Lego Systems, Upright Citizens Brigade Join Forces to Inspire Creativity

Eighty-eight percent of American value creativity as a personal trait, but one in four (25 percent) do not identify themselves as creative individuals, according to an online Harris Poll commissioned by Lego Systems Inc. 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 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.

An inspirational video will be available for viewing on Lego’s YouTube channel on July 10. Here are some tips from Lego Master Builders and Upright Citizens Brigade Experts on how to have a family improve activity at home:

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.

About the author

Maddie Michalik

Maddie Michalik

Maddie Michalik was the Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book from 2020-2022. She was also a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider.

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