Improv for Innovative Leadership

How can improv skills help you navigate both professional and everyday settings? This interactive and low-pressure MSU After Hours workshop invites you to say “Yes, and…” to flexing your creativity, collaboration, and adaptive thinking muscles.

What You'll Learn:

This course introduces improvisational principles including:

• Active listening
• Responding in the moment
• Generating ideas quickly
• Supporting teammates
• Approaching ambiguity with curiosity

By the end of the workshop, you'll leave with a toolkit of creativity and collaboration techniques, along with confidence in applying these principles to meetings, projects, and problem-solving scenarios in both professional and personal contexts.

How You'll Learn It:

Through structured exercises such as collaborative storytelling, rapid idea-generation challenges, communication drills, and light role-play, we'll explore how improvisational thinking strengthens communication, builds trust within teams, and sparks creative problem-solving. We'll also discuss real-world examples of how corporations and organizations use improv and creativity to enhance teamwork, innovation, and leadership development. Participation is encouraged but never required.

Who Should Attend:

This welcoming and low-pressure workshop is designed for adults who want to strengthen creativity, collaboration, and communication skills. No prior improv or performance experience is necessary. If you're interested in leadership, entrepreneurship, teamwork, or innovation, we hope you'll join us!

Workshop Details:

When

Tuesday, Apr 21, 2026
6:15 - 8:00 PM

Where

MSU Bozeman (Norm Asbjornson Hall #359)
Free parking is available after 6:00 pm in Bobcat Lots #13 & #15.

Registration Fee

$25

Instructor

Gabby McElwain is a faculty instructor at the Jabs College of Business with experience in corporate innovation, venture capital, hospitality, and outdoor education. She has built and led innovation programs for Fortune 500 companies including Marriott International, Boeing, and Stanley Black & Decker. Gabby holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BS in Marketing and Management from the University of South Carolina. She trained in improv at Last Best Comedy in Bozeman and loves music, skiing, and family camping adventures with her husband and two sons.

About MSU After Hours

After Hours invites Bozeman’s adult community to MSU’s campus on weekday nights for fun, social learning experiences, each with an interactive or hands-on component. Workshops are short format (1.5 - 2 hours) experiences with no prerequisites or pre-work required.

Questions

Contact Kelsye Gould, Continuing Education Program Manager, at 406-994-3062, kelsye.gould@montana.edu.