Improv Workshop (In-Person)

BE THE HOST(ESS) WITH THE MOST(ESS)

People paid good money and time to be at your show.  Give them the best experience through effective, concise, and powerful hosting.  Whether you have to emcee an entire show or just go out and get a suggestion, learn the skills necessary to effectively open a show, run games, get good suggestions, and support your fellow actors through great hosting!

Preferred Skill Level of Students: Beginner– Advanced
Workshop Student Limit: 12 Length of Workshop: 2 hrs.
Acceptable payment arrangements: 50/50 split, Flat Fee, Per Student
Workshop Outline:

• Discussion of role of an emcee.
• Explore power dynamics between audience & performer.
• Work on endless committment to engaging the audience.
• Learn how to “warm up” the crowd.
• Explore getting suggestions (steering the audience to good suggestions, rejecting/ignoring bad ones).
• Using techniques when the audience is not receptive to the team/host.
• Incorporating “crowd work” into the show.
• Learn how breaking the 4th wall consistently can actually have the audience feel they’re a part of the show.
• Learn how to interview an audience member to get suggestions
• Identify and use strong editing of short-form games as a host.

Special Instructions: None

HAVE GUITAR. WILL TRAVEL

Have you ever felt you’ve worked really hard with your partners to explore and heighten your scene and you feel like you have nowhere to go? Guess what? YOU DO! Go into song and let the laughs continue! This workshop will introduce the fundamentals of musical improv and how you can use basic musical direction & performance to take your scenes to a new level!

Preferred Skill Level of Students: Intermediate – Advanced
Workshop Student Limit: 12 Length of Workshop: 3 hrs.
Acceptable payment arrangements: 50/50 split, Flat Fee, Per Student
Workshop Outline:

• Physical Warm Up Vocal Technique overview
• Discuss how to vocalize with the body
• Perform vocalization warm-ups. Basic “singprov” overview
• Performing rhyming exercises
• Learn basic rhyming song structures
• Perform scenes into song Learn advanced MI concepts
• Learn fundamental song structures (Verses, Chorus)
• Learn basic chord progressions/styles (12 bar blues, I-IV-V songs, reggae)

Special Instructions: None

TALKING TABOO – PLAYING WITH RACE, GENDER, AND OTHER NO-NOS

Ever wonder what it’d be like to play characters, relationships, and situations that you’ve always wanted to but others told you not to? Have you shied away from exploring new creativity because of how you may be perceived? This workshop is to discuss and play with the taboos of improv such as race, gender, religion, politics, sex, mortality, and language among many others to break down the barriers to unlock realism and depth to your scene work based on every day human experience.

Preferred Skill Level of Students: Intermediate – Advanced
Workshop Student Limit: 12
Length of Workshop: 2-3 hrs.
Acceptable payment arrangements: 50/50 split, Flat Fee, Per Student
Workshop Outline:

• Discussion of taboos in students’ personal lives.
• Discussion of taboos in improv.
• Develop characters based on personal opinion regarding a given taboo.
• Incorporate improvised monologues.
• Incorporate real-life characters to develop new ones that embody a given taboo, e.g., the former Southern belle who allows a subtext of “southern pride” to support her dialogue. Understand justification for these characters, i.e., when it’s “right” to use them. Explore dramatic improvisation, i.e. “not chase the funny”, when exploring these issues. 

Special Instructions: None

BEYOND HAMILTON: A MUSICAL IMPROV WORKSHOP

Hip-hop has influenced everything from the radio to the TV to the big screen.  It has also become part of the theatre scene as well!  Learn the basics of what it takes to do improvised hip-hop from the streetz on up!  We learn the fundamentals of building your rhyme catalog to putting together a cypher to going from scene into hip-hop in one dope workshop!

Preferred Skill Level of Students: Beginner – Advanced
Workshop Student Limit: 12
Length of Workshop: 3-4 hrs.
Acceptable payment arrangements: 50/50 split, Flat Fee, Per Student
Workshop Outline:

• Develop a sense of presentation & commitment to the performance of rap
• Work on building a rhyming catalog and techniques to keep it fresh and current
• Explore different rhyme flows and tips & tricvks that can be used when freestyle rhyming
• Practice give and take of focus within a hip-hop based cypher/song
• Play short-form games and long-form scenes that include rap
• Use supportive techniques for the back-line to use during a show
• Take a look at existing “hip-hoperas” and show how they use these techniques

Special Instructions: Would like access to a sound system to connect devices with pre-recorded music to play if possible.

PLAY ME OFF, JOHNNY!

Musical directors – they’re like unicorns – you always hear about them but can never capture them for your show!  Why not become your own unicorn and learn the secrets behind the techniques of musical direction?

Preferred Skill Level of Students: Beginner
Workshop Student Limit: 12
Length of Workshop: 3-4 hrs.
Acceptable payment arrangements: 50/50 split, Flat Fee, Per Student
Workshop Outline:

• Discuss the role of a musical director (MD)
• Explore the art of underscoring scenes
• Explore different genres of music and how to emulate them.
• Work on supporting common musical improv structured songs (choruses, tagline numbers, variety numbers, revolution numbers,rap battles, etc.)
• Improvising with multiple musicians (if applicable)

Special Instructions: Students should bring their own instruments – preferable acoustic instruments or keyboards.