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Improv Lesson
This is an excerpt from Up
In Your Business with Kerry
McCoy, Episode 49
Rivka Kuperman and
hert mother had a
close relationship.
Rivka remembered her
mother always encouraging
her to push beyond her
comfort zone. It was that
philosophy that had taken
Rivka all the way to New
York University School of
Arts. But when her mother’s
breast cancer took a turn
for the worse, Rivka moved
from New York back to Little
Rock to take care
of her.
Rivka recalls, “I was
shattered when she passed.
When you are shattered into
a thousand pieces, you’re not
going to put yourself back
together the same way. It
changes you. It changes your
perspective. It changes what
is important to you. The day I
lost my mother was really the
day my life changed.”
Rivka Kuperman, Stage Manager for
The Arkansas Children's Theatre.
She had a friend with
whom she had done improv
back in her college days at
UCA. That friend reached
out to Rivka, asking her to
join a local improv troop.
Rivka refused, but her friend
persisted. Rivka stood firm
saying, “No. No. I’m in no state.
I can’t think. I don’t know who
I am anymore. I can’t do it.
No. No. No.” Finally, after
many no’s, Rivka gave in.
Stepping back into
the world of preforming
arts helped her find her
confidence again. It required
she take risks and learn
how to say "yes" again. “Of
course, it happened over
time, but improv is my
therapy. It is where I feel the
most free,” Rivka said.
She knew it was time
to pursue the arts more
seriously. She didn’t know
where it would lead her,
but she decided to follow
the first rule of improv: Say
"Yes." “I just said ‘yes’ and
let’s see what happens,”
Rivka recounts. “It’s the only
way to really collaborate. If
you want to be able to use
other people’s ideas and work
together, it’s always better to
say ‘yes,’ It’s a philosophy you
have to grow into. Sometimes
it’s hard to say.”
In 2013, Rivka landed
her dream job as the
Production Stage Manager
at the Arkansas Arts Center
Children’s Theatre. Now
she teaches our upcoming
local actors her positive and
life changing philosophy of
saying “YES!” b
UP IN YOUR
BUSINESS
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with Kerry McCoy. Go to FlagandBanner.com and click Radio Show.
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BY FLAGANDBANNER.COM
SPRING/SUMMER 2018
BRAVE MAGAZINE | 21