Breck Wiltshire has been performing improv for 15 years, and teaching it for a full decade- insanity! As a day job, Breck is a Junior High English teacher, but his true passion lies in teaching improv; as nothing brings Breck more joy than teaching improv to youth who are FAR funnier than he is. You can catch Breck currently performing in Edmonton, AB with Die-Nasty: The Improvised Soap Opera on Monday nights, and each week with Rapidfire Theatre through Theatresports and troupes such as Ha-Ha-Haunting of Strathcona, Damn Sandwich, and many others. Want to learn from him? Feel free to reach out to his email at breck.wiltshire@epsb.ca for more information on his next in-person, or online, workshop!

 

Breck, you’ve taken on many different roles in the CIG! Can you give me an overview of your improv journey, and any memorable experiences with the CIG?

 

Sure. I started doing coaching with CIG when I was 19, in my second year of university. I went back to my old high school and I was like, “Hey, you guys want some help?” I became the assistant coach, and I would run workshops in my old high school class! From there, I got involved with Rapid Fire Theater, who runs our Alberta region, and I started doing training sessions with schools, focussed on CIG, NoseBowl, and Wildfire Junior, which is junior level high school improv, and that’s what I coach right now!.

 

I coached  my old high school team I was at for four years, and then I got hired to go coach at another high school called Victoria, which is like a school for the arts. Then, once I became a teacher, I started coaching at the junior high that I was teaching at. And I did my school practicum at, started coaching a team there, which is one year there, because then I moved to a new school.

 

My second full year of teaching, I started a new program at a Junior high where I was teaching. My team went to the Wildfire Junior Tournament for junior high and made it to finals! We had the highest score going into finals — and then we came dead last in finals. But it was cool, because we had never done it before, and I was so proud of them. This year, my improv program has just started back up again, and I’ve got 37 people in the club compared to nine last year, which is sweet and a huge influx!

 

I got involved with ImprovCamp two years ago. I had friends who went there -, Jared Wonago and Audrey Borgeson- and they were always talking it up. When CIG posted they were hiring Trainers, I applied on a whim. I got in and I was like, yeah, whatever I’ll do. It sounds fun. And it was literally the best week of my life. 

 

I did it again this past summer, and it’s a blast. It’s the coolest thing ever. I think that everybody should experience it if they can. I think it’s just such a wholesome place, and it’s so fun! There’s no judgment, and everybody there is the coolest person. The workers and the kids at ImprovCamp are just amazing and awe-inspiring and so much better at improv than I ever will be.

What do you think makes ImprovCamp special? 

 

I think Allie and Michelle (the Camp Directors) have such a deep personal understanding of the importance of what improv is to these kids. It’s all about the campers! Everything’s about making their experience the best it could possibly be. And then they just bring in the coolest people ever to work there! I’ve met so many awesome people at ImprovCamp. Also, it’s impossible to be sad on this beautiful island, where deer will walk right up to you, and you wake up to a view of the ocean every day, and you can see mountains in the background. It’s paradise there, and there’s constant laughter and fun.There’s just no place like it. 

 

I’ve worked at camps for years, and nothing comes even close. Campers can show up and have never done improv before, and then they end up being just amazing at it and having the best time ever. And then they come back again and again!

 

How do you think the CIG impacts young people’s confidence, creativity, and personal skill sets?

 

Oh my gosh, it’s huge. Just last week, I was talking to a parent at my school whose kid is in my improv club. The student was raving about improv, and the parents asked, ‘So, what is it? What’s it good for?’ And I was like, no, no, no—this is huge! Improv is confidence building, and it builds public speaking ability so much. The ability to think on your feet is so important. I’ve gotten so good at just job interviews from doing improv! Honestly, I’ve even gotten better at job interviews just from doing improv! But doing it as a youth lets you play in an unrestricted way.

Kids spend most of their day sitting in a classroom, listening and learning. And as a teacher, I love all that! But there’s a lot of restriction in that. With improv, you trust your instincts, you go for it, you play, and you get to be silly. That’s so important! You just have to trust that you can do it, because everyone can. We improvise every day of our lives!

 

What keeps you showing up for the CIG as a volunteer? 

 

I’m a professional improviser – I get paid to do this, and I love it! But what I love even more is teaching it and coaching improv, and beginning to see those moments of growth for the students. I think it’s such an inherently rewarding thing, and it touches a beautiful part of my soul. Yesterday, I was having the worst day, but I had improv practice with my students after school, and it just flipped my mood completely. It was amazing. 

 

The best feeling ever is when you have a student who maybe otherwise would never have gotten involved in the arts or performance, and they become a surprise star! It’s like, wow – you have found your thing. And yeah, it is unbelievable, like, how happy this clearly makes you. 

 

Do you want to go on record about your favourite improv exercise or game? 

 

Okay, yeah. Anyone who went to ImprovCamp this past summer definitely knows that my favorite improv exercise is Bunny Bunny. I played that game for an hour straight on the first day of ImprovCamp, and I played it every single day after that. But my favourite performance game is probably a tap out. I think it’s such a fun, fun, free forum game. I’m also a big fan of freeze!

 

Why do you think the Canadian Improv Games is so useful for teachers?

 

I think the Canadian Improv Games is incredibly important. From a teacher’s perspective, if you’re asking, ‘How do I start an improv program?,’ the CIG is such a fantastic resource. They provide lesson plans that work for everyone—from kids who’ve never done improv before to ones who are practically pros. Everything is laid out for you, and it’s so easy that you could just supervise from the sidelines. But you won’t want to, because it’s so fun you’ll want to jump in and play!

 

It’s so important to support CIG so young people can keep doing this thing. Even if they’re not planning to become a full-time professional improviser, they’ll still take so many of those skills into the rest of their life. You will see this complete 180 and shift of confidence in who they are. and how they talk to people, and just all-around confidence. It’s truly amazing.

 

 

 

This fall, we’re calling on our incredible community to help us reach our goal of gaining 100 monthly donors through the Show Up for Canadian Improv Games campaign. As a registered charity, the CIG relies on your support to keep enriching the lives of youth through improvisational theatre. Your donation, no matter the size, will directly contribute to sustaining this life-changing program. Are you ready to show up for the next generation of improvisers? Click here to become a CIG monthly donor today and help us keep The Games alive!