For years I’d thought of taking improv classes but, too be honest, was scared. This year I finally did it. The improv course was available to senior learners through the SALC program at Portland State University and the professor was Theresa Robbins Dudeck, PhD — an internationally-known instructor in improv. In addition to her university teaching, Theresa helps professionals in many industries — creating supportive environments for people to unleash their imaginations, take risks, and to develop interpersonal, managerial, leadership, collaboration, and creative skills.

Our move to Portland and PSU’s SALC program made it possible, and Theresa made it safe, fun and inspiring — while I learned with a group of talented and energetic students who I guess were about 1/3 of my age.

The accompanying video was a course project. Sister Mary Perfecta is the character that I created for the course. She’s taught school for 40 years and for the last ten has taught 4th grade at Our Lady of Intermittent Sorrows. Her friends call her Sister MP. In the video, Sister MP prepares to meet with Monsignor Musk to address the continuing problem of 3rd graders who come to her and 4th grade as untamed little barbarians. The problem is clearly the teaching of 3rd grade teacher Sister Theresa Lucy, who took an improv class a few years earlier and is dedicated to training her students to be imaginative and expressive. Things have clearly gotten out of hand, and today’s the day to correct the course of education at OLIS.