25th September – 30th October | Wednesdays | 19:00 – 21:30
If you’ve ever watched an improv show you’ll know that some scenes make you lean in and hang off every word and some other scenes… Well they make you wonder if you can get away with discreetly checking your phone.
What is the difference? That’s exactly what this course covers. Over 6 sessions this brand new course of workshops explores the different ways we can toy with making our audiences care. These classes will be filled with exercises and scenes experimenting with different characters, their choices, and relationships.
Each session will involve improvised scene-work, side coaching, as well as checking in with the audience to gauge real time feedback. We’ll be exploring questions like:
- What makes the audience care if characters or relationships succeed?
- What makes the audience delighted to witness a scene rather than feel they are doing the improvisers a favour?
- What makes some scenes electric with authenticity and others feel like you are watching people pretending to be humans?
This course is aimed at intermediate level improvisers, i.e. you’ve performed in front of an audience and feel comfortable with general scene-work.
Please note: These workshops are not suitable for beginners who are brand new to improvisation.
About the Instructor
When not improvising in London (at the The Comedy Store with Paul Merton & Suki Webster’s Impro Show, or playing with the Yes Queens female improv supergroup or legendary duo Breaking and Entering) Maria performs locally with Bristol’s This Is Your Musical.
She’s been invited to perform at improv festivals internationally, including Estonia, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal & The United States. A lot of her expertise has also been gathered from world-class instructors over the years, studying with: Charna Halpern, author of Truth in Comedy, who originally developed The Harold with Del Close; Keith Johnstone; New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade; and The Second City and iO Chicago in Chicago.
On top of nearly 15 years of improvising, Maria is also a world class facilitator. Her varied career encompasses Professional Development Training and Learning Workshop Design which means she’s an expert in passing on knowledge in interactive & engaging ways.
Maria creates friendly and relaxed environments to learn in and believes in giving her students all the tools possible to find the JOY of improv for players and the audience alike.