Radical. Change.
- An immersive experience, a process. A sequence of exercises and activities from the world of improvisation and applied theatre.*
- Carefully designed and expertly facilitated, with a specific outcome in mind – which can change in the moment as information emerges in the group.
- Embodied learning with long-lasting effects. No need for notes or handouts. No telling people what to do or say. Democratic and spontaneous. Lots of laughter.
- Your colleagues are active, not passive – they will use their bodies and all of their senses to communicate and connect about topics that matter to them in a safe, non-threatening way.
*Applied theatre is an umbrella term for the use of theatrical forms, exercises and techniques for communities in non-traditional theatre spaces. It requires the facilitation of an appropriate environment to explore issues in a way which stimulates further learning and engagement. It is characterised by physical interaction and the intention to generate cognitive and affective change – of awareness, attitude, behaviour etc.
Sharing changes you and those around you.
On stage before a live audience, massive trust is required between performers – they need to have each others’ backs. That’s why, for years, we’ve been using improvisation games and applied theatre exercises in rehearsals, to create deep connections for inspired performances onstage.
Our actors make each other look good, with apparent ease. We work as a team, and work hard at it. And because it works, and is always stretching us, always challenging us, and is such fun, it’s incredibly satisfying. We want to share that with you.
Active engagement.
How do you know that any workplace intervention actually works? Are you hoping that people ‘get the message’ because you’ve let them know how important it is? How do you actually motivate people for long-lasting change?
In our workshops, people vote with their feet. They tell us how they feel, and what they think. Right then and there.
Thinking on the go. .
Improvisation skills have long been acknowledged as providing key advantages in the world of work. The ability to react positively to sudden change, to effortlessly incorporate emerging information and run with it, to collaborate on a deep level in diverse teams – these are some of the skills that theatrical improvisation equips you with.
But that’s not all! Among the other benefits is the magical ability to empower people around you, to lead effectively, and perhaps most important of all – to feel creative and good about your work, while practicing a good sense of humour.
True partnership.
How we partner with you is important. It’s critical that we have developed a mutual understanding of the objectives involved, and are fully invested in the outcome. We feel that this is reflected in our own partnership.
TakeAway Interactive is an ongoing collaboration between Sean O’Connor and Heather Schiff, a consulting psychologist and South Africa’s first registered dramatherapist. Sean and Heather have known each other literally for yonks, and have over forty years combined experience using applied theatre in working communities.
We often draw on a pool of trusted co-facilitators and improvising performers to help deliver on your brief, talented people who assist us to effect the types of change you wish to see.