Brains of Colorado Improv Troupe to be Focus of Harvard University Study

Improv comedians are a creative bunch. You might have seen them on stage as they quickly make sense out of a crazy idea. Or create a character out of thin air. You probably don't need a Harvard neuroscience study to tell you that the brain of an improviser is "different" than yours - but that's exactly what Harvard researchers are looking to prove with ExperienceYes. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) May 27, 2017 - DENVER, Colo. - Harvard neuropsychologist and researcher Roger Beaty is collaborating with Denver-based ExperienceYes to study the effects of improvisation on the brains of 12 Colorado improv actors. Researchers will use members of the Evergreen Players improv Comedy troupe (EPiC) as test subjects. The study begins in the fall.

When two members of EPiC and owners of the innovation company ExperienceYes were looking to partner with a neuroscience lab, they never realized how far they might get. "Honestly, we were just looking to get a conversation going," said ExperienceYes President Bruce Montgomery. "It's amazing how after a few lucky phone calls we got to Harvard...even more remarkable was that one of their researchers would be interested in running a neurological study on improvisers."

The goal of the study is two-fold. First, Harvard researchers will focus on how the brain of an improviser behaves during a creative task. "Recent brain imaging studies have shown that jazz musicians and rap artists suppress the executive judge of their brain while they improvise," explained Gail Montgomery, ExperienceYes CEO. The "executive judge" is responsible for avoiding risk, which can be seen as in direct contention with creativity and new ideas. "Using functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques (fMRI) we will be able to see exactly what's happening in the brain during improvisation. Our hypothesis is that comedic improvisers are able to suppress the executive judge, which allows them to be more creative and take more risks," she continued.

When considering whom to use as test subjects, Bruce said, "There was never a doubt about what group we'd use. Gail and I are some of the founding members of EPiC, and we've been performing together as a group for over 10 years." EPiC is a part of the Evergreen Players, one of the oldest non-profit theatre companies in Colorado. When asked if they could have used a troupe from back East closer to Harvard, Gail responded, "Oh sure. We could have. But we don't have the same level of trust that we would with EPiC. EPiC is our family."

The second part of the study will focus on measuring the before and after effects of creativity when a group of business professionals, who have no exposure to improv, are run through a short series of improv interventions. "Our hypothesis here is that we will see a significant improvement in the ability for non-improvisers to generate ideas and be creative. Essentially, they'll see a similar suppression of the executive judge, which allows other areas of the brain to engage more actively," Gail explained.

Asked why this data would be important, Bruce responded, "This is the process of continuing to legitimize the arts in business. With our company, ExperienceYes, we hear business leaders complain about needing better problem solvers and more creative people. Even Mark Cuban of Dallas Mavericks and Shark Tank fame said recently that creative thinking will be the number one job skill in 10 years. In fact according to a 2015 study by Americans for the Arts, 72% of employers identify creativity as the #1 skill they are seeking. But how do you get people to be better creative thinkers? We use improv as the core framework. And now we'll have the hard data to prove it."

Gail continued, "Also, we're coming at the infusion of arts and business from a slightly different direction. By focusing on business professionals, we are highlighting the demand for these skills from the business perspective. To say that we're excited about discovering what the brain does on improv would be an understatement. It will be a game changer in the creativity and innovation space."

More information can be found at http://www.ExperienceYes.com.

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