Nicole Leal – Improving Her Improv

Nicole Leal is the Production Manager for Central Alberta Theatre and the former artistic director for Treehouse Indoor Playground – Red Deer. Her passion for involving youth in theatre earned her an Arts and Culture nomination as one of Red Deer’s Women of Excellence. Nicole utilizes her acting, improv experience and formal theatre training at RDC to engage youth in expression, thereby engendering creativity, spontaneity, and freedom of expression in young people (and all the benefits these things bring).

This drive has translated into her group, Improv Jelly, going into it’s third season this fall. Reflecting on the past season, she’s enjoyed watching the dynamics evolve out of the disparate life experiences of her cast of 14 players. With roughly 50 years separating her youngest and oldest players, she sees an old dog adapting to life with a puppy: both are happy to play, albeit with their own style and energy. This summer the 14 players are training up their improv skills to keep the 2018 season fresh, dynamic, and full of laughter (it sounds like a wonderful Netflix series).

SCENE NEXT

Keep an eye out for Improv Jelly‘s third season auditions at the Nickle Studio this September. There is a possibility of super secret projects coming to the stage this year as Nicole focuses on adapting her own scripts. Broadly, her recent works are reflections on context, compassion, and patience for the people we encounter instead of being a poophead.