LEGO Systems and Upright Citizens Brigade Join Forces to Inspire Creativity

NEW YORK, June 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent survey commissioned by LEGO Systems, Inc., conducted online by Harris Poll, found that while most Americans (88%) value creativity as a personal trait, one in four do not identify themselves as creative individuals (25%). In order to further creativity across the entire population, LEGO Systems hosted "A Classic Night with The Upright Citizens Brigade," an evening of hands-on fun where LEGO® building served as the starting point for a series of fun, funny and unexpected improv performances. Inspired by the open-ended building found in LEGO Classic and its eye-catching collection of assorted elements that encourage imaginative building play, improvisers from the Upright Citizens Brigade encouraged participants to build and share their stories which then became the foundation for improvised scenes.

"While often we hear people say they lack creativity we know that once we give them a few LEGO bricks and ask them to just start building, we see their creativity emerge almost immediately. We witness adults showing curiosity, creativity and uninhibited imaginations, similar to the way in which children play," said Amanda Santoro, brand relations manager, LEGO Systems. "Collaborating with Upright Citizens, we combined building with improv, inspiring parents and children alike and showing them that what they build helps bring their creativity and imaginations to life."

"At Upright Citizens Brigade, we have a saying: Don't think! We encourage each other to stop thinking so hard about what we're going to do and just start doing it – that's when the creative problem-solving begins," said Alex Sidtis, managing director, Upright Citizens Brigade. "When we matched LEGO building with improv sketch exercises, we really saw the creativity flow among all the participants."

Here are a few tips from LEGO Master Builders and Upright Citizens Brigade Experts on how to have a fun family improv activity at home. An inspirational video will be available for viewing on YouTube/LEGO beginning July 10, 2016.

LEGO Building Tips

Warm up to building. Building can be satisfying and fun even if it's simple. Try a tower-building exercise to get your creative juices flowing. Take a pile of bricks and build a tower of any height or width – your only constraints are to start and end with your favorite color. Why? Building is intuitive. A sure-fire way to unlock your creativity is to just start clicking bricks together. Giving yourself a simple exercise with one or two guidelines is an easy way to get started.

Build your world. Look around right now. Are you in the kitchen? Outside on the porch? In your family room? Focus on a favorite object and try and build it. Don't dwell on the details – just focus on the general shape or color and add one distinguishing detail.

The bricks tell a story. Ask yourself a question and build the answer. Start with something simple like, "What's my favorite day of the week?" and then build what Thursday looks like to you. Share the story out loud even if you're by yourself. Why? The act of snapping bricks together helps us come to decisions and formulate ideas faster and more clearly. You'll find if you set out to build an answer to a question that the building flows easily and you'll amaze yourself with your skills and insights.

Improv Exercises

Yes And. Think of what's great about an idea before you think about why it won't work. It feels really fun to have your ideas supported! Try planning a party together, but you have to say "Yes And" to every idea, no matter how bad it sounds at first.

Jump In, Don't Judge. Things don't need to be perfect, sometimes ideas you end up scrapping can help get the ball rolling! Think of an intentionally bad idea for a product, and then work together to come up with a great commercial for it.

There Are No Mistakes. No need to be discouraged when things don't go according to plan. Listen and stay calm. Problems are often opportunities to be creative. Try to tell a story together, only one word at a time: you won't be able to plan, so focus just on listening!

LEGO Classic gives builders a "no instructions necessary" building experience punctuated by assorted basic bricks and specialty elements from the full LEGO color palette. Each set provides building inspiration that highlights the possibilities of open-ended building to inspire endless play. Ten sets, ranging from $16.99 to $59.99, three of which come in reusable plastic storage bins, make it the perfect solution for gift-givers or for families. Need more inspiration? Find ideas for all levels of builders at LEGO.com/Classic. 

About the LEGO Group 
The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company with headquarters in Billund, Denmark, and main offices in Enfield, USA, London, UK, Shanghai, China, and Singapore. Founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, and based on the iconic LEGO^® brick, it is one of the world's leading manufacturers of play materials. Guided by the company spirit: "Only the best is good enough", the company is committed to the development of children and aims to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through creative play and learning. LEGO products are sold worldwide and can be virtually explored at www.LEGO.com.

LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure, and the brick and knob configuration are trademarks of the LEGO Group. © 2016 the LEGO Group.

About Upright Citizens Brigade

The Upright Citizens Brigade was founded and is currently owned by Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. With two theaters in New York, two theaters in Los Angeles -- including the newly opened training center and stage on Sunset Boulevard -- the UCB continues to offer the best and most innovative improv and sketch comedy every day of the week on both coasts. Named "the most influential name in improv today" –New York Times and "the nucleus of the nation's alternative comedy scene" –Los Angeles Times, The UCB Theatre is widely recognized as home to today's funniest actors and writers. Among their esteemed alumni include performers and writers for Saturday Night Live, Parks and Recreation, Key & Peele, Veep, Broad City, Silicon Valley, New Girl, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Inside Amy Schumer, The Mindy Project, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, @midnight, The Daily Show, The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Wet Hot American Summer, Pee-wee's Big Holiday, The Heat, 21 Jump Street, The Hangover, Bridesmaids and Ghostbusters (2016) and countless other films, commercials and television shows.  Performers who have gained success continue to lend their talents to the theatre and accredited training centers in both New York and Los Angeles. 

For audiences not in NY/LA, UCB Comedy is the the online home for Sketch, Original Series, & Short Films from the Upright Citizens Brigade. From sketch and experimental comedy to short films and narrative series to comedy podcasts, UCB Comedy is a one-stop shop for short and long form comedy video, audio, and custom branded digital entertainment. 

For more information, visit: ucbtheatre.com and ucbcomedy.com.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of LEGO Systems from June 17-21, 2016 among 2,056 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Kristin Greene (415) 551-9620.

Press Contact:
Ashley Edwards/Flashpoint PR
775-229-2649/[email protected]

SOURCE LEGO Systems, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.lego.com