All of these workshops will be offered from six to eight, covering the topics of intro to improv theatre, musical improvisation and improvisational dance. To be held in King, Warner and Wilder.
Adam Brooks: Musical Improv 101: Bring Forth the Rhythm and the Rhyme
Do you hate performing the Irish Drinking Song, but love the reaction it gets when done well? The key to it, and musical improv in general, lie in the rhythm and the rhyme. This workshop will focus of these fundamentals of musical improv through group rhythm exercises, rhyming circles, rap-offs, hymnals, and improvised songs. Singing ability ain�t required, but it�s certainly a plus.
Danya Abt and Susie Seidelman: So You Suck at Improv...
Mike Leibowitz: The Wonderful World of Musical Improv
This workshop is about the spontaneous creation of sound. Specific strategies for creating coherent structures will be explored. No musical experience is necessary. All you need is your body and yourself and possibly a sense of humor, all though not necessary.
Elinor Anderson-Genne: Friday Night Dance Party
Pete Koschnick: Improv and Puppetry
Saturday's workshops will run from eleven in the morning until six in the evening in King. Each of the professional workshops will be offered three times, once from eleven to one, once from two to four, and once from four to six.
Bob Dassie: Improvising the 3 and 4 person Scene and Group Scenes
Bob hails from Chicago where he toured with the Second City and performed improvisation at the Improv Olympic for a bunch of years. He has been involved in several legendary groups, including musical improv group Baby Wants Candy and long-form improvisation (and critically acclaimed) shows trio, quartet and WeirDass. His first one-man show, Something For Everyone, has been performed in Chicago, Memphis, Boston, and just finished a run in L.A. where he currently resides. He has also made several appearances on Mad TV.
This course will focus on the possibilities beyond the standard 2 person scene and the multiple person game. Relationship will be used as a foundation to explore the complexities of a well crafted multiple character scene and finding the balance in the group dynamic.
Alex Fendrich: Group Improvisation
Alex Fendrich was seduced by lady improv around 6 years ago and he's been playing ever since. When he's not on stage, you can see Alex teaching at ImprovOlympic and directing various projects including Tuesday Night Special, a long-form show currently playing on the etc. stage at Second City with current etc. cast members and alumni of SC. Last year Alex directed the cast of Atlantis in the show The Subject, a piece "highly recommended" by the Chicago Reader and Chicago Sun-Times. If you come by ole' IO you can see Alex perform Mondays with Armando, and Tuesdays he's behind the keys for The Lottery, a show that combines students and veterans he created and directs with fellow People of Earth player Andy St. Clair. The Lottery has been picked up on both coasts, playing in LA and NYC at IOWest and the UCB theatre respectively. Alex plays on the Harold team People of Earth, his family away from home.
Work as a group organically to create in a way one can't create individually. Using various physical and pattern recognition exercises to build the muscle of ensemble, Alex Fendrich will have your group amazing itself by improvising collectively rather than as individuals. The work will get funnier, smarter, more interesting and the group mind will be the source of it all.
Dan Griffiths: Clown Theatre
Dan Griffiths has been creating original work since 1998 and has performed in more than 45 states and 25 countries including Korea, Japan, Germany, Panama, Saudi Arabia, and islands throughout the Indian Ocean. Dan holds a B.A. in Drama from Saint Mary College in Kansas and has trained at the Goldston & Johnson School for Mimes with the Klown troupe Die Hanswurste and also with Marcel Marceau. At home in Chicago, Dan is the Artistic director of LID Productions and teaches Clown Theatre at the Actors Gymnasium.
This program will guide performers of all disciplines to understand and explore the techniques instrumental in the creation of Clown Theatre. You will develop precision and clarity of movement in support of comic performance styles. Emphasis is on how to structure a 'bit' and how to build to and deliver a physical punch line. Concepts explored include: character, status, improvisation exaggeration, pessimism, partnering, disproportion, immediacy and space.
Stephen Eric Chipps: Physical Humor
Since 1985, Stephen Eric Chipps has taught as an Artist-in-Residence offering master classes and residencies for theaters, museums, community centers, and schools. In 1990 he received the OHIO Inc. Staff Achievement Award for his outstanding work with children; he also works with SBH, MRDD and LD special needs populations. Stephen has been a member of the Ohio Arts Council - Arts in Education program since 1992 and was accepted onto their Performing Arts on Tour roster in 1998. He has also been an annual resident artist with the Cleveland Museum of Arts - 'Parade the Circle' program since 1992.
This class will focus on the techniques used in the creation of physical comedy. Students will learn techniques useful in performing in a comic setting as well as structures used in comedy writing. Emphasis will be given to the individual as a comic as well as comedy performance in groups. *Note: Stephen's 2pm-4pm workshop is being offered specifically for a younger age group. Kids, come out and play!*
Jim Williams: Body Mechanics
Jim Williams began his training at the age of 16 with C. Nicholas Johnson through a school workshop in 1996. Since then, he has studied at the Goldston & Johnson School for Mimes, the Trinity/LaMaMa Performing Arts program in New York, and the St. Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, and with Marcel Marceau, Bill Irwin, and Greg Goldston. Jim received his BA in Theater at Oberlin College in the Spring of 2002 and is currerntly an active member of LID Productions, where he works in grant research and curriculum development at the Chicago School for Physical Theatre.
Beginning with the basic technique of Etienne Decroux, one of the founding fathers of modern mime, this course will focus on intricacy of movement and the potential for emotional expression through the body. You will discover the underlying fundamentals necessary for physical performance and the principals behind mime technique and physical comedy while gaining greater control of your body, learning to manipulate space and increasing your physical presence. Techniques explored include: line and design, stops, suspension, isolations, point-fix, grounding, weight, musicality, and projection.
Shaun Landry: Using Improv in the Real World for Fun and Profit
Shaun, a native South Side Chicagoan, is the Artistic Director of Oui Be Negroes. Other theater credits include the National Touring Company of the Second City, The Second City Children's Theatre Co., Geese Theatre Company, Child's Play Touring Theatre, the African American Shakespeare Company and Playback Theatre Midwest. Currently residing in San Francisco, Shaun also co-founded the San Francisco Improv Co-Operative. She has taught intensives at festivals and theatre venues throughout the United States including The Funny Women's Improv Fest, The Big Stinkin Improv Festival and The Yesand New York Improv Festival.
You have graduated with numerous improv classes and conferences under your belt. NOW WHAT? Shaun Landry shows how to use improvisational skills for commercial and film auditions. Shaun will also supply helpful resources nationally to get started in theatre and acting in the real world.
Sam Shaw: Revisiting Two-Person Scene Fundamentals
Sam Shaw has been improvising since 1988. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Sam counts numerous troupes across the country as his training grounds. Currently in San Francisco, he co-founded The San Francisco Improv Co-Operative with Shaun Landry in 2001 in an effort to empower new improv troupes and diversify the local scene. He is the director of the '50s adlibbing team The Babcocks, and produces annual shows by the Japanese power quartet Yellow Man Group.
The two-person scene is the foundation of improv. In this class, we'll work with the establishment and frustration of objectives, the discovery and heightening of games, and the difference between energy and speed. This is an advanced class, with applications in both improv games and longform.