jump out of a plane than get on stage. And I was like, oh, girl. And when she got on stage, she was so funny, and she was so great. And I would watch her, and she was like, okay, this is way. I won't jump out of a plane now. But the fact that people are more afraid, they'd rather skydive than public speak. Right. They'd rather do that and get in front of people and be vulnerable and authentic. And it's just. I don't know if it's calling you it, if there's something in you that you want to do. I think we just have to just start. I'm the same way. I'm trying the same thing in my life of the little things I want to do. But once you wake up to it, you're kind of like, okay, I got it. I got to do this. I've got to put an intention out there of why I want to do it. And I think that really helps, too. Like you said with your acronym, the intention. Why do you want to do what you want to do? That's often helpful. That was a roundabout way to answer it.

It was great. It was really good. Where can people learn more about you?

Well, I'm associated with Finest City Improv. That's where I teach right now. And I am an improv coach, and I'm learning to be a personal coach as well. I'm trying to take improv and all the stuff I know about business and people and help people figure out what to do with life. So I just started my website, so I'm. Unfortunately, I'm. I'm just new at all this, so Super Happy Girl is my Instagram. But eventually, hopefully, it'll be Super Happy girl dot com.

That's great. So for now, they can follow you on Instagram and then they'll be updated on everything.

Yeah, I put my shows up there. I perform regularly. Find a cityimprov.com is where I teach out of. I often teach level one and level two. It's a good way to find me if you can't find me. And I do a lot of. I work with lots of people doing corporate stuff, so training people in corporate environments. I have my master's in organizational leadership, so I really want to train people to be more emotionally intelligent and empathetic and using improv to do that as well.

Oh, so cool. That's a great idea.

Yeah. So it's kind of like I quit my. My 20 year corporate job a couple years ago and I'm in this myth. I figure out what I love. And improv is one of those things I absolutely love. And I just do it because I don't know what else to do. But it's just. It's the stuff that drives me towards this thing that I think I'm supposed to be doing, whether or not I know what it is. But my intention is to bring more joy to people's lives and make them happier. And however I can do that, that's what I want to do. Yeah.

And I think there's something really powerful about that, is not knowing exactly. It's. I call it a rough draft goal. Having an idea of what you want to do, and then you just keep making steps towards that, which is where. That's when you're really living in your purpose, you know?

Yeah. Yeah. And you just go, this feels right. This feels right. Okay. That felt good. Yep. That's exactly where I am. Yeah. The rough draft goal. I like that.

I learned it on the podcast. It actually came from one of my. My guests that I stole.

Hey, I. It's. If people teach us things, it's. We're not stealing, we're just passing on full of information that might need it. I. I say that all the time. I'm like, I took this for somebody else, but it helped me to let it help you because.

Exactly. So this is amazing. Getting a chance to talk to you. I can't wait to meet you in person and take class now. Really excited.

I can't wait. I hope I will. Right now I teach on Saturdays, but I tend to teach Mondays and Saturdays. But we, yeah, we do discovery improv at Finest City. So if you ever want. Anybody wants to take a class, they can just take it for free to see how they like it. But if you're ever thinking of doing something like this, it's just like, just try it. It's seven weeks of your life. If you hate it, you hate It. If it's painful, I'm not going to be mad if you leave. Just tell me. I can't do it, Erica. I won't take it personally. I used to. Now I realize that has usually nothing to do with me and everything to do with where people are on their journey, and sometimes it's just not where they want to be. And that's okay. But when you finally decide to do it, you're just like, oh, yeah, this is. This is so fun. And it's quite delightful.

One more question for you. When you hear the words do the thing, what. What comes to your mind?

Well, so it's cool that you reached out with this podcast because I'm right on the precipice of Erica doing the thing, of putting myself out there, becoming a coach. I started my website. It's like, I'm doing the thing. I'm believing in myself enough the way I teach everybody else to. But after this safe corporate environment, to be in a space of do your thing, stop holding back. Do the thing that fuels your past, you happy? And that you've been wanting to do for a really long time. So I think it's really, we got to talk. And then especially about this kind of stuff, because this is right where I'm at, where I've been facing a lot of fear about. About what I. What's ahead and you don't know. And so it's like, it's an adventure. Let's go. I'm so excited. Let's do this thing. Yeah. So that's, that's what it represents to me, I think, like, yeah, we're here to do the thing. Life is short, if we haven't noticed already, and kind of crazy, and we have no idea what's going to happen. So let's do it.

Thanks for listening to the do the Thing podcast. We hope you enjoyed the show. But even more, we hope you'll be inspired to do the thing. Do you have a burning question on doing the thing that you'd like answered? How about an inspiring do the thing story of your own that you'd like to share? We'd love to hear all about it. Just leave us a voice message at do the Thing callcast co. Or email us@helloothethingpodcast.com.