LEARN IMPROV.

OR RAISE YOUR GAME.

Registration is now open!
Guest artists from our National Showcase will teach classes at a variety of skill levels. Classes are open to students ages 15 and older.

IMPORTANT: Before picking your classes, please check the list below to see which level you're eligible for. Each level is specifically designed to ensure students get the best possible experience out of our workshops.

CLASS SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
Registration: 9:30am
Session One: 10 am - 12:30 pm
Lunch Break: 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Session Two: 1:30 - 4 pm

COST

$50 per session
($35 per session if your troupe is performing at the festival)

TO REGISTER

- Choose the class(es) you'd like to take.
- E-mail the class and instructor names with your name, phone number and e-mail address to keith@kcimprov.com.
- Once Keith confirms your registration, you must send a check or pay by Paypal to hold your space(s). Payment instructions will come with your confirmation note.

SESSION 1 CLASSES

VAPAPO Character Toolkit :: Jill Bernard
Novice, Beginner, Experienced
Limit: 15
Jill Bernard offers a character toolkit to give participants the ability to create strong, compelling characters that they can hang onto through the whole scene. This session will focus on using Voice, Attitude or Posture, and Animal, Prop or Obsession to build instant characters. Participants will use these tools to fearlessly initiate scenes, create relationships and find agreement.

Physical Comedy :: Eric Davis
All levels
Limit: 20
New York's celebrated clown and bouffon will help you unleash the full comic potential of a scene by connecting your body, mind and emotion! This course will use theater, clown and dance techniques to create visually dynamic, comic scenework. All levels welcome.

Advanced Improv :: Ed Goodman
Advanced
Limit: 12
Ed will teach an advanced improv workshop. Rather than set some sort of arbitrary point to go over (scene work, funny voices, use of wigs, etc) Ed will challenge each student with something to work on, something unique to that student. It may change during the class. The class may become a class about one specific thing. We won't know until we show up. But Ed will push everybody to move past where they are now and discover something new and fun to do on stage.

Fire It Up! :: Dan Izzo
Experienced, Advanced
Limit: 15
This workshop focuses on quickly engaging scenes with energy, character and focus. Exercises will help you create an active engaged mindset which allows you to work with, not against, your scene partner and their ideas while retaining your power in the scene. Rationalization, justification, the artificial creation of conflict and blatant efforts at cleverness are replaced with character, fun, energy, emotional power and focus. Take this workshop and you'll learn to bring mad energy and commitment into your scenes and have them grow organically and dynamically.

Multiple Personalities :: Corey Rittmaster
Novice, Beginner, Experienced
Limit: 15
Corey teaches techniques and tricks for creating more characters than you ever knew you had.

SESSION 2 CLASSES

The Fireball Theory :: Jill Bernard
Experienced, Advanced
Limit: 15
This workshop presents Jill Bernard's Fireball Theory and offers exercises to help you improvise faster and harder than you can judge yourself. You will learn to metaphorically hit the scene running and outrun the explosion of self-loathing and doubt like an action movie hero outruns a fireball thus defying the laws of physics.

Through The Roof! Daring to be Maximum :: Eric Davis
All Levels
Limit: 20
Caution! This workshop will take you beyond your daily boundaries. It is designed for you to be Daring! Go farther with an idea than anyone (including you) thought you would go. This workshop will concentrate on finding an impulse, and building upon it until it becomes a comedic Juggernaut. This work will help improvisers to commit to an impulse, action or feeling and develop it from something small or casual to something extraordinary.

Advanced Improv:: Ed Goodman
Experienced
Limit: 12
Ed will teach an advanced improv workshop for experienced improvisers. Rather than set some sort of arbitrary point to go over (scene work, funny voices, use of wigs, etc) Ed will challenge each student with something to work on, something unique to that student. It may change during the class. The class may become a class about one specific thing. We won't know until we show up. But Ed will push everybody to move past where they are now and discover something new and fun to do on stage.

Fire It Up!:: Dan Izzo
Novice, Beginner
Limit: 15
This workshop focuses on quickly engaging scenes with energy, character and focus. Exercises will help you create an active engaged mindset which allows you to work with, not against, your scene partner and their ideas while retaining your power in the scene. Rationalization, justification, the artificial creation of conflict and blatant efforts at cleverness are replaced with character, fun, energy, emotional power and focus. Take this workshop and you'll learn to bring mad energy and commitment into your scenes and have them grow organically and dynamically.

TENTATIVE: If you sign up for this workshop, please include a second choice, as well.

Multiple Personalities :: Corey Rittmaster
Novice, Beginner, Experienced
Limit: 15
Corey teaches techniques and tricks for creating more characters than you ever knew you had.

