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“Building confident young people”
Bringing improv to classrooms with the Unscripted Project
Kiran Pandey
It goes without saying how important arts programs are for students, often instilling skills and values that go far beyond the scope of the art itself. The Philly-based Unscripted Project is one such program, bringing the medium of improvisational theater to high school classrooms. “We are building confident young people,” said Karin Potter-Simmons, the Unscripted Project’s program director. “We are using improv as a tool to help students build those skills that they typically wouldn’t in the classroom, bringing the fun and the play back to learning.”
Big, bold toolsets
Founded in 2019 by Philip Chen and Meera Menon, the Unscripted Project launched as a virtual program, with instructors playing improv games with students over a series of Zoom sessions. As students returned to classrooms, so did the Unscripted Project, bringing teaching artists to Philadelphia high schools. Potter-Simmons, a former social worker, joined the organization in 2021, and found that the program equipped students with invaluable tools, teaching them to be bold and make big choices.
“In one of our middle schools, we had a really tough neighborhood, really, really tough. We had this one young lady, and she just rebelled at every second,” recalled Potter-Simmons. “By week five, she was the kid that’s giving suggestions. Little by little, she would begin to add things. In the next semester, we happened to be in a class that she was in again, and she was the Unscripted champion. She would be like, guys, settle down, today’s improv day! Come on, let’s get the class together, let’s circle up! That pride of being a part of something that was bigger than her was so amazing.”
In its current form, the Unscripted Project has grown to encompass both in-school programs and an after-school House Team, allowing students to continue improvising outside of the classroom. Aside from the joy of improv comedy, the programs aim to provide support for students’ personal and professional development.
“In our after-school program, we help kids to continue to improvise, to start to make those connections to the real world,” said Potter-Simmons. “We support their college and career-readiness goals and give them another space to be safe after school. Especially in Philadelphia, you need all the spaces you can for students to be able to go somewhere and have fun and be around other caring adults and like-minded students.”
At the end of each semester, the Unscripted House Team performs a fully improvised showcase, with this fall’s showcase on Wednesday, December 17 at 6pm at ComedySportz Philadelphia. When asked why audiences should come to the House Team showcase, Potter-Simmons replied, “To support these young people. They work hard. They come in every day after school. One of the schools that we have gets out at 12 p.m., and the program doesn’t start till 4:30. So they literally go home and come back. That’s how passionate they are about creating.”
“But also,” she added, “just to see with your own eyes how improv builds community. How it builds confidence, and how it builds a love for the arts."
What, When, Where
Showcase for the Unscripted Project House Team. December 17, 2025, at ComedySportz Philadelphia, 2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia.
Accessibility
ComedySportz Philadelphia is an ADA-accessible venue.
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