About

by rina

RinaShimomura (She/Her)

Rina Shimomura is an improviser and educator from Tokyo, Japan.

She has been working with children since graduating from Tsukuba Graduate School in Ibaraki, Japan in 2015. She is a specialist in children with learning disabilities and is licensed to teach English in Japan.

She studied improvisation and drama education abroad, in Canada and the United States.

She moved to Vancouver and started her work as a cast and an instructor in Tightrope Impro Theatre in 2021.

While in graduate school, Rina attended workshops with Keith Johnstone, the founder of improvisation (Calgary), BATS (San Francisco), and Young People’s Theatre (Toronto), and actively studied in the home of theater education.

Rina has been a professional teacher of over 100 special needs kids since 2016.  She was a member of LITALICO, Inc., the leading company helping the disabled in Japan, for 4 years. During that time, she taught special needs kids who fell behind in school and had difficulties in writing, reading, and behavioral control due to disabilities like ADHD, autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Down Syndrome. She also acted as a consultant to families and schools. Currently, she runs a home visiting program as a tutor, partnering with their parents.

I like home parties and have been doing a mini-work of improv at home called “IMPRO at Home” for about a year. I like places where we can take our titles and relate to each other as one person.

Improvisor of Tightrope Impro Theatre

In September 2021 she will move to Vancouver and she was welcomed as a member of Tightrope Impro theatre. She has been the director and cast member of many shows there. (Maestro/Gorilla Theatre） She likes to deal with emotional scenes and social issues on stage. She is now also starting to instruct classes for elementary school and beginners.

Instagram / Website

Founder of IMPRO KIDS TOKYO

In 2018, she founded IMPRO KIDS TOKYO, an improv education company with a focus to help children develop both communication skills and the idea of “accepting others”.  Our company of nearly 20 people is a response to certain issues in the Japanese education system, where there are few communication lessons and many mental health problems.  Not only for children, but this company also empowers parents and schools.

twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Website

In the crowdfunding campaign we conducted at the time of our launch, 108 people supported us and we achieved our goal of 1,080,000 yen.
(April 2019-present) Participated in T-Kids Share School at Cultural Convenience Club, which operates TSUTAYA. Offering improv classes in Kashiwanoha, Shonan, and Umeda. Other one-offs and ongoing classes are held at school visits, school children, and after-school programs.
She has also held many workshops for educators who work with children.

Fearless Inc. CCO

“To remove fear from people and organizations and create a place where everyone can unleash their creativity.” this is our mission.

She applies Impro to address the fears that limit the activities of teams and organizations with members. “By removing fear, we aim to unleash the innate creativity of people and organizations.

Facebook / Web

Project Experience

Workshops

・Workshops for medical students in Gunma University

・Business Training (Mercari Inc., LITALICO Inc., etc）as a member of Fearless Inc 

・City planning online workshops

・Impro workshop for English as a second language learners

・Impro workshop for newcomers in YMCA

Performances

・” The Romeo and Juliet of Kyojima Tenements”
Full Mask performances at The Kyojima Tenements 82-Day Project, Mar 31st, 2018, Tokyo, Japan

・“The Life of Women”
Full Mask performances at TPAM(Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama) 2019, Feb 16th and 17th,2019, Yokohama,Japan

・” The Bechdel Test“
November 5th,2017 in Matsuyama, Japan
December 13th,2017 in Tokyo, Japan
March 24th,2018 in Yokohama, Japan
at Impro and Gender Exploration Project supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, 2020-2023 in online

・Weely Impro show at Tightrope Impro Theatre, since 2021 in Vancouver

・Vanocouver Improv Fest 2023 FESTIVAL ENSEMBLE, Oct 11th-Oct 14th, 2022 in Vancouver.

Published works

・” Exploring Impro Education: Beyond the Binary Opposition of School Education and Impro” (Shinyo Inc., 2024)

Speaking Engagements

・Keynote Speaker at 2023 AIN Global Conference, July 29th,2023, Vancouver
”Changing Parent-Child Relationships Through Impro”

・Panelist at Gorilla Theatre Symposium by International Theatresports Institute, November 4, 2023, online

・Panelist at Vancouver Improv Festival, October 14th, 2023, Vancouver
“What is your practice?”

Certifications

National English Teaching Accreditation in Japan for junior high school and high school 

Language

Native Japanese speaking, reading and writing

IELTS 6.0