Nottingham Improvised Comedy Theatre

This course builds directly on from Level 1 – so it’s not a huge leap, and more often than not a lot of the people will have come straight from our Level 1. We focus on one of the things people find most fun about our intro to improv course (and doing improv in general) – characters!

One of the many things that we love about improv is that we are not bound by who we are in the “real world”. From scene to scene we might play pirates or astronauts, lovers or politicians, race-car drivers or inanimate objects – with a supportive scene partner by your side, the scope is limitless!

Initially we look at how as an improviser you don’t need to “be creative” to be able to spontaneously make a wide variety of weird and wonderful characters. We work through a number of fun exercises and ideas, drawing on training from a wide variety of schools across the globe, aimed at giving you a vast tool belt to access a whole cast of dynamic, engaging people every time you step on stage.

We then work on how we can use characters to help power our scenes and even entire long-form shows, simply by finding what’s fun about the people you’re playing!

This course builds directly on from Level 1 – so it’s not a huge leap, and more often than not a lot of the people will have come straight from our Level 1. We focus on one of the things people find most fun about our intro to improv course (and doing improv in general) – characters!

One of the many things that we love about improv is that we are not bound by who we are in the “real world”. From scene to scene we might play pirates or astronauts, lovers or politicians, race-car drivers or inanimate objects – with a supportive scene partner by your side, the scope is limitless!

Initially we look at how as an improviser you don’t need to “be creative” to be able to spontaneously make a wide variety of weird and wonderful characters. We work through a number of fun exercises and ideas, drawing on training from a wide variety of schools across the globe, aimed at giving you a vast tool belt to access a whole cast of dynamic, engaging people every time you step on stage.

We then work on how we can use characters to help power our scenes and even entire long-form shows, simply by finding what’s fun about the people you’re playing!

Following on directly from our Level 2, this course focuses on scenework and the scene you’re in! From how to start scenes, to spotting the type of scene you’re in and how to play it, to how to think about scenes when they’re over – these six weeks are designed to push you out of your comfort zone and get you thinking more about your scenework and the type of improviser you are (or want to be)!

Beginning with a focus on the core principles of good scenework, this level shifts gradually to giving more and more individually tailored feedback and advice. With the sessions in class supplemented by homework tasks designed to both improve your improv and make you think a bit deeper about the artform.

This level draws on the teachings on a range of techniques and teachings from various improv schools and centres on the idea of how by being present, being authentic, and being changed we can turn any scene into something wonderful.

Through levels one, two, and three we’ve worked to build a whole host of improv skills – from crafting wonderful characters, to diving into depths of scenework. At level 4 these skills are put to the test as we hit the high seas of longform improvisation!! With a focus on joy and support, we’ll chart these waters together – looking at the structures and ideas which underpin modern longform and finding the tricks to loving every show you play.

Over this 8 week course, we’ll look at every element of a longform show – exploring suggestions, finding theme, and building two-person and whole cast scenes… all of which will propel your show forward into new, spontaneous places, which’ll never be seen on stage again!

On our travels we’ll visit a number of famous formats including the world famous Harold, and find what makes these forms tick (and more importantly, fun to play), but our focus will be on the ideas that underpin them! This means, rather than coming out with a series of rules for each form, you’ll leave the course with an understanding of longform principles that you can apply to every time you step on stage, no matter what format you’re doing!