IxDA Portland Presents An Evening of Improv - September 20, 2011

Join us for a spectacular evening of fun and daring improvisational games! This event is designed for creative professionals with an emphasis on spontaneous play and team-building exercises. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll learn practical tools and tips to boost creativity and productivity. Our three illustrious co-hosts have nearly 5 decades of combined improvisation and business consulting experience.

If you already have improv experience, you will love this event. If you have little or no improv experience, but are willing to jump in and take creative risks in a safe, fun and judgment-free environment, you will love this event. If you want to build your creative muscles and team effectiveness, or just let your hair down and have some fun, you will love this event. Come and join us!

Here's the format for the evening. We'll start with a brief introduction and demo session, and then jump right into an interactive session of shared play. The direction we take from there will be improvised, based on your preferences. We'll work in groups or pairs, with plenty of time for play, facilitator coaching, and dialogue. We'll finish with a debrief and Q&A at the end of the evening.

Our Illustrious Co-Hosts:

Shelley Darcy - On Your Feet, Super Project Lab

Shelley trained with The Groundlings in Los Angeles, and has been improvising and performing for 15 years. She is the Executive Director of Super Project Lab, an improv outreach program serving at-risk and underserved populations around Portland. Shelley is also a consultant with On Your Feet, a mini-multinational firm that uses improvisation and experiential techniques to teach companies to navigate growth, uncertainty and rapid change.

www.oyf.com http://www.superprojectlab.org/

Brad Fortier - Brody Theater, United Way, Interdisciplined

Brad Fortier has a Master's degree in anthropology, a passion for improvisation and education, and a pair of angel wings. Brad is the Community Speaker of the United Way Portland, Education Director at the Brody Theater, and has performed around the world. Brad wrote a fascinating book on the social science of ensemble improv called "Long-Form Improvisation: Collaboration, Comedy and Communion." He is also a consultant who performs ethnographic research, facilitates creative workshops, and teaches collaboration, communication and leadership. Brad uses smart words like "liminal" and "communitas" and still makes everyone feel like family.

http://bradfortier.com/ http://www.brodytheater.com/

Patricia Colley - Flow Interaction Design, Improvocateurs

Patricia Colley has studied improvisation in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Baltimore, and has been a user experience designer, consultant and facilitator for 20 years. Patricia uses design methods, critical inquiry and improvisation techniques to help organizations and individuals live and work in optimal flow. Patricia has seen how improv can alter the way people communicate and work together. She wants you to experience the awesome power of improv, too.

www.interactionflow.com www.improvocateurs.com

We're making a possibly-viral video about a hoax geo tech product: a coffee service that delivers to people while they're sitting on the bus.

We're looking for a few extras for a shoot in inner SE midday Saturday, Feb. 1 - maybe speaking, maybe not. Want to participate? Let us know: [email protected]! Improv skills a plus.

This is part of the Hygge Project, a fun little volunteer effort to encourage people to imagine the ways we'll move around Portland (and therefore other cities) in the future.

Please note that this first meeting will be meeting on the fifth floor!

CHIFOO presents "Innovating from Within: Activating Creative Resiliency and Change Agency in Teams" with Patricia Colley, Creative Catalysts Consulting | Matt Smith, Actor!

How do you drive innovation from within the ranks, when innovation processes aren’t well established, or don’t have a clear executive champion? Join us will we bring you a set of collaborative approaches and techniques you can start using right away to inspire your teams to engage more creatively.

About the Speakers Patricia Colley From an early age, Patricia had a natural sense of wonder about the world, a passion for the craft of creativity, and an affinity for deep collaborative play. This playful mindset and teamwork has lead her to be Lead UX Designer at CDK Global, an improv actor and a consultant with Creative Catalysts.

Matt Smith Matt Smith is a true improv legend. As a founding member of Seattle Improv, Matt has decades of performance, writing and teaching experience. He delivers practical, usable improv-theory based trainings for Agile, team building team building, change management, stress management, conflict resolution, and group creativity.

Come join CHIFOO for our first speaker event for 2017's theme "Thriving in Chaos: Strategies for Good Design".

Please Note: This first meeting will be held on the fifth floor of the US Bancorp Building aka "Big Pink".

http://bit.ly/2iyvWsS

CHIFOO presents "Inclusion Before Diversity: Creating a Culture of Learning and Encouraging Getting it Wrong" with Ivana McConnell, Senior UI/UX Designer at Customer.io!

Why tech companies should focus on achieving inclusion first, attending to employees’ specific self-care needs in order to create a platform for diversity to flourish, and better software made. People are chaotic, and product design has to account for them— this is challenging, and often solved by doing research and testing.

About the Speaker Ivana (@IvanaMcConnell) was born in Sarajevo to a civil engineer-turned-translator and a UN Logistics Officer-turned-software engineer. She arrived in Vancouver via Croatia, Scotland, and Toronto, and has previously made a living as a rock climbing instructor and video game tester. These days she’s a senior UX designer at Customer.io, and is most interested in the intersections of technology, identity, and data.

Come join CHIFOO for our third speaker event for 2017's theme "Thriving in Chaos: Strategies for Good Design".

http://bit.ly/2iuWe0a

Ignite your design thinking with a twist of spontaneity in a "Virtual Improv Shenanigans for Design Thinkers" session brought to you by Portland Design Thinkers.

Join us for an electrifying online experience where creativity meets unpredictability. Led by seasoned improviser and consultant, Kat Kojic of Hello Gorgeous, this session blends laughter and innovative challenges to enhance your adaptability, ideation, and collaboration skills. Get ready to break free from the ordinary, improvise with fellow designers, and fuel your imagination in unexpected ways!

5 pm (NOTE, this event will start earlier than many of our events)