Front Porch Improv goes all-you-can-eat with a Wing-a-thon to raise funds for youth programs

The performers at Front Porch Improv are used to winging it.

On stage at the troupe’s black-box theater, 210 W. Victory Drive, most Friday and Saturday nights they riff off one another and audience suggestions with enthusiastic silliness that leads to unpredictable conclusions, whether they are creating a Hallmark movie on the spot or spilling family tea. This Saturday, July 27, however, the players are declaring “yes, and …” to a Wing-a-Thon, from noon to 1:30 p.m., at Over Yonder , 2424 Abercorn St. (behind Moodright’s).

The Wing-a-Thon serves up a fundraiser for the nonprofit Front Porch A.C.T.S., “an evidence-based, trauma-informed program where trained and certified facilitators work with at-risk youth to teach emotional regulation and conflict resolution skills using improv games and scenes,” explained Brianne Halverson, one of the four co-founders of Front Porch Improv and an A.C.T.S. facilitator.

'Not therapy, but therapeutic'

Front Porch Improv incorporated A.C.T.S., which stands for Adolescents and Children Transforming Savannah, into its suite of classes and workshops during the COVID pandemic at the behest of Vira Salzburn, executive director of the Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council . The CCSNPC is a nonprofit organization that addresses the emergent health care needs of vulnerable populations in Savannah and surrounding communities.

“When we first started to realize adolescents, teens needed skills to help them with interpersonal, social, and emotional well-being – it’s not just coping-related…,” said Halverson, adding that they started working with kids whose parents were first responders and were sitting in gyms while their parents worked long hours at hospitals and clinics during those uncertain months of the pandemic shutdown.

She and several of her fellow improv performers, including husband Dan Gilbert and Bess Ratsimbaharison, were trained in Trauma Drama curriculum― a program, Salzburg said, has been tried, tested and backed up with evidence. Since then, they have trained more actors and performers to work with children and young adults through the school system, at community centers and homeless shelters, as well as those young people who are court-involved and participating in Chatham County’s The Front Porch risk-reduction programs, Youth Intercept and Park Place Outreach – basically where students are lacking resources or who have experienced violence.

Just last year, 248 children and youth participated in 153 different free A.C.T.S. workshops throughout Chatham County, reported Salzburn, and 14 new facilitators received training. The A.C.T.S. team now is a verified contractor for the Georgia Department of Health's Mental Health Awareness Training , which means that any school can request its services at no cost.

"It's a win-win for everybody," said Salzburn.

Front Porch Improv hosts the students at its theater on Victory Drive for eight- to 10-week workshops. They start with fun improv exercises such as “can I borrow your cat?” and grow toward tackling weightier topics such as bullying and abandonment. “It is not therapy, but it is therapeutic,” said Halverson.

Along the way, the theater-type activities such as role-playing, character-building and movement help participants develop active listening and communication skills, eye contact and empathy, and identify how their bodies responds to powerful emotions. They always end with group check-ins.

“That’s really hard because they have to be vulnerable, and vulnerability is really dangerous for them,” said Halverson. “It’s really challenging for kids who are so guarded.”

Gilbert agreed. “Sometimes just getting someone to be able to say their name loudly enough to be heard. This will serve them for the rest of their life. And we have adolescents who come in and you don’t even know they are speaking because you cannot hear them. Their body language is so shut down.”

Through anonymous surveys taken midway through workshops, Salzburg has data to support the program's success. "We can say confidently 80 percent of kids take a lot out of it."

Winging it for the kids

With federal COVID dollars drying up, so, too, is a major portion of the program’s funding. Thus, the Wing-a-Thon, brainchild of Ratsimbaharison.

“I have done a lot of fundraising over the years, and I’ve seen a lot of different types of fundraisers,” said Ratsimbaharison. “I was thinking, what would be something that’s fun for a group of us to do? Comedians are good at eating and we really wanted to something where would partner.”

Over Yonder, a neighbor, is the place where the improv players head after shows, said Gilbert, so the ask made sense.

“It’s social. It’s greasy, and it’s fun, which perfectly describes us,” interjected Halverson, laughing.

As a group, they wanted a fundraiser that allowed anyone of any price point to contribute. As of the interview, at least 15 of Front Porch’s performers have committed to participating and eating between six (those with “baby stomachs”) to 20 wings each. As of July 18, 200 people already had pledged to support anywhere from 50 cents to $20 a wing.

Gilbert claims he is a “bottomless pit” and will eat 25 wings. Halverson promises to send a picture of her bloated self after eating her goal of 20 cauliflower wings to her supporters.

“John Brennan [another co-founder] is gonna do some shenanigans,” warned Gilbert. “He loves competition.”

There even may be a couple of Morons joining in, to which they all say “Yes, and…” a dozen more wings, please.

To support the Front Porch Improv Wing-a-Thon, contact Bess@frontporchimprov.com or Venmo donations to @savannahformorons. Cash App is also accepted: $savannahformorons. Pledges also can be made at givebutter.com/LABHEo

Amy Paige Condon is a content coach and editor for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach her at ACondon@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Front Porch Improv goes all-you-can-eat with a Wing-a-thon to raise funds for youth programs