2013 Unscripted New York Workshops
All workshops will take place at Shetler Studios - Theater 54
244 W. 54th Street, 12th Floor (between Broadway and 8th Avenue)
244 W. 54th Street, 12th Floor (between Broadway and 8th Avenue)
Scenario to Stage Improvisation Workshop - Michael J. Gellman
Friday (5/31) 11:00am-6:00pm
Workshop includes a performance at 5:00pm
$135 (Audit $30 including show)
From Comedia del Arte to Mike Leigh, Christopher Guest and Larry David, improvisation from scenario is how we will make a living in the craft we love. In this one-day intensive workshop participants will explore the techniques early improvisers used to create improvised scenario-based one-act plays for the theater. The work will focus on both the long form methods described in the book, Process: An Improviser’s Journey as well as new applications developed by The Process Theater Group in Chicago. By the end of the workshop, participants will have developed a theater piece that will be performed in a Pay-What-You-Can Workshop Show at the Unscripted New York Improvised Theatre Festival.
Limit: 12 Students
Requirements: AND Master Retreat (comparable to UCB/PIT/Magnet Level 4), or 4 Year Theater Degree or Equivalent Theater or Improvisation Experience. To apply, contact [email protected] with your resume or list of qualifications.
Michael J Gellman is currently a Senior Faculty Member at The Second City – Chicago. He is an Alum of the Second City Main Stage and was a resident director there for 25 years. He is also an Adjunct Faculty member at Columbia College teaching in Comedy Studies and co-author of the book Process: An Improviser’s Journey, published by Northwestern University Press. He is also the Artistic Director of The Process Theatre Group. He has taught, directed, and/or performed with Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Gilda Radner, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Farley, Steve Carrell, Steven Colbert, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Dave Pasquesi, Charna Halpern, Mick Napier, Ali Faranakian, and Armando Diaz among others.
Workshop includes a performance at 5:00pm
$135 (Audit $30 including show)
From Comedia del Arte to Mike Leigh, Christopher Guest and Larry David, improvisation from scenario is how we will make a living in the craft we love. In this one-day intensive workshop participants will explore the techniques early improvisers used to create improvised scenario-based one-act plays for the theater. The work will focus on both the long form methods described in the book, Process: An Improviser’s Journey as well as new applications developed by The Process Theater Group in Chicago. By the end of the workshop, participants will have developed a theater piece that will be performed in a Pay-What-You-Can Workshop Show at the Unscripted New York Improvised Theatre Festival.
Limit: 12 Students
Requirements: AND Master Retreat (comparable to UCB/PIT/Magnet Level 4), or 4 Year Theater Degree or Equivalent Theater or Improvisation Experience. To apply, contact [email protected] with your resume or list of qualifications.
Michael J Gellman is currently a Senior Faculty Member at The Second City – Chicago. He is an Alum of the Second City Main Stage and was a resident director there for 25 years. He is also an Adjunct Faculty member at Columbia College teaching in Comedy Studies and co-author of the book Process: An Improviser’s Journey, published by Northwestern University Press. He is also the Artistic Director of The Process Theatre Group. He has taught, directed, and/or performed with Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Gilda Radner, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Farley, Steve Carrell, Steven Colbert, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Dave Pasquesi, Charna Halpern, Mick Napier, Ali Faranakian, and Armando Diaz among others.
Introduction to Storybox Unscripted Theatre Workshop - Jonathan Pitts
Saturday (6/1) 11:00am-2:00pm
$55 ($25 to Audit)
Using a variety of visual and verbal storytelling techniques (including ensemble based narration), as well as sticks and cloths to dress the characters and the environments, this unique unscripted theatre process draws inspiration from Story Theatre, Noh Theatre, ritual theatre, Del Close, Keith Johnstone, and Joseph Campbell, as the performers improvise both the creation of the story's lead character (aka the protagonist) and discover the life and world of that lead character through a series of scenes and stories within stories. They take the lead character on its life's journey, ending only when the lead character is transformed for the better or the worse. Different productions of Storybox Unscripted Theatre have been improvised in Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, London, Minneapolis, Montreal, Oslo, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, Stockholm, and Toronto.
This workshop will be taught by Storybox's creator Jonathan Pitts, who besides being the co-founder and producer of the Chicago Improv Festival, has created and directed many different improvised theatre productions and improvised in over 1,000 shows. He's been teaching at the Second City Training Center in Chicago for 14 years and he's a contributing writer to their book on improvisation.
Limit: 16 Students
Requirements: Attendance at Scotty's Wednesday Workshop (comparable to UCB/PIT/Magnet Level 2) or equivalent improv/theater experience. To apply, contact [email protected] with your resume or list of qualifications.
Jonathan Pitts is the Executive Director of the Chicago Improv Festival Productions. He is also the Co-Founder of the prestigious Chicago Improv Festival. This is his 14th year producing the festival. He’s been involved in improvisational theatre for over 30 years. As an improv teacher, for the past 13 years he’s been a guest artist at The Second City Training Center and he’s also a 3 year faculty member at Piven Theatre Workshop. Nationally, he’s taught in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Champaign, Chapel Hill, Honolulu, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Internationally, he’s taught in London for The Spontaneity Shop; and in Norway for Norsk Sceneskrekk.
