Rahel Otsa first met with improv at the first-ever improv workshops in Estonia that were organized by Rednar Annus. The teachers there were from the Finnish improv theatre Stella Polaris. From 2009-2019 Rahel managed one of the first Estonian improv theatres - Jaa !mproteater, and since 2013 she has been organizing the international improv festival Tilt, which is currently on hiatus. She's been running the improv studio (though under different organisations) since 2011. In addition, she has done workshops in Finland, Sweden, Russia, Belgium, Australia, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal, China and New Zealand. She also conducts improv-based team trainings for companies and you can read more about her on her website.
As a teacher, it is important for Rahel that creativity goes hand in hand with the cooperation of the whole group and that learning new things and challenging oneself takes place in a safe environment. She enjoys touching stories, whether in the form of comedy or drama, and believes that well-told stories have the power to change the world.
- Favourite improv show - "Tarantino" by Easylaughs from the Netherlands at the sixth Tilt. I've seen many memorable performances, but since it was the final performance of the festival, they also made a lot of fun of the organizers and so it became personal (in a good way). In addition to the inside humour, it is also a very masterful example of genre-improv that is a pleasure to rewatch every time.
- Favourite moment of teaching - The end of the first lesson of every new improv course. When I see the student's eyes light up because they have received the first hints about how much joy and also new perspectives on the world can be experienced through playing together.
- The coolest place where you have taught improv - Very difficult question. It's a tie between the workshop I did in a garage in New Zealand and the one in the high-rise building of a TV station in Hong Kong.