Improv For Life

Improv For Life

Comedy that cares.

What is Improv for Life?

At Improv for Life, we know improv can change lives, but not just through laughter. The skills learned in improv – listening, adaptability, flexibility, mindfulness, confidence, and more – are applicable to so many of life’s challenges. 

It’s a lesson our co-founder, Andrea K. Baum, M.Ed., LPC learned when she first started taking improv classes. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Andrea quickly saw that the skills she was practicing in improv were many of the same skills she was trying to teach her clients. So she developed programming that blends improv comedy games with therapeutic techniques to support populations with unique needs.

Through online and in-person workshops and support groups, participants learn together through laughter, building real-world skills that help them address the specific challenges they face each day.

With Improv for Life, you’ll gain tools to help you live a more mindful, joyful life, and you’ll have a blast doing it.

Scroll down to learn more and find the right workshop for your needs.

Why Improv?

Improv affects a range of human emotions and life skills and promotes emotional and mental health. Mindfulness, communication skills, social skills, emotional regulation, self-awareness, and interpersonal connections are just a few of the many gains embedded in the process of learning improv.

Take a class and see that the brain learns better when you are having fun!

Check out our Improv For Life Programs

We take an integrative approach using improvisational comedy to create psycho-educational programming for groups with unique needs. 

Improv For Anxiety

At Stomping Ground, we know you want to open yourself up to fun new experiences. Taking an improv class is a great way to sharpen your communication skills, meet new people, and boost your mental health. The problem is, anxiety might be holding you back from pursuing the things you really want to try.

We believe laughter can make the tough stuff easier. That’s why we created Improv for Anxiety, a course where you’ll learn improv comedy and how to apply it to your mental health. Led by a Licensed Professional Counselor, you’ll explore and process anxiety triggers in a low-stakes group environment, playing and finding support with others who are going through similar things. We combine fun, light-hearted improv games with therapeutic techniques to help students become more aware of, express, and regulate their emotions while learning how to connect in interpersonal relationships. The therapeutic modalities used to develop this course include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Biofeedback, Mindfulness, and Rapid Resolution Therapy.

Join us in Improv for Anxiety! You’ll learn, you’ll laugh, and you’ll leave with new improv skills and tools to manage your anxiety.

Improv For Autism and All Abilities

You want to try improv, but you’re not sure it’s for you. At Stomping Ground, we know you want to step outside your comfort zone, meet new people, and have fun while doing it!

Taking an improv class is a great way to sharpen your communication skills, explore the world of comedy, and stretch yourself in a supportive environment. That’s why we created Improv for Autism & All Abilities, a course where you’ll build valuable life skills and connect with others through improv comedy.

Improv is full of therapeutic benefits that naturally parallel the needs of a person with Autism or special needs. Led by Licensed Professional Counselors and professional comedians, we tailor these classes to include the games and exercises that will most benefit our students and their unique needs. In a safe and playful environment, students will practice social skills and behaviors, gain awareness and emotional expression, and connect with new friends through comedy.

What will you learn: 

  • Improv!
  • Emotional Awareness
  • Self-Expression
  • Self-Confidence
  • Verbal & Non-Verbal Communication Skills
  • Listening and Responding

Click to sign up for our next workshop and begin your improv journey!

Kids Improv For Anxiety

At Stomping Ground, we know you want the best for your child. You want to see them grow into the most authentic version of themself so they can move through life with confidence, joy, and resilience. 

As a parent, it can be hard to know how best to equip your child to mindfully cope with the big feelings they experience. Kids need guidance in understanding their emotional experience and learning how to express what they’re experiencing.

We believe teaching kids these skills doesn’t have to be heavy or serious. That’s why we developed Kids Improv for Anxiety, an interactive workshop where kids learn easy and effective techniques to relieve anxiety and reframe thinking in a fun group environment.

Led by a staff experienced in child psychology and positive parenting, your child will play, laugh, and learn tools they can carry with them into the rest of their life.

Your child will learn:

  • Techniques to relieve anxiety and reframe thinking
  • Tools to cope with big feelings
  • Improvisational comedy and therapeutic games
  • Mindfulness skills
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 
  • Processes and tools for applying these techniques to real life

Humans need connection to thrive. When you give your child the gift of improv, they’ll get to be silly and have fun with their peers while developing the emotional intelligence they need to live a joyful life.

Improv For Caregivers

At Stomping Ground, we know you want an easygoing relationship with your loved one. Caregiving for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia is a heavy burden with daily responsibilities that can feel overwhelming, depleting, and unappreciated. You need support in navigating these difficult circumstances, but it’s hard to find anything that really makes a difference. That’s why we started Improv for Caregivers, an ongoing support group that blends therapeutic techniques and improvisational comedy games to help caregivers cultivate ease, joy, and flexibility in their relationships and feel ore hopeful. In our interactive workshops and support groups, you’ll have fun developing a skill set that helps you communicate in new ways, understand your loved one’s changing perspective, diffuse challenging behavior, and cope with the stress of it all. When you learn improv skills for caregiving, you’ll worry less, laugh more, and find joy in the everyday with your loved ones.

Thanks to generous support from the AWARE Fund of The Dallas Foundation, Improv For Caregivers is free for North Texas residents. Workshops are held the last Thursday of every month at 8:00 pm CST.

Email andrea@stompinggrouncomedy.org to invite Improv For Caregivers to your support group!

Improv For Seniors

At Stomping Ground, we know you want to live a fulfilling life at every stage. In order to do that, you need opportunities that invite you to step out of your comfort zone, engage your mind in new ways, and connect with others through playful activity.