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INSTRUCTOR BIOS

Jill Bernard
Jill Bernard has been performing with ComedySportz-Twin Cities since 1993, and is the director of their workshop program. Her one-woman improv piece, Drum Machine, has been featured at the Chicago Improv Festival, the Toronto Improv Jamboree, the Miami Improv Festival, Philadelphia Improv Festival, and the ComedySportz National Tournament, among others. She has taught improv in over twenty states and two provinces, including the cities of Juneau, AK; Spokane and Seattle, WA; Washington DC; Portland, OR; Phoenix, AZ; at the Dirty South Improv Festival, the Funny Woman Fest, and on an episode of MTV "Made." An Artistic Associate of the Chicago Improv Festival, she has studied at the Annoyance Theater, Improv Olympic, the Brave New Workshop and other organizations; and is the recipient of the 2005 Chicago Improv Festival Avery Schreiber Ambassador of Improv Award, and the 2007 Miami Improv Festival award for Best Solo Show. She was also the winner, in January 2000, of the Executive Vice President Award for outstanding contribution to Human Resources, the highest award in the American Express Human Resources function. See jillbernard.com

Eric Davis
Eric Davis (NY) (aka Red Bastard) has been improvising and teaching internationally for 15 years. His original creations have been hailed by critics and audiences alike. "Very, Very Funny" -NY Times, "One of the hottest, funniest performing artists on the scene today"- Backstage and "A cult Favorite"- TimeoutNY. Since working for Comedy City in Kansas City, he starred as the Clown in Cirque du Soleil's Quidam. Performed in the Just for Laughs Festival, and received an NY Innovative Theater Award for his Direction of Bouffon Glass Menajoree. (Outstanding Production). He is also a founder and co-director of the NY Clown Theatre Festival and a finalist for the NY Comedy Festival's Andy Kauffman awards. Eric teaches regularly at the People's Improv Theater in NYC. For More info, go to WWW.REDBASTARD.COM

Ed Goodman
Ed Goodman (aka Ed Bastard) has been improvising, coaching and teaching since 1992. He started out right here in Kansas City with Eric, Corey, Jeremy, and Jason at ComedySportz. He and Eric were in The Hypothetical Seven in Lawrence and spent a lot of time on K-10. Ed moved to Chicago in 1997 where he played on numerous IO teams. There he developed his groundbreaking one-man show "Everything I Know I Learned From Steve Vai and the Matrix." In 2000 he moved to Florida to establish the down-home comedy disaster Improv Jacksonville. Next stop, Las Vegas where he rejoined Jason as a part of the The Second City cast. Then Ed moved to LA. To attend film school Jason went to SNL. We live with our choices. In LA, Ed teaches for Second City and IO West while working on "The Hollywood Gunshow" and his sweep picking. He is currently attending UCLA for Screenwriting (for a complete waste of time, check out Freshgravy.com). Ed's a disciple of Mick Napier, Joe Bill and Martin DeMaat. Ed recommends checking out Mr. Davis when in NY, Mr Sudeikis on Saturday nights, Mr. Carter at Superego.com and Mr. Rittmaster at the bar. (Honk!)

Dan Izzo
Dan Izzo was the Artistic Director and founder of Improv Inferno, a comedy lounge in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dan has been improvising for over ten years and has taught improv at Columbia College, The Second City (Chicago and Detroit) and at the Annoyance Theater. Dan has taught at the Chicago Improv Festival, at the Dirty South Improv Festival in North Carolina, and at festivals in New York, Atlanta and Kansas City. His directing experience includes directing "Terrorslide!" an improvised horror movie spoof, "Cubicle Rats", an office comedy, and "Evil Twin" an experimental improv show. Dan's teaching style is direct, honest and to the point. He focuses on personal empowerment, and bringing the fullness of your personality into the scene.

Corey Rittmaster
Corey Rittmaster began improvising with ComedySportz in 1990. He was a founding member of the sketch group Der Monkenpickle. He has performed short-form and long-form improv all over the country, primarily in Kansas City and Chicago. He has trained at iO in Chicago and has performed in and written for shows around Chicago at iO, the Playground, Laugh Out Loud and the Annoyance. For several years he directed the improv and corporate training at KC ComedySportz (now ComedyCity) and is now core faculty for Laugh Out Loud Theater, part of Chicago Comedy Company. Additionally, Corey has been guest instructor at the Kansas City Improv Festival (2007) and the ComedySportz National Tournament (2007).

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Experience Levels

Levels are intended to make the workshop experience the best it can be. They help the instructors plan their class content and ensure students can make the most out of their stage time and get meaningful feedback.

NOVICE
You've never improvised before.
You've taken classes, but never performed.
You're in a troupe, but you've been performing for less than a year.
You've been with a troupe for up to two years, but have performed less than once a month.

BEGINNER
You've performed at least monthly with a high school, college or professional troupe (or a combination) for 1-2 years.

EXPERIENCED
You've performed at least monthly with student (high school and college) troupes for 2-6 years.
You've performed at least monthly with a professional troupe for 2-4 years.

ADVANCED
You've performed at least monthly with a professional troupe for 5 years or more.

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