Yes and science merges science communication with tools from improvisational theatre. Improvisational theatre is all about being in the moment, it’s about entertaining a crowd and communicating with fellow actors on stage. It’s about team work – and the audience is part of the team. Some say it’s like magic! It’s certainly fast, fun and – yes! – requires a lot of hard training.
Science on the other hand is about constantly questioning assumptions, not readily accepting the obvious. Communicating science is a hard and tricky business: every scientist knows the feeling of getting excited about a new scientific finding – while the person you’re trying to share it with shows all signs of boredom with eyes glossing over, constant aah-ha saying or even yawning and changing the topic of conversation. So how to get the spark across to your audience? How to help them understand why you are fascinated with your work and the scientific findings it has produced? How to do a presentation in front of a live audience that keeps your audience focused and gets your key message across?