That’s why we created Improv for Seniors, a course designed to provide fun, unique programming for seniors. Led by a psychotherapist and professional comedian, this series of fun and engaging workshops uses improvisational comedy to teach tools for increased resiliency, joy, and longevity later in life.

Appropriate for all seniors, including those with dementia and Alzheimer’s, Improv for Seniors gives participants the opportunity to be playful, live in the moment, and make meaningful connections with others in a similar stage of life.

Improv For Nonprofits

Running or working for a Nonprofit can be incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. Doing this important work also means prioritizing time to care for yourself and your team so you can best serve others. Your people need tools to help them decompress, manage stress, and approach their work with mindful purpose each day.

We know how hard it can be to find activities where your team can bond, learn new skills, and have a great time together. That’s why we created Improv for Nonprofits, a customized training workshop developed for Nonprofits by Nonprofit founders. 

Led by a psychotherapist and a professional comedian, your team will build communication skills, learn valuable self-care and stress management tools, and laugh together in a dynamic, supportive environment. Our workshops combine improvisational comedy games and therapeutic modalities for a unique and engaging team building experience.

Meet with our Improv for Life Director to build a workshop tailored to the needs of your organization. Options include:

  • Team Building
  • Self-Care
  • Stress-Management 
  • Communication Skills
  • Leadership Skills
  • Authenticity and Personal Branding

When you choose Stomping Ground, you and your team will have the opportunity to learn, connect, and decompress through comedy.

Improv For Healthcare Professionals

At Stomping Ground, we know you want to serve your patients as best you can. In order to do that, you need to be able to prioritize your own self care and form authentic connections with those you care for.

When you work in healthcare, you need tools to help you manage stress, tap into your compassion, and mindfully mitigate burnout. That’s why we created Improv for Healthcare Professionals, a workshop designed to help physicians and healthcare professionals build the skills to improve bedside manner and optimize patient care.

Led by a psychotherapist and a professional comedian, you’ll play interactive improv games that offer practice in building rapport, creating therapeutic alliances, and fostering connections with patients in order to increase their compliance, follow-through of treatment, and overall satisfaction.

When you attend Improv for Healthcare Professionals, you’ll laugh and connect with other healthcare professionals while learning practical techniques to better care for both yourself and your patients.

Improv For Couples

The couple that plays together stays together!  At Stomping Ground, we know that it’s important for couples to be playful with each other and always be growing in their relationship.  And we also know that planning a fun date night outside of the typical dinner and a movie is needed to spark things up.  

A relationship with a significant other can be the most important relationship in a person’s life, influencing mood, emotional well-being, and state of mind.  That’s why we created Improv for Couples, a workshop designed to help couples become insync with each other through a playful and safe environment while building the skills to improve communication, trust and emotional connection.   

Led by a psychotherapist and a professional comedian, you’ll play interactive improv games that offer practice in listening, responding, connecting, and playfulness.   

When you attend Improv for Couples, you’ll laugh and connect with your partner in a unique way and leave feeling equipped with a new set of skills to grow your relationship.  

Improv For Parents

Parenting can be challenging and stressful with each new stage of a child’s development.  Stomping Ground Comedy understands the importance of the parent/child relationship and disciplining strategies to guide children into becoming thoughtful humans.  This workshop aims to educate parents through processing playful and meaningful activities.  Parents will walk away with a new set of communication skills to interact with their children in order to have a more calm and structured home life.   In this workshop, parents will have the opportunity to submit specific parenting questions before the workshop begins and they will be addressed throughout the workshop by the facilitators.  

The Parent-Child Connection

Parenting can be challenging and stressful with each new stage of a child’s development.  Stomping Ground Comedy understands the importance of the parent/child relationship and disciplining strategies to guide children into becoming thoughtful humans while creating ease in the home. Connection before correction with the child is key in creating a respectful and understanding relationship.  This workshop aims to create a new playful connection with the parent and child while educating the family about mindful interactions and the brain.    Parents and children will walk away with a new set of communication skills to interact with one another in order to have a more calm and structured home life.  Interactive improv activities and psychoeducational techniques are used to facilitate this workshop.  This workshop is lead by a psychotherapist and an improv instructor.  Families will experience fun, laughter, connection, and learning.  

The parent and child will learn:

  • Techniques to relieve anxiety and reframe thinking
  • Tools to cope with big feelings
  • Improvisational comedy and therapeutic games
  • Mindfulness skills
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 
  • Processes and tools for applying these techniques to real life

Who We’ve Worked With

Meet Andrea K. Baum, M.Ed., LPC

Andrea is the Co-Founder and Improv for Life Director of Stomping Ground. Using her experience as a psychotherapist, she has designed and created Improv For Life, a series of therapeutic improv classes and workshops for several unique needs populations. She uses her clinical expertise in psychotherapy to implement individualized needs based programming using improvisational comedy. Andrea’s mission within Stomping Ground is to connect with local nonprofits and organizations in the Dallas community to spread the healing power of improv and create custom interactive programming for any group’s needs. She works towards accessibility of comedy training programming for all. Andrea is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Positive Discipline Educator with experience working with children, parents, adults, and people with brain injury, dementia, Alzheimer’s, as well as their caregivers. She received her BS at Texas Christian University and her Master’s of Education in Counseling at the University of North Texas. She has been learning and performing improv since 2014 and recently completed Stomping Ground’s Training Center Program. She is trained in Positive Discipline Parenting, Play Therapy, Rapid Resolution Therapy, Biofeedback, Mindfulness, and Hypnosis–and has implemented all of these modalities within Improv for Life.