Event
Jill Bernard Classes
Two improv classes from the Wonderful Jill Bernard. Jill is an all round good egg and a great teacher, check her classes below.
Saturday 31st - Solo Improv
There are no "schools" of improv - we are each our own school, which means your solo piece is the ultimate expression of that school. A beautiful thing about solo improv: whatever is your weakness in group work is your strength, and whatever is your strength is your double-strength. This class size is limited so that we can individually focus on each student to introduce solo improv basics and move on to thinking about your solo piece.
This workshop starts with some solo improv warm-up games that you can play all by yourself for the rest of your life. Then we will practice the skills that are universal to most solo pieces - various methods of playing multiple characters simultaneously, techniques for forming great stage pictures, and keys to aggressive choices.
We will also examine your personal aesthetics to consider what kind of solo piece makes sense for you. Because the pieces are tailored to each individual, inspiration can come from anywhere - the art, literature, movies, television and games you consume. We will use your preferences and strengths to tease out what will make your solo piece unique.We will end by running some sample solo improv formats as a beta test, because there is no better way to find out what your solo show should be then to try it, and let the work tell you.
This class is useful even for those who have no interest in pursuing solo improv. Students have said it strengthened their character work and choices as applied to group work.
Sunday 1st April - Turning the Cormer
When an improv scene feels like it is going nowhere, there are methods we can apply to kick-start it back into action. This workshop is a survey of methods to turn the corner on a scene that has stalled out and is struggling to progress.
In Jill Bernards 20+ years of improv experience, shes been collecting techniques and applications to address these dull moments. In this workshop we will examine:
- Choosing enthusiasm.
- Peeling the onion layers on the basic scenic platform to find out who we really are, what were really doing, where we really are.
- Using Matt Donnellys recommendation of inserting history, philosophy, or metaphor, and the dynamic of opened and closed characters.
- Making it worse.
- Pausing and breathing.
- Shifting focus where it hasn't been
- Moving physically to where we haven't been.
- Restating the promise of the scene.
- Examining the relationship from the angle of "what happened to us?"
- Summarizing scene thus far. Each of these techniques is useful in a variety of situations, we will see what the scenework yields organically and also apply them prescriptively to boost the scenes we create.
Each class lasts from 10.30am to 5pm at the Nursery training Centre, Capital House, 42 Weston Street, SE1 3QD. Please note that course fees are non-refundable when paid.
About Jill
Jill Bernard has been improvising since 1993 and performing solo improv since 2002. Her one-woman improv piece, Drum Machine, has been featured in over forty improv festivals. She has taught and performed improv in Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, England, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden; in forty of the United States; and also on an episode of MTV Made.
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LocationThe Nursery Training Centre, sixth floor (View)
42 Weston Street
London SE1 3QD
United Kingdom
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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