Winner! “Film Heals” Award at Manhattan Film Festival 2021
Official Selection-Compassion Film Festival 2021
From politics to medicine, Act Social explores the healing potential of applied improvisation. Features famed improv comedian Colin Mochrie of Whose Line is it, Anyway?
The principles of improv, such as “Yes And,” lead to hilarious comedy onstage but can they also be used to solve problems like depression, social anxiety, or conflict? Applied improvisers believe the answer is “Yes!”
In our documentary film we show what happens when different kinds of people try improv: refugees, tragedy survivors, couples in counseling, and people involved in political debate.
In Act Social, you will also meet improv teachers and drama therapists who work with communities in need, giving audiences a never-before-seen look at the possibilities improv can bring to real life.
Check out the successful Kickstarter that helped bring this project to life!
THE FILM
“What if we are all trained improvisers?” Filmmaker Sean A. Mulvihill leads a cast featuring famed improviser Colin Mochrie of Whose Line is it, Anyway?, psychologist Barbara Tint, and several leading applied improv instructors and drama therapists like Nisha Sajnani of NYU, Bob Kulhan of Business Improv, Norm Laviolette of Improv Asylum, and Dr. Daniel J. Wiener, author of Rehearsals for Growth.
QUICK FACTS
Act Social
A Documentary Feature film
90 minutes; Color; 4K
Summary: In a selfish society where people “delete” whoever doesn’t agree with them, Act Social explores the healing potential of applied improvisation. Features famed improv comedian Colin Mochrie of Whose Line is it, Anyway?
NOTABLE CAST
Colin Mochrie, Whose Line is it, Anyway?
Bob Kulhan, CEO, Business Improv
Barbara Tint, Past President, Applied Improvisation Network
Patricia Ryan Madson, Author, Improv Wisdom
Aretha Sills, Associate Director, Sills/Spolin Theatre Works
Mick Napier, Founder, The Annoyance Theatre
Kelly Leonard, Executive Director of Insights and Applied Improvisation, The Second City
Dr. Daniel J. Wiener, Author, Rehearsals for Growth
Nisha Sajnani, Program Director, NYU School of Drama Therapy
David Read Johnson, Co-Founder, North American Drama Therapy Association
Laura Wood, Past President, North American Drama Therapy Association
Laurie Cameron, Author, The Mindful Day
Norm Laviolette, Founder, Improv Asylum
Mary Lemmer, CEO, Improve
Donna Hicks, Author, Dignity
Dr. Kristin Krueger, Research Scientist at Rush University Medical Center
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Act Social is directed/produced by Sean A. Mulvihill. A theatre/film actor, he has performed professionally on stage and screen in the United States, Europe, and Asia and his work has been seen on such outlets as Amazon Prime, Sony Playstation, and RAI Italia.Sean is the Artistic Director of the Exuberant Theatre Company, which has a long-running improv comedy show at the Broadway Comedy Club in New York City. In 2005, his breakout project was creating and acting in Living Luminaries: On the Serious Business of Happiness, a docu-drama starring Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now. Sean has also performed onstage for the Venetian Casino Macau, the Italian National Tour of Action Theatre (Torino, Italy), and various regional theatres in the United States. He holds a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in Physical Theatre from Acccademia dell’Arte in Italy and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Theatre (Acting) from the University of Southern California.
WANNA LEARN TO IMPROVISE?
Visit exubs.com to start your training in “Yes And”!