Acting As If: Improv for Recovery
By David Koff | Founder, Change Through Play | Updated April 2026
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
I've spent over two decades in 12 step meetings: first getting sober, and then helping others work the steps. I’ve seen the magic that happens when people step into a room and get honest and vulnerable, sharing their stories.
But I’m also a professional actor, Then, one day, after a meeting, a phrase I’d said thousands of times — “Acting as If” — suddenly hit me in a new way. “Acting as If” requires acting. In this case unscripted or improvised acting. A workshop was born.
I now know the magic that happens when people in recovery step into a room and start playing together. Guards come down. Bodies that have been braced for impact start to soften. People who haven't made eye contact in years do it naturally — because the game requires it, not because a therapist told them to.
That's the premise behind "Acting As If" — a 3-hour workshop I developed and pilot-tested across 24 sessions with 21 unique participants at Portland's Alano Club. Using exercises from theater, improvisation, and movement, I lead participants in exercises that use the connection between our emotional, physical, and psychological selves — the three "bodies" that addiction quietly disconnects from each other.
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Free or low-cost. Open to anyone working any 12-step program. No performance experience needed. No judgment. Just play. But play that reveals valuable tools; play that provides deep insights into our psychology; play that shows a path forward to recovery, complementing traditional approaches like meetings, fellowship, and literature.
WHAT PARTICIPANTS SAY
WHAT HAPPENS
Every exercise has a purpose rooted in recovery.
Physical exercises help you identify how your body holds and expresses emotion — and what it feels like when it's braced versus at ease.
Visual exercises build your ability to read emotion in others — essential for rebuilding the trust that addiction damages.
Verbal exercises practice communicating clearly and, when needed, "acting as if" you're coming from calm acceptance — even when you're not.
THE FIRING SQUAD
The workshop ends with an exercise we developed known as "The Firing Squad." Volunteers offer up real-world triggers — fear of confrontation, lack of self-worth, mistrust of authority, etc. Then, with everyone's permission and a facilitator’s deft hand, the remaining participants push on those triggers by role playing using improvisation.
We go through several rounds, some coached, some not. The goal: to learn to respond rather than react, drawing on mind, body, and spirit as a unified force.
Participants have called it "revealing," "transformative," and "surprisingly powerful."
WHAT THE DATA SHOW
"Acting As If" has been pilot-tested across 24 sessions with 21 unique participants at Portland's Alano Club and other recovery settings. Participants completed self-assessment surveys immediately before and after each session, rating themselves on a 0–10 scale across six dimensions central to recovery. Three participants completed the workshop twice — providing rare longitudinal data that confirms the results hold up over time.
Percentage improvements are calculated from each participant's own before-session baseline — measuring real change from where each person started, not from an abstract average.
Three participants returned for a second session. None reported diminished value from repeat participation — and all maintained or improved their scores. This suggests the workshop has durable utility as a recurring complement to recovery programming, not merely a one-time experience.
For the full program impact report including longitudinal participant data and extended participant testimonials, download our overview document below.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Our workshop is ideal for ANYONE working the steps, so we welcome members of AA, NA, GA, Al-Anon, SAA, SLAA, DA, and others. No experience in improvising or acting is required or needed. The workshop is intentionally gentle, deliberately playful, and built around the understanding that humor and lightness are not the opposite of serious recovery work — they're part of it. If traditional recovery tools are doing the work but something still feels stuck in your body or in how you connect with others, this workshop was built for you.
Learn more about David Koff and Change Through Play's approach.
BRING OUR WORKSHOP TO YOU
If you run a treatment center, sober living facility, outpatient program, or recovery organization, we'll bring "Acting As If" to your participants — in Portland or anywhere in the country.
The workshop requires no special equipment, no prior improv experience from staff or participants, and no advanced setup. Just an open space large enough for people to move around freely. We handle the rest.
We're actively seeking partnerships with organizations that share a commitment to holistic, creative approaches to recovery support — and we're happy to offer one complimentary pilot session to assess fit for your community.
Download our program impact report for full outcome data, participant testimonials, and partnership details. Then contact us to discuss scheduling, pricing, and how we can work together.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Does this workshop replace therapy or meetings?
No. "Acting As If" is designed as a complement to — not a replacement for — fellowship, meetings, therapy, and other recovery modalities. It fills a different gap: embodied, physical, and playful engagement with recovery concepts that traditional formats don't offer.
Do I need acting or improv experience?
None whatsoever. No performance experience is required or expected. All activities are non-threatening and non-performative. The only requirement is a willingness to play.
Who is this workshop for?
Anyone working a 12-step program — AA, NA, GA, Al-Anon, SAA, SLAA, DA, and others. The workshop is spiritually neutral and welcomes participants at any stage of recovery.
How long is the workshop?
Sessions are 3 hours in length, facilitated in person by David Koff, an addict in recovery since 2000.
Can you bring this to our facility?
Yes. We travel to treatment centers, sober living facilities, outpatient programs, and recovery organizations throughout Portland and across the country. Contact us to discuss scheduling and pricing.
Is there data on the workshop's effectiveness?
Yes. Across 24 sessions with 21 unique participants, self-assessed body awareness improved by +32.6% from baseline, vulnerability by +28.4%, and verbal participation by +15.5%. Three participants completed the workshop twice, and all maintained or improved their scores in the second session. Download our full program report to see the full data set.
Deliverable prepared for changethroughplay.com/improv-addiction | Change Through Play | April 2026