Ms. Konopaki

What I did kind of as a career before being a teacher was a lot of comedy: whether that was improv, stand-up, or sketch comedy. For years, even while I was a teacher at Saints, I kind of led a double life, teaching by day and doing comedy in the evening.

When I moved to Vancouver, I was doing improv, but then I started to do sketch comedy, which is kind of like, think SNL, or I Think You Should Leave, short little scenes or vignettes that are pre-written but always have a comedic angle. So again, like Saturday Night Live. During that time, I was also doing a lot of stand-up, writing my own jokes to deliver just into a microphone in front of a crowd.

I think what first got me into it, if I think all the way back to Grade 10 of high school, was twofold. One, it gave me a real sense of belonging and community. It was a safe place I could go and hang out with my friends and make jokes, and the other thing that I think made me stick with it for so long was that all my friends were hilarious. And it was always really, really fun to hang out with them, whether it was at a show, after a show, or just like at a party, because they were always like the funniest people in the room 

One of the biggest life skills improv has given me, especially helpful when working with kids or in jobs where humour matters, is the ability to adapt on the spot and connect with people. Those are skills I’ve found really valuable. I think what I eventually realized is that pursuing an artistic career takes a lot of passion and discipline. You also have to be able to self-promote and network, which I found to be a challenge. It also requires a totally different part of your brain, such as sitting down and writing a humorous scene or a humorous sketch show. I found it extremely difficult to do after a busy day of work where I'm in teacher mode, and I think I had more capacity for that when I was younger, and like not so seriously into my career, I had more, that part of my brain was more turned on on a daily basis.

Improvisation was a good reminder for me and a good reminder for students that life isn’t so serious. When you're doing improv and making something up with someone who can’t read your mind, in front of a live audience, mistakes happen all the time. You just have to turn the mistake into a choice and keep going. I think the lesson of comedy is that life isn’t so serious, and anything can be made humorous—or at least recoverable. You’ve got to laugh.