"We are interesting creatures. We don't need to 'try to be interesting'." - Zach Laliberte
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Improvisation - Beginning
Participants will work in groups to create a safe space in which creativity can flourish. Through the use of teamwork, eye contact and cooperation, they will experience a shift in the way that they perceive creativity and failure. A breakdown of precise procedures will allow participants to fully grasp the concepts of storytelling, moving forward, staying positive, and connecting with others.
Improvisation - Advanced
Through the combined use of games and analytical discussion, participants will deconstruct their performing habits and open new neurological pathways. We will explore the task of "inspiring your partner" through verbal and physical communication. We will also examine the ways in which status influences behavior, and learn to manipulate our own status and the status of others.
Mask Work
The use of masks (including full, half, and photo masks) will be implemented to show a larger than life version of a participant. This heightening of “the real” will allow players to both exaggerate their own physicality and pursue a more honest truth while held within the construct of safety that the mask provides.
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Mask Creation
Participants will get their hands dirty and build masks out of plaster and papier mache! Using critical and creative thinking, we will endow regular objects with vibrancy, life and meaning. The world gives way to the realm of imagination where anything is possible!
Clowning
Through an examination of both “Western” and “Eastern” clowning techniques, participants will become attuned to the signals their own bodies are sending out along with learning how to read the signals of others. Through teamwork and group play, we will discover the “game” that is inherent in all communication and learn ways to cope, combat, and cooperate with each other and ourselves.
The Art of Play
This class is all about game-invention! Participants will examine the philosophy of familiar games and reinvent them as useful tools for learning and growth. We will take an old favorite, like “TAG,” look at the origins, benefits, shortcomings, rules and preconceptions so that we might change them in order to make the game more relevant, useful, fun and/or profitable.
Improvisation for the Non-Actor
You don't need to be a professional or even aspiring actor to reap the benefits of this form of study! Improvisation is all about studying human behavior, exploring our own psychological states and recognizing the habits that are inhibiting us from delivering our best performances. This applies to life off-stage as well as on! This course is great for corporate groups or professional organizations looking to build teamwork. Participants will learn to strengthen partnerships with fellow workers, as well as become more effective communicators and negotiators in business using tools such as status-matching.