Thursday, June 23, 2016

Improv Workshops with Gary Jacobs, July 9 - 10, 2016

 

From: Kenna Josephene [mailto:verygoodmedicine@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2016 11:26 AM
Subject: Fwd: Improv Workshops: Gary Jacobs, July 9 - 10, 2016

 

____________________________

Gary Jacobs

Precipice Improv Theater

_____________________________

 

Visionary theater improv teacher Gary Jacobs is coming from the Washington, DC, area to Tucson!  He will be here July 9 - 10.

Gary Jacobs is founder of The Center for Narrative Improvisation and Precipice Improv Theater in the Washington, DC, area. He has taught improvisational theater all over the U.S. and internationally and is author of the upcoming book The Third Wave of Improv. During his 36-year career in improv, he apprenticed for 10 years with Second City director and teacher Michael Gellman, coiner of the term "long-form improv."

Gary's book The Third Wave of Improv explores these questions: Can improvisation create great theater, theater as good as the best scripted work? If so, how? It includes interviews with leading improv teachers, directors, and troupes, as well as the latest cutting-edge exercises and techniques.

In 1996, Gary founded Precipice Improv Theater, dedicated to performing only improvised plays. Upon hearing of his plans for Precipice, Gary's mother said, "This will either be the most brilliant contribution to Western Civilization since the invention of scientific one-point perspective by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1413, or theatrical suicide."

Twenty years later, Precipice Improv Theater is still improvising plays for delighted audiences.  Gary teaches the tools they've developed for keeping scenes strong and audiences engaged.

Students have this to say about his teaching:

I've studied improv with other teachers, and while it was always loads of fun, Gary's class brings us to a completely different creative level.

-- Penina Maya, improviser

Gary's classes still blow my mind after 3 years. Sheer genius.

-- Tim Ward, President, Asia Africa Operations at Intermedia Communications Training and author of What Buddha Never Taught, and Zombies on Kilimanjaro

 

Read more about Gary Jacobs and his theater company, Precipice Improv Theater, here:



TUCSON SCHEDULE


Workshop for All Actors:
July 9, 10am - 1pm, Unscrewed Theater

Workshop for Improvisers:

July 9, 2 - 5pm, Unscrewed Theater

Workshop for Everyone, Actors and Non-Actors Alike:
July 10, 3 - 6pm, Movement Culture Tucson


[course descriptions below]

 

 

Workshop for All Actors - $30
[or package price with Workshop for Improvisers, $50]

Saturday, July 9
10am - 1pm
Unscrewed Theater

3244 E Speedway Blvd

[entrance in rear]


Purchase tickets here:
http://bit.ly/GaryJTips

or purchase the package of both workshops here:
http://bit.ly/GaryJ50


Information:  Kenna 505.321.1256

Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for Starting Scenes, Maintaining Excitement, and Saving Scenes in Trouble

The hardest and most exciting part of any scene is the opening. Because at the start, the improviser confronts a dizzying array of possibilities. Improvisers in this workshop will learn three sure-fire ways to start scenes, guaranteed to generate chemistry with your scene partners and grab the audience's attention. Gary Jacobs will also work with each participant to identify their unique ways of starting scenes, evaluate their effectiveness, and invite them to explore other options and possibilities.

After a scene has started, what then? How do you keep it going? One of the dirty little secrets of improv is that most scenes will stall eventually, even if you follow all the rules of good scene structure. This is why improvisers have created so many ways for transitioning to other scenes, and so many formats for keeping the scenes short. But, what if you were confident that your scenes would maintain their initial excitement until you decide on an artistically satisfying ending? In this workshop you will discover the principles that reliably produce the thrill always present in great improv. And, if the scene does stall, you will know what to do because Gary will show you four techniques for addressing this issue.

This workshop is open to any actor, regardless of experience.

 

 

Workshop for Improvisers - $30

[or package price with Workshop for All Actors, $50]

Saturday, July 9
2 - 5pm
Unscrewed Theater

3244 E Speedway Blvd

[entrance in rear]
www.unscrewedtheater.org
520.289.8076


Purchase tickets here:
http://bit.ly/GaryJPlay

or purchase the package of both workshops here:
http://bit.ly/GaryJ50


Information: Kenna 505.321.1256

The Improvised Play – A Challenge to the Improviser

Twenty-five hundred years ago, Athenians playwrights invented an art form so successful that their progeny-- the writers, directors, and actors working in theater, film, and television today-- routinely create entertainment for over seven billion people in the same form. What is the secret to this ancient form's success, and why aren't improvisers using it to gain mass appeal and possibly earn a good living doing improv?

One reason may be that it seems impossible. The essence of improv is spontaneity, while the essence of playwriting and screenwriting is planning how all the scenes and events fit together to produce carefully sequenced pay-offs for the audience.

After wrestling with this problem for 30 years, a handful of directors have begun to bridge the gap between these opposing mindsets-- spontaneity versus careful story crafting-- allowing improvisers to create scenes and plays that combine the excitement of short-form improv with the coherence and emotional payoffs of a good scripted play, TV show, or film.

This workshop illuminates the fundamental differences between short-form improv, long-form improv, and improvised plays, some of which are quite profound. You'll learn the principles and techniques to make the mental shift needed to successfully jump from one to the other. It is based in part on the research Gary Jacobs has conducted for his upcoming book, The Third Wave of Improv. You will be challenged to operate at a level of excellence comparable to the best scripted work done today, whether you do short- or long-form improv, and you will come away with the tools to meet this challenge.

 

This workshop is open to any actor with improvisation experience.

 

Workshop for Everyone - $15

Sunday, July 10
3 - 6pm
Movement Culture Tucson

435 E. 9th St [at 3rd Ave]


Register:  Kenna 505.321.1256

or pay at the door


Improvisation for the Soul

When you see actors perform, you may think that they are simply reciting lines they have learned.  In reality, successful acting requires creating each scene, and every line, from the heart.  Learn to identify the emotions you bring to each creative moment and bring them through your body to make fascinating, surprising scenes with other participants that will delight and inspire you. 

Actors and non-actors are welcome.

 

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