ReZoom

By the time Mary Jane Pories had entered her 40s in 1997, she was able to identify a certain direction in her life. Take her career, for instance: After earning a Masters in education, she became a teacher for the next 14 years. Simple cause and effect.

The next step, however, messed up those careful plans.

She auditioned for The Second City, the world-renowned improvisational comedy troupe and the starting place for such household names as Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, John Candy and Martin Short. Created in Chicago in 1959, Second City came to be known as the main source of talent for its slightly more famous cousin, Saturday Night Live.

Such a rich history might have intimidated others, but all those years in front of classrooms tended to get Mary Jane's creativity flowing. Amazingly, she won the gig.

Her two-year tenure at Second City taught her more about the power of improvisation — performance without planning or preparation — than she had ever imagined.

"I wanted to stay at The Second City, but not as a performer," she said. "I believed that the same rules to help an ensemble communicate would translate well to business and family. Improvisation could change people. Transform them."

By the end of her second year, she had developed a business plan to market improvisation in a new way. But the powers-that-be at The Second City felt the new direction wouldn't work, and the plan was denied.

Still, Mary Jane's vision was never clearer. She moved back to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and launched Fishladder, a business designed to help companies build teams and solve problems using the tools of improvisation. Its mission statement: to use improvisation in helping people navigate change by improving their ability to act intelligently and with integrity in unpredictable situations. The business took off almost immediately, her first client being Butterball Farms. Other clients, including Pfizer, General Motors and Huntington Bank soon followed.

With a variety of awards and recognitions under her belt – including the Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women Business of the Year in 2003 – Mary Jane continues to move forward, offering customized workshops and special consultations to clients.

"I'm a teacher at heart," she said. "I don't have a need to be famous or rich. I thrive on introducing people to the transforming power of improvisation."