Dramatic Improv isn’t just
for one weekend a year!
We’re continuing the Dramatic Improv love
throughout the year with these great guest teachers!
So many classes, so many choices! Some classes are in-person in Chicago, and some are online. Check them all out!
In-person classes will take place at studio Momentum (DIRECTIONS HERE) in Chicago.
All online classes are via Zoom, with times noted in the Central time zone.
Refunds/cancellation policy
Workshops
Dramatic Conflict: How to Say Yes by Saying No with Kenn Adams [ONLINE]
In this workshop we’ll explore the difference between conflict (arguing, criticizing, belittling, mocking) and dramatic conflict – having an objective that just happens to be in opposition to your partner’s. Conflict for the sake of conflict is painfully difficult to watch while skillful dramatic conflict is enthralling and at the heart of most great scenes. We’ll discover how to fight for your objective while honoring your partner’s offers and the emotional truth of the scene, raise the stakes by building on your partner’s offer rather than negating or minimizing them, play compelling scenes of dramatic conflict between two characters that actually love, respect and want what’s best for each other, and how to really “say, yes!” by accepting the “spirit of the offer” rather than simply being agreeable. (Very often the best way to say “yes” is by saying “no!”) After this workshop, you’ll truly understand the concept of dramatic conflict and be able to put it to work!
Saturday, October 18, 12-2:30 PM Central [VIA ZOOM]
$35
Shut Up The Fear in Your Head with Jimmy Carrane [Chicago]
Improv should be easy as having a conversation, if it's not, it's because you are in fear. The opposite of fear is connection.
Once you learn how to connect with your partner on a deeper emotional level you will go places you never imagined and you will surprise yourself, your scene partner and the audience. When this happens it means you are out of your head and into your heart. And the good news is with a Dramatic Improv background you will be able to do faster than you think.
In this workshop you will learn:
- All the answers for a scene are in your partner
-Connecting on a deeper emotional level
-Why it's so important to improvise one or two lines at a time
- Heightening your emotions
Sunday, October 26, 12:30-2:30 PM at Studio Momentum
$45
Connect. Feel. Relate. with Matt Elwell [Chicago]
How to build scenes with emotion and active relationships in the first 30 seconds.
Tired of scenes about stuff? Why do so many scenes end up being two people standing at center stage negotiating stuff, places, and people that we never see? This highly interactive, fast-paced elective uses group exercises and scenes to instill the habit of building the scene from the deep emotional relationship between the characters. Don’t have a deep emotional relationship? No problem! We’ll make one!
Sunday, November 9, 12-2:30 PM at Studio Momentum
$35
Go Deeper, Faster with Asaf Ronen [ONLINE]
Skip past the pleasantries and into the meat of the scene immediately. Play your characters as if they have a sense of history and learn that depth within a few lines of dialogue. Learn simple tactics that will give you insights and avenues to explore in any situation that you are thrown into.
Sunday, November 16th, 12-2:30 PM Central
$40
Process: An Actor’s Journey –
A Foundation for Improvised Acting with Michael Gellman [ONLINE, 5 weeks]
Improvisation is the Jazz of Theatre - Come play with us!
Improvisation is simply acting without a script - A theatre created by actors for actors – Modern day Improvisation began as a playful method of training through the creation of story and the actors’ imagination
Focus on the fun of exploring the actor’s craft for performance – rediscover the playfulness within the play.
Participants will be encouraged to focus on the tools and techniques necessary for creating strong exciting and inspired performance and explore methods used to create unique and truthful theatre with and without text. Actors in Improvised Acting will delve into:
· Trusting ourselves and our characters in performance
· Exploring your potential for creating detailed characters
· Playing and being truly present in the moment
· Connecting to your partner on stage
· Reacting vs responding
· Hear what you’re listening to – see what you’re looking at
· Getting out of own way
· Rediscovering the JOY in performance
This 5-week workshop series will start with personal character creation and culminate in an online performance.
Saturdays, October 25-November 22, 12-3 Central [VIA ZOOM]
$200
Death, Dying, and Bereavement with Rhiannon Griswold-Jenkins [ONLINE]
Ever found yourself on stage in a death scene, and stalled? Unsure how to approach these difficult subjects? Want to bring more pathos to your improv? Then this is the workshop for you.
In this workshop, we will examine our relationships with the end of life, how we can represent these relationships truthfully onstage, and how we can treat our fellow players and audiences with compassion and humour while approaching these tough topics. There will be some in-depth discussion of death, dying, and cultural and religious attitudes to bereavement, which we will use as inspiration for introspective, open-hearted improv.
Participants should be prepared to discuss both religious and non-religious aspects of death culture. This may be emotionally challenging.
We will discover together what death and bereavement mean for you, and how you can realistically portray end of life scenes in front of an audience.
Sunday, November 2, 12-2:30 Central [VIA ZOOM]
$40
Come Flirt with Me! with Simone Ellul [ONLINE]
Can we show intimacy without face-to-face eye contact, without the brush of a hand, a caress, an embrace? Does it really need physical contact? NO! Can we flirt across the miles? YES! Especially in the realm of online improv, we can still signal our interest and lay the groundwork to create meaningful and believable relationships.
Are you ready to explore? Together let’s see how to bring our long-distance relationships much closer. In this workshop we will be exploring non-verbal signs that help us connect and yes, flirt, with people on the other side of our screen. Along the way, we’ll also discover how simple consent tools and clear signals make the play feel safe, fun, and full of possibilities. Let’s have fun sending signals and creating romantic scenes!
Sunday, November 9, 2:30-5 PM Central [VIA ZOOM]
$35