Finding Your Personal Rhythm: Reducing Avoidance with Jack Henderson

Host: Mike Garvin

Guest: Jack Henderson

Jack Henderson is his name, and in this episode of Improv Saves: World Agrees, host Mike Garvin and producer Emma Supica sit down with him to discuss the intersection of being someone who “stutters across a lifespan” and being an improviser. Jack experienced two formative experiences at the same point in his teenage years: starting improv at Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC and seeing a speech pathologist who told him that avoiding stuttering was not helpful. The conversation then opens up to the similar philosophies behind good improv and Jack’s view of the progressively evolving approach to speech pathology. Jack states that “the struggle people experience isn’t the stutter itself, it’s what we feel and think to try to NOT stutter.” Both improv and a positive relationship with stuttering require opening yourself up to potentially being embarrassed or feeling shame–but that’s all part of the experience. That said, Jack and Mike also talk about the similar importance of being a good audience member or scene partner as well as being a person in the life of someone who stutters. They both require saying "I'm actively listening to you and I'm not going to let you fall right now."

About the Guest: Jack Henderson M.S., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and owner of Henderson Stuttering Therapy in Nashville, TN. He is a person who stutters and credits improv as being a catalyst for finding his voice, embracing spontaneity, and reducing avoidance. He grew up in New York City and stumbled upon the UCB theatre in 2004 while in 9th grade. He and his friends quickly haunted the theatre almost weekly and took classes there throughout high school. He studied theatre in undergraduate at Vanderbilt and then performed with LOL Nashville for several years. While he has not performed on stage in several years, the principles of improv suffuse his clinical work in many ways.

Improvised Ad by Owen Sullivan

Executive Producers: Christina Ashworth + Emma Supica Editing: Cammie York Mixing: Dave Strumfeld Graphic Design: Cammie York

A project of Unscripted, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Nashville, TN. We heal, empower, and connect our community through equitable and accessible improv programs.