Workshops

Give Improv the Respect it Deserves

In this workshop, we will work on honoring the reality of the scene while making big, playful choices. Improv is closer to theater than stand-up. Let’s give the stage the respect it deserves. This workshop is perfect for someone working on committing harder and playing full, real characters.

Sebastian is a NY-based comedian from Staten Island. Sebastian has appeared as a blue-collar worker on several TV shows. Check out his podcast Loud About Nothing.

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No Small Parts

The Ultimate Improv Guide to all things Entrances, Side Characters, Objectwork, Scene Painting (and more!)

Improv is about creating new and humongous worlds...and we rarely get to see any of it besides two people standing and talking. No Small Parts! is about the excitement of supporting in even the smallest ways. Those characters on stage for 3 seconds we wish we got 3 hours with. Learn how to move a scene forward and add to what’s already happening. Make use of all your improv tools from sound effects to just being a tree, because no part is too small!

Jake Lucas (they/them) is the Artistic Director of ComedySportz Philly, improvising and educating for over 9 years & putting the "imp" in impulse. Jake has taught with the Philadelphia School of Improv, Playworks, School District of Philadelphia, UArts, Mantua Theater Project and has performed with Pseudonym Productions, Maukingbird Theater Co., SideQuest Theater, Waterhouse Collective, Swim Pony Performing Arts, and more. They are the creator & director of PRIDE & Prejudice, Detective Improv, and But WAIT there’s MORE! You can see them performing in ComedySportz, Roll Play, Hallmarkable, Puppets Here & There, Best Medicine, or wherever there's fresh hoagies.

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Make Big Choices

As improvisers, the choices we make on stage define what kind of players we are. In this workshop, we'll work on pushing past predictable ideas to surprise the audience, our scene partners, and ourselves! We'll also talk about the restraints we place on our own choices and how we can break out of those.

Shane can be seen on stage at UCB in ASSSSCAT, Rumpleteaser Musical Improv, and Harold Night with The Prophecy. He also performs at Caveat Theatre as a core cast member of Raaaatscraps. Besides training at UCB, he’s also a graduate of the Summer Evening Conservatory at Stella Adler Studios. Catch him acting in plays, readings, and short films all around NY.

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Line by Line

Build scenes by listening and responding one line at a time. Instead of jumping ahead or forcing ideas, you’ll learn to let each line inform the next. The result is scenes that feel more grounded, connected, and effortless to build.

Chris Alvarado has been performing and teaching improv for nearly 29 years. He trained at The Second City Chicago, iO West, and UCB LA, and has been a part of the Los Angeles improv community for much of his career. He is the founder of Chris Alvarado Improv Workshops, which focus on teaching honest and meaningful improv. He performs with the multi-award-winning improv group, Heyday, as well as Pretty Pretty Pony at The Westside Comedy Theater, and is a member of the experimental group, The Live Direct Show. His recent TV credits include Hacks (HBO Max)

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Crashganics

Shannon O'Neill teaches a style of organic improv that forces you to be in the moment. This workshop will focus on the beginning. Openings, edits, and the start of scenes. Ideally, students in this workshop have been exposed to a few or all of the following openings, pattern game, scene painting, sound and movement, invocation & documentary. But it's not a deal breaker if they haven't. Advanced Students Preferred.

I am an actor/improviser/writer. I’m a veteran of The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre where I have performed for over 20 years. I hosted and performed in ASSSSCAT for almost 10 years before the Pandemic. I have taught improv for over 15 years, and was Artistic Director of UCB Theatre from 2014-2018. I have been in TV/Film & trouble.

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Clown Cardio

Clown Cardio is a one-hour play class that runs physical theater games, clown, and slapstick at the pace of a high energy workout. Founded in 2023 and since featured in The New York Times and Monocle, it began as a reaction against the parts of improv and clown training that slow things down—the notes, the theory, the standing around. What's left is just the games, played hard enough to count as cardio. It lasts an hour because that's about all you can take. All fitness levels welcome. No experience required.

Jaymie Parkkinen is the founder of Clown Cardio. Based in Los Angeles, Jaymie has taught and performed comedy around the world, training in improv and clown across more than a decade and in more countries than is strictly reasonable. Catch Jaymie this festival in The Live Direct Show.

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INTRO TO JTS BROWN: EMBRACING ORGANIC PLAY AND RECKLESS SUPPORT

More of an improv "philosophy" than an improv "form", The JTS Brown is known for its fluid and dream-like logic and use of physical transformations within and between scenes. This class will introduce students to some of the fundamental mechanics of the JTS Brown while working with students to cultivate fearlessness through a mix of mind-bending organic exercises. No more sweep edits!

As one of the founders of ColdTowne Theater and a member of the seminal improv groups ColdTowne and the Frank Mills, Michael was instrumental in the explosive growth of the Austin Comedy scene from 2005-2020. He has won several awards for his work, including “Best Comedy Group ” in the Austin Chronicle Reader’s poll and the B. Iden Payne award for “Outstanding Improv Ensemble.” Michael has taught his improv workshops all over the country, including at the Oberlin College Improv Festival, The Oklahoma Improv Festival, the Phoenix Improv Festival, The Dallas Comedy Fest, The Alaska State Improv Fest, The Magnet Theater in NYC, The Ocean State Improv Festival, and at the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival in Chapel Hill. As a recent Philly-area transplant, Michael has been hiding out in the 'burbs where he teaches improv at The Lab in Ambler and performs with "This Week Sucked" and "Hot Bread.

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Solo Schlomo

Learn how to yes and yourself in this workshop that celebrates solo improv. Practice trusting your instincts, listening to and loving your own ideas, playing multiple characters and feeling comfortable being alone on stage. We’ll work on embodying multiple characters physically, engaging with the environment, and, most importantly, listening to that voice inside that says “try this!”

Mary Carpenter has worked as an actor, improviser, teacher, director and writer in Philadelphia for over 30 years. A graduate of Northwestern University and LAMDA, Mary has worked with 1812 Productions, Act II Playhouse, Montgomery Theatre Company, and many more. She has been with CSZ Philadelphia since 1992, where she has worked as a performer, teacher, Education Director, Artistic Director, and Executive Director. Mary’s improvisation experience also includes City of Nutterly Love with The Second City, It Doesn’t Matter, ‘Til Death Do Us Part, 3M, I’ll Have What She’s Having, Odd at Sea, Detective Improv, Frankenstein’s Body and her new solo show What If, as well as publishing her book: Do Or Do Not: How To Improvise Like A Jedi. Most recently, she co-created and co-directed Improvised Star Wars. She has taught improv for 30+ years at CSz, Improv Utopia, Baltimore Improv Festival, the Nestival and many independent workshops.

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