Faraway Theater is proud to partner with Rebecca Henderson, a licensed therapist and longtime friend of the theater, to offer our first non-performance class:

Healing is both individual and communal. By engaging with others who have similar concerns, you also can feel less alone. To further support growth for those struggling with anxiety, clinical social worker and improviser Rebecca Henderson is offering a six-week group workshop that utilizes improv principles and games to address issues caused by anxiety in a supportive and fun environment.

Laughter and play are a great way to move the brain from an anxious, disconnected state into a more connected, present-focused place. Improv is a joyful and playful way to engage with others and yourself to help get you out of your head and into the moment! This workshop is not meant to replace regular therapy but is a great way to supplement work you may be doing with your own therapist and/or gain strategies to use in your daily life to challenge the thoughts and patterns that are typical with low to moderate anxiety. You do not have to have an official diagnosis to take this class – just a desire to have fun and learn ways to manage and reduce the stress and anxiety of daily life!

How is this different from typical improv classes?
This class is designed specifically to focus on ideas and games from improv to address anxiety symptoms. The focus of this class is not performing but rather integrating improv skills to aid in anxiety management. This class can help participants build skills and gain positive experiences that challenge beliefs and symptoms of anxiety both through improv games and therapeutic skill building and reflection. Classes include time to process and reflect with others and to respond to how the class has helped and impacted them.

How is this class different from “group therapy”?
While this class is led by a therapist and includes therapeutic elements and skill building, it is not meant to be a replacement for therapy. This class is meant to create a positive group experience while helping you gain skills and new ways of engaging with the world around you.

Meet the Instructor.
Rebecca Henderson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who specializes in working with trauma and anxiety. She started taking improv classes in 2019. Through this, she found various ways that improv and her work as a therapist overlapped and how improv can be a tool to increase mental well-being and connection with others. For more information on Rebecca and her counseling practice, you can visit hendersoncounselingandconsulting.com or email her at [email protected], 

We now offer payment plans for all of our classes click 'Pay via payment plan' to enroll.

Students on our Improv Performance Path (101-501) will be responsible for the following:

If you'd like to attend this class but can't due to the class being sold out,  or scheduling conflicts, or you'd like to discuss class placement options, please complete the form here to let us know and join our waitlist, and we will be in touch.

If you have significant previous improv performance experience and would like to discuss class placement options, please complete our class placement request form by visiting farawaybham.com/placement or clicking here.

There are no class refunds available at this time. Faraway Theater is located at 1211 27th Pl S Suite 20, Birmingham, AL 35205. Parking is available in the lot and on the street. The entrance is located past the Electra film lab drop-box. The theater is primarily accessed by stairs, so please email [email protected] if you need access to our ground-level entrance or have any other accessibility issues or theater questions. lf you have any other general questions about the class itself, please email [email protected].