The thought of performing on-the-spot comedy in front of a dozen onlookers is likely to get some people’s knees buckling and palms sweaty.In fact, studies show that more people are afraid of public speaking than any other fear including heights, flying, darkness and even death.But Toby Butterfield, creator of Improv Bermuda, is encouraging people to conquer their fears and have fun in the process.She will be hosting a six-week ‘Introduction to Improv Theatre’ class for $150, from November 2 until December 7.Through a series of pair and small group exercises, she will teach adults to gradually tap into their creative sides and break away from the fears that hold them back.Ms Butterfield said people often have ill-conceived notions about the class and believe it to be something like the UK TV show ‘Whose Line is it Anyway’, where comedians are given topics and expected to improvise on them.“They think either you can do it or you can’t and there is nowhere in between.“And even when I tell people I do it for a living and teach people to do it and try to explain to them its very incremental and all about making people feel safe, many are still hesitant.”She said the key to getting people involved is through confidence building and making them feel comfortable.“When you feel you won’t be funny or quick enough then that fear and that pressure stops you.“So teaching people to improvise is a lot about freeing people from their inner judgments.“Of course it helps them improvise, but it might help them with other things in their lives that hold them back.”Ms Butterfield said she discovered the art of improvisational theatre in California in 1999 and became hooked after that.She was working as a psychotherapist at the time, but admittedly was also “the kind of grown up that liked to play charades”.She was first taught to improvise using instruments and music; then was inspired one day by a woman who performed with speech.”I thought that was the bravest thing in the entire world that she could use words. I started improvising classes shortly after that and in two years I was singing impromptu songs in front of people.“I am still fairly shy so I really relate to the people who are nervous and I particularly love teaching these people. I think maybe because they are more common.”Ms Butterfield trained for three years with BATS Improv in San Francisco and watched about 200 performances before moving back to the Island.She began teaching locally six years ago and then started Improv Bermuda, offering classes and training to individuals and organisations.She believes improvising is a “wonderful way’ to challenge people’s fears.“It’s about making people feel safe enough to take incremental risks. I think one of the things that makes people feel safe is that it’s not a show, it’s a class.“Part of what makes improv work is because it’s not just a good idea to not judge each other, it’s crucial to not judge others.“When you step on a stage with no prepared material and create something, others have to add to that and support that.”Ms Butterfield said people are known to pay $25 for a spinning class to exercise their bodies; but said the course serves as both a mental and emotional workout.“People get high at the gym and we get high at improv classes. We have people whose spouses make them go to class because they are nicer to be around when they come back from improv.“It’s a stress reliever and makes them happier and more relaxed and able to go with what comes at them.”She said the classes were a great way to encourage adults to do “some goofy exercises”.“You feel a little silly, but everyone in the room is feeling silly as well. You get to have an experience where when you get to the other side of it and no one is laughing directly at you it becomes clear nothing bad has happened.”Ms Butterfield said a lot of our hesitation to do improv is “quite psychological”.“We grow this body of evidence against our inner creativity that says you should never do it, but then you have this pool of experiences you lived through and nothing bad happened in those.”She hopes the course will challenge people to step outside the box or at least expand it.“It’s fun right from the beginning and there is an opportunity for us to forge a larger box for us to live our lives in.“Bermuda needs improv. It brings people closer and makes people happier and makes people judge themselves and others less.”Ms Butterfield also does work with individuals and organisations and said improv helps with team and relationship building.The course costs $150 and will be held at the Bermuda School of Music at the Old Berkeley Institute. To register call 505-7011.For more information visit the Improv Bermuda Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/improvbermuda.