Why I . . . do improv

When Esther Waterhouse organised a trip to a children’s improvised musical for her daughter in 2018 she little imagined that it would open up a whole new world to her—one she describes as “gloriously silly, joyous, and enormous fun” and where there are “no mistakes.”

That visit to the theatre in Birmingham was “like watching magic,” says Waterhouse, a consultant in palliative medicine at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust. “I’d never seen anything like it before, it was completely enchanting and delightful.”

She recalls how every step of the story was decided by children in the audience “throwing out comments,” and how the performers used suggestions to create a new musical. She was so inspired by the performance that she took an improv beginners weekend course in 2019—and has been doing improv ever since.

Improv is “an art form,” she explains. “It’s standing on stage, usually with other people, to create something delightful for an audience.

“It might be funny, emotional, or moving. It’s created in the moment by a team of people. None of it is scripted. None of it is pre-written or pre-planned.”

It also involves teamwork. At one particularly intensive improv training course she attended, her teacher said, “It’s your job to look after other people, and if everybody does that, then each of those people will be looking after you.” Waterhouse was really struck by this. “I thought, ‘What better way to define a team?’” she says.

Since her first experience of improv, Waterhouse has been developing her skills. She goes to local improv jams where she performs on stage with others in front of an audience—sometimes with her daughter—and attends improv weekends, study days, retreats, and festivals.

Her love of improv has also inspired her to develop medical improv training courses for healthcare staff. As a communication skills trainer she recognised that improv used the same skills as clinical communication and could be used to teach communication skills in a different way. “To be good at improv you need to be able to respond, listen to, and support others. Medical improv takes improv practice games and exercises out of the rehearsal space and into the training space,” she says.

She teamed up with Jon Trevor, an improviser and trainer who had been delivering applied improvisation to companies for some time, but not to healthcare.

Last year they launched Medical Improv GB (https://medicalimprovgb.com), which delivers communication training to healthcare professionals throughout the UK, using exercises designed to highlight and develop different areas, such as teamwork and leadership.

As well as using medical improv to help health professionals with their communication skills, Waterhouse finds the art has benefited her as a clinician. “Improv has made me a better listener, helped me understand more about the nuances of communication, and given me different tools to use,” she says. “And when a scene goes really well on stage it’s a natural high. And if it doesn’t go well, you forget it because it’s improv.”

She also loves that improv is a space where you can’t make a mistake. “It’s all made up so you can’t be wrong.”

Waterhouse recommends other doctors try improv, not only because it’s fun but also because “you’re learning skills that are transferable back in everyday life.”

“It’s an art form open to every level, from the odd drop-in session to being in a group that performs regularly,” she says. “It’s a door into a liberating world.”

She recalls how she was recently on stage with another improviser singing a song about two beachcombers. “I can’t remember what we sang or how we did it, but we had a chorus, we had verses, and it was well received. It worked because we listened to and supported each other. But even if the song hadn’t worked it wouldn’t have mattered. Because what’s more gloriously silly than trying to sing a song about being two beachcombers?”