My Philosophy, Pillars & Approach

Through a fresh and distinct approach, I guide people to connect, collaborate, shatter limiting narratives, find and follow their instincts, and leap headfirst into the unknown! As a woman of colour and comedian, my identity and experience have significantly influenced how I navigate, facilitate and thrive within creative, professional and performance endeavours. 

These principles are important to me in developing a safe, open and dynamic space.

They’ve supported my own journey as a person and an artist, and shape the experiences I provide to others. Rest assured, I’ll keep refining and and remain open to adjustments.

PHILOSOPHY

  • No masks, no fronting, I’m all about helping you find your voice, your strengths and your uniqueness. When you express your true self, you show up with confidence and form genuine connections.

  • I make sure my words, actions and approach consistently align with honesty, good intentions and the humility to learn from mistakes.

  • We work together with an agreement of trust, support, patience, genuine appreciation – and lots of eye contact.

  • Every voice and every perspective is heard and valued, alongside a commitment to learning and doing better, even if it means having those uncomfortable conversations.

PILLARS

  • I know, I know, “Safe space” is such an overused term, but this is KEY. So often, we fear making mistakes, experiencing shame and facing failure (myself included) that we don’t even try things. How would you move, speak, create and experiment in a space of unconditional acceptance, unwavering support and zero judgement? When we feel safe, we accept our vulnerabilities and are more open to explore, play, connect and learn boldly.

  • Showing up for yourself and giving it a solid shot has big payoffs!

  • This “work” doesn’t feel like work! It’s engaging, creative, playful annnnnd effortlessly boosts your learning, confidence and creative muscles!

  • Together, we create a space to experiment with fresh choices, unearth hidden talents, reinvent ourselves, and tap into new perspectives with ease.

APPROACH

  • I’m not sure about you but sometimes prep, required reading or studying is enough to deter me from giving something a shot and staying committed. Which is why we’ll start where you are. Everything you need, know and will use is already within you, little grasshopper.

  • Do. The. Actual. Thing. We dive into practical, actionable exercises that transform theory into tangible results.

  • We each bring unique backgrounds, skills and learning curves to the table, and are evaluated on our own individual trajectory. Levels of success look different for everyone and it’s important to avoid getting caught up in the comparison game. Instead redirect your attention to your growth, learning, self-improvement and fun.

“I jokingly tell people that Sehar Manji cured my fear of improv. Truthfully Improv has never been my strength and my early experiences with improv workshops were not positive. My best friend really wanted to take improv classes together so I decided to give it another chance. We were lucky enough to have Sehar as our teacher and it completely changed my relationship to improv. Sehar tailors her classes to each group of students and is diligent about maintaining a safe space in class. I 100% recommend taking classes with Sehar if you are looking to improve your improv skills or simply to have a better, more holistic understanding of storytelling and human communication. She’s also very entertaining as a performer, so do yourself a favor and catch one of her shows!

Amber Jackson

Vancouver

Sehar was a very patient and thoughtful instructor, and it's very clear how extremely passionate she is about Improv!! She did a phenomenal job of breaking down the fundamentals, making it easy for everyone to participate and really facilitating a space where people were comfortable doing things completely outside of their comfort zone. It's not an easy ask to get a room full of strangers to open up and unwind but she made it feel effortless and also extremely safe. 10/10 would let loose with her again.

Mandeep Wraich

Toronto

I always felt comfortable and in the best hands in Sehar's class. She's friendly, professional, and deeply devoted to what she does. She was always able to give each person individual attention, helping us all bring out our inner performer. Not only that, her classes are just plain fun! It's all about play, and we all need a little more playtime in our lives. After taking more than one improv class with her in the past, I wouldn't hesitate to work with her again in the future!

Erika Dyer

Montreal