Improv Helps With Uncertain Times at Rec Center
Olympic Improv brings a sense of community fun and good mental health to all.
News By Kathie Meyer
Listen and watch carefully because if the zip, zap or zop comes your way, and you pause to respond or respond with a zop instead of a zip, you’re out. Of course, you’re only out for the remainder of this particular improvisation exercise. Olympic Improv couldn’t be any more inclusive. And it’s also a lot of fun. Zip, Zap Zop is merely the start of an evening with the group founded by Andrea Dennison, 36, and Aiden Kinsella, 26.
Olympic Improv has a few staunch regulars, but anyone of any age is welcome to simply show up. The practice sessions are held Mondays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m. in the basement of the Jefferson County Recreation Center, aka “the rec center.” Dennison and Kinsella cover the $20 an hour fee to rent the room, but donations are always appreciated to keep things going. To rent the rec room, it’s $20 per hour.
Improv benefits
Cheaper than most therapy, research indicates improv alters the brain in beneficial ways, so if you want to tweak yourself without drugs, this could be the way to go for naturopathic types.
In one study, Dr. Charles Limb, a surgeon, neuroscientist, and musician at the University of California, San Francisco, and his team of researchers monitored jazz improvisers, rappers, and improv artists with Functional MRIs (fMRI), measuring the brain’s blood flow. While in the improv groove, the fMRI saw more activity in the creative and language part of the brain, while the part that acts in self-judgement is less active.
Other studies support improv as a way to treat complex trauma, improving brain connectivity. In particular, one study of divergent thinking using a simple paper clip and people in marketing, showed an increase in creativity for the group afforded with improv. For those with social anxiety, improv can help as well as improve one’s ability to deal with uncertainty. As a result, it should come as no surprise that other studies show it will boost one’s confidence too.
Maisie Gould, 26, started her improv journey one night when Andrea and Aiden invited her onstage at an open mic. “We played a game we call Genius, and I showed up for my first practice the following week,” Gould said. That was seven or so months ago. Recently, she was given some responsibility for group tasks.“They have held me captive ever since,” she said. “It’s helped me with my self esteem. I feel more comfortable in my own skin. I feel like I can adapt to anything.”
Uncertain future
Speaking of uncertainty and adapting, the rec center currently lives under a cloud of exactly that as County Administrator Josh Peters recently announced a budget shortfall could cause its closure. Since that initial announcement, a later announcement indicated a fundraiser for the shortfall could stopgap the closure. The fundraising effort will be led by County Commissioner Heather Dudley-Nollette, he said.
Dennison, who grew up in Port Townsend, plans to help in any way she can to reach the $170,000 goal set by the county. She’s happy to contribute to the Jefferson County community and become known for something other than being the daughter of former county commissioner Larry Dennison, she said with a smile.
Peters acknowledges the need to plan for the future regardless of how successful the fundraiser is or isn’t. Meanwhile, as this plug goes in place for 2026, the county and its partners will “engage in a wider process to determine alternative ways to fund community services in community centers, the county fairgrounds, animal control, and other community-oriented services that are currently funded out of the General Fund, which—due to ongoing constriction of revenue for county operations to offset increasing costs—is unable to support all those things “for the foreseeable future,” he said, “despite their value to the community.”
