Level One: Intro to Improv
Students learn the fundamentals of improv comedy, including “yes and,” creating characters and relationships, and spacework.
Level Two: Scenework Strategies
Building on the fundamentals learned in Level One, students will begin to remove their improv training wheels while exploring ways to strengthen their comedy scenes, including finding games and developing deeper characters and relationships. Students will also begin to explore various longform techniques such as edits, walk-ons, tag-outs, and group scenes.
Level Three: Advanced Scenework
Students explore the scenework toolbelt they’ve accumulated while being introduced to concepts like shape of show, second and third beats, and nonscenic elements.
Level Four: The Harold
If Chicago-style improv were music, The Harold would be the twelve-bar blues, the language that’s shared by all improvisers in this tradition. In addition to being a challenging and rewarding form in itself, The Harold is also a great teaching tool, and the skills learned in mastering it are applicable to almost every other form of improv.
Level Five: Forms
Students will build upon their knowledge of the Harold while exploring other improv forms, such as narrative long-form, the Armando, the Living Room, the Deconstruction, and The Movie.
Level Six: The Show
Students will develop their own improv format and develop a show for performance at the ColdTowne Theater while continuing to build on their previous four levels of training.