@axios here!
I had just moved to Austin and knew very little about improv.
After spontaneously attending another local improv meetup, I met a guy named Eric and we became immediate friends.
Eric was a digital nomad who had been traveling to different cities around the United States about every three months while developing his own social network called Mindful Improv, an improv network that connects therapists, social workers, psychologists, and various other individuals who are applying the art of improv to their practices for self-development and therapeutic purposes.
He had also just arrived in Austin and asked me if I'd be interested in starting a weekly improv meetup with him.
I agreed but I also let him know this: "Improv is very new to me and I have no idea what I'm doing."
I still knew relatively NOTHING about improv and, although I was still quite anxious about doing improv, let alone leading an improv class, I decided to push forward and give it my best shot.
Thankfully, by that point I had met Emily, an incredible leader and highly creative individual who is now one of my closest friends.
Library interactions typically sounded something like this:
Lady: "Could you guys please tone it down a bit, we're doing interviews in the next room."
Me: "Umm, hmm... those were only the warm ups..."
Clearly we needed to find a more appropriate space, which is when I met Jake and Maria, some of my other closest friends in Austin who happened to be leading improv classes of their own in a local rec center in town.
Long story short, we were able to permanently host weekly classes at the center FOR FREE!
This allowed us to operate the group with a very low overhead and provide FREE improv classes to the community. Typically improv classes in Austin range from $250-$350 for a six week session and we sought to provide learning opportunities to those who couldn't afford that.
After about three years of organizing classes and with over 1,100 members, I realized that although I most definitely wanted to offer free classes, it would also be nice if the organization had some revenue to work with to pay the facilitators and miscellaneous expenses.
Towards the end of 2017, I began laying out plans with my buddy Jake to convert the group into a non-profit so that we could apply for grants. We also were able to meet with one of the head directors of Austin's Park and Rec Department to offer paid services directly to the city.
I thought about making some of the classes donation-based, but for whatever reason, this just didn't feel like the route I wanted to go. Alongside that, the Rec Center requires us to keep the classes free of charge.
Thus, earlier this year I found myself asking: What do I do now?
And that's when the ultimate question hit me:
It seemed like a totally crazy idea, but after spending so much time on Steemit and even sharing some of my theoretical ideas for a Steemit classroom experience...
Instead of asking for money, I would instead create a space and opportunity for participants to create money by engaging and sharing their experiences along the way.
This would then come full circle as I realized that there were ways to not only distribute value back to the participants, but also the facilitators and organization!
Blockchain Improv is Austin's (and maybe even the world's) first ever FREE mixed-media improv theater community class that utilizes the Steemit blockchain for the purposes of enhancing engagement, encouraging self-expression, and exploring the future of education.
Step 1) Individuals will attend an orientation meeting to learn about Steemit, blockchain technology, and the Blockchain Improv class. Those interested in participating will submit an application to apply for the class. Accepted participants (10 max) will be required to create a Steemit account (if they don't already have one) and join the Improv Connection's Discord group.
Step 2) Participants will attend each class and participate in the activities which include improv games and exercises that focus on learning and developing a specific improv skill. There will be various exercises which integrate photo and video into the curriculum. There will also be a photographer and/or videographer helping to document the experience.
Step 3) Participants will create a Steemit post about their experiences within the class: what they learned, what they liked / appreciated, how they failed and succeeded, and what they want to try next time.
Step 4) The facilitator will upvote each participant's Steemit post.
Step 5) Participants will share their Steemit posts on the group's discord. They will comment and upvote on at least 3 other posts from that class.
Step 6) The facilitator will author a post on Steemit that documents the class experience. All payouts from this post will be redistributed to the students, facilitator, and organization (Improv Connection).
As we stated earlier, each student that posts a reflection piece on Steemit will get upvoted by the facilitator of the class (in this case that will be myself.)
The facilitator will create a montage piece which highlights the classroom experience and everyone who participated. The upvotes from that montage piece will be redistributed to the students, facilitator, and organization.
33% of SBD payouts will go to the students for their participation.
33% of SBD payouts will go to the facilitator for leading the class experience.
33% of SBD payouts will go to the Improv Connection organization to cover expenses (i.e. the photographer, snacks, etc).
100% of SP collected will go to the facilitator who created the post.
If SBD was worth $10 at the time, this would mean...
If you asked me, I would say this would be the most epic thing ever!
I love that Steemit offers an opportunity for us to completely do the opposite of what you might expect.
In the United States, education is incredibly expensive and is often not affordable for the lower and middle class without extensive scholarships, grants, or loans.
Even in Austin, improv classes require a significant investment, one that many members of the community cannot afford.
This project seeks to explore the potential of the Steemit blockchain, to not only create value for the organization itself, but also the participants, volunteers, and facilitators involved.
What if we could offer free community classes to learn practical skills?
What if we could encourage engagement and collaboration via a Steemit reward system?
What if an entire organization could be sustained by receiving crowd-sourced proceeds via the Steemit platform?
With so many what ifs, that leads me to my second and final question:
I plan to officially execute my plans starting tomorrow where I will promote the orientation class for Blockchain Improv at our next community class.
After reviewing the applications, I will invite 6-10 participants to join and will commence the first four-week class beginning in March.
I plan to improve the system as I go, and thus I invite your feedback, suggestions, and constructive criticism to improve this idea.
Now that I've shared with you my current ideas and plans for Blockchain Improv, I would love to hear your perspectives.
Is this something you'd want to experience?
Are there any aspects of this project that don't make sense to you?
How could I better integrate this with the Steemit community?
Thank you so much for taking the time to explore this new Steemit venture with me.
I look forward to sharing my progress with you along the way!
For now... I'm off to create a new future!
Cheers ;-)
@axios
@axios All photo credits can be found by clicking on the picture
