Our Mission:

Using the art of improv to advance equity and belonging for neurodivergent youth, while equipping educators and helping professionals with affirming, evidence-based practices to better serve the students, clients, and communities in their care.

What is Improv?

Improvisational theatre, or improv, is theatre made up on the spot. During a show, most or all of the performance is unplanned and unscripted, and the performers create the characters, story, and setting spontaneously and collaboratively as they go.

Though people tend to associate improv with comedy, it's performed in many styles and used far beyond the stage. Applied improvisation brings the methods, activities, and underlying philosophy of improv into non-theatrical settings like consulting, training, teaching, leadership development, and team building.

Why Improv?

In short, improv is a great way to practice useful skills in a really fun way!

Improv is, at its core, a relational practice. It asks participants to stay present, attune to one another, and build something together in real time without a script or a predetermined outcome.

Improv helps both youth and adults:

  1. -Build genuine rapport

  2. -Respond fluidly to another person

  3. -Expand their deep listening skills

  4. -Build genuine attunement

  5. -Learn to both follow and lead

  6. -Stay in the moment with others

  7. -Develop a climate of safety and risk-taking

  8. -Strengthen social emotional communication skills

  9. -And so much more!

"Life-changing and inspiring. I feel renewed creatively and emotionally." - Educator who has attended programming

"Camp just perfected the way I talked and the way I connected with other people, and I felt like I wasn’t shy here. And it gave me a safe home, a safe haven.” - Past Youth Participant

What we Do

Camp Yes And

Camp Yes And is a neurodivergent affirming summer program that offers a unique combination of professional learning for adult helping professionals/ educators + an improv theatre summer camp for neurodivergent teens. The adults learn pedagogy and exercises from improv to integrate into their work, while the teens make social connections, have fun, learn the art of improvisation, express themselves, and so much more!

Trainings and Continuing Education

More info coming soon!

  • "My son absolutely LOVED camp. From the first day, he came home raving about what a wonderful time he had. He said it's normally hard for him to speak up around peers, but he felt safe doing so at camp, saying that he knew the other campers could relate to him."

    -Camp Yes And Parent

  • "Camp just perfected the way I talked and the way I connected with other people, and I felt like I wasn’t shy here. And it gave me a safe home, a safe haven.”

    -Camp Yes And Teen Attendee

  • "Several times this week, I found myself wishing I was more like them. They are brilliant, courageous, and compassionate, topped with a sense of humor. I knew that but didn't realize the magnitude. I believe I have a whole new level of respect for them.”

    -Camp Yes And Educator Attendee

  • "There’s a lot of potential here for communication and dialogue and interaction with kids with autism that I thought was harder to do in the past. I have learned a lot”

    -Camp Yes And Educator Attendee

  • "This camp’s just opened me up like an eggshell – just cracking open my true self.”

    -Former Camp Yes And Youth Attendee

  • "I felt like I rediscovered my sense of play. And I realize now that’s an element that’s been missing.”

    -Previous Camp Yes And Educator Attendee

Our Story

In 2015, Lacy and Jim met at an Applied Improvisation conference, and recognized that improv held power to support communication, cross-neurotype collaboration, and understanding. They launched Camp Yes And - the flagship program of the Yes And Project around that idea, initially hosting it through Indiana University. Camp Yes And has been going strong since!

The Yes And Project was founded in 2026 to carry the work forward. Alongside Camp Yes And, the Yes AndProject offers trainings and continuing education for educators, therapists, SLPs, OTs, arts professionals, and other helping professionals who want to bring affirming, improv-based practice into their own classrooms, clinics, and communities.