$55 ($25 to Audit)
Using a variety of visual and verbal storytelling techniques (including ensemble based narration), as well as sticks and cloths to dress the characters and the environments, this unique unscripted theatre process draws inspiration from Story Theatre, Noh Theatre, ritual theatre, Del Close, Keith Johnstone, and Joseph Campbell, as the performers improvise both the creation of the story's lead character (aka the protagonist) and discover the life and world of that lead character through a series of scenes and stories within stories. They take the lead character on its life's journey, ending only when the lead character is transformed for the better or the worse. Different productions of Storybox Unscripted Theatre have been improvised in Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, London, Minneapolis, Montreal, Oslo, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, Stockholm, and Toronto.
This workshop will be taught by Storybox's creator Jonathan Pitts, who besides being the co-founder and producer of the Chicago Improv Festival, has created and directed many different improvised theatre productions and improvised in over 1,000 shows. He's been teaching at the Second City Training Center in Chicago for 14 years and he's a contributing writer to their book on improvisation.
Limit: 16 Students
Requirements: Attendance at Scotty's Wednesday Workshop (comparable to UCB/PIT/Magnet Level 2) or equivalent improv/theater experience. To apply, contact [email protected] with your resume or list of qualifications.
Jonathan Pitts is the Executive Director of the Chicago Improv Festival Productions. He is also the Co-Founder of the prestigious Chicago Improv Festival. This is his 14th year producing the festival. He’s been involved in improvisational theatre for over 30 years. As an improv teacher, for the past 13 years he’s been a guest artist at The Second City Training Center and he’s also a 3 year faculty member at Piven Theatre Workshop. Nationally, he’s taught in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Champaign, Chapel Hill, Honolulu, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Internationally, he’s taught in London for The Spontaneity Shop; and in Norway for Norsk Sceneskrekk.
Know Thyself - Rachel Hamilton
Sunday (6/2) 11:00am - 2:00pm
$55 ($25 to Audit)
Are your character choices lacking specificity and consistency? Would your scene partner and/or audience recognize them if they appeared in another context? The ability to sustain what you’ve discovered about who and how you are in your improvised world is critical and requires that you a) notice what you are doing and b) keep doing it. For improvisers playing in structures that have recurring characters that appear in a variety of circumstances, this is a particularly important skill. In this workshop, you will practice paying attention to your behaviors and your points of view in order to replicate that same “character” in other contexts with ease and clarity.
Limit: 16 Students
Requirements: Attendance at Scotty's Wednesday Workshop (comparable to UCB/PIT/Magnet Level 2) or equivalent improv/theater experience. To apply, contact [email protected] with your resume or list of qualifications.
A graduate of Northwestern University, Rachel Hamilton is an alumna of The Second City, Chicago, where she shared the stage with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch, was directed by Mick Napier and encouraged by Martin DeMaat to begin teaching improv.Rachel has taught and directed at Second City, Magnet Theater and has been on the faculty at Syracuse University. Rachel was also thrilled to teach at the last two Artistic New Directions Master Improv Retreats. As a performer, Rachel has appeared at both the Aspen and Montreal Comedy Festivals, toured the country with the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and written and performed two one-woman shows; Hamiltonia and Love.com. Some other recent highlights for Rachel include playing a writer on the first two seasons of 30 Rock, receiving an Emmy-nomination for writing lyrics for Justin Timberlake and working on the hit documentary Joan Rivers; A Piece of Work.
$55 ($25 to Audit)
Are your character choices lacking specificity and consistency? Would your scene partner and/or audience recognize them if they appeared in another context? The ability to sustain what you’ve discovered about who and how you are in your improvised world is critical and requires that you a) notice what you are doing and b) keep doing it. For improvisers playing in structures that have recurring characters that appear in a variety of circumstances, this is a particularly important skill. In this workshop, you will practice paying attention to your behaviors and your points of view in order to replicate that same “character” in other contexts with ease and clarity.
Limit: 16 Students
Requirements: Attendance at Scotty's Wednesday Workshop (comparable to UCB/PIT/Magnet Level 2) or equivalent improv/theater experience. To apply, contact [email protected] with your resume or list of qualifications.
A graduate of Northwestern University, Rachel Hamilton is an alumna of The Second City, Chicago, where she shared the stage with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch, was directed by Mick Napier and encouraged by Martin DeMaat to begin teaching improv.Rachel has taught and directed at Second City, Magnet Theater and has been on the faculty at Syracuse University. Rachel was also thrilled to teach at the last two Artistic New Directions Master Improv Retreats. As a performer, Rachel has appeared at both the Aspen and Montreal Comedy Festivals, toured the country with the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and written and performed two one-woman shows; Hamiltonia and Love.com. Some other recent highlights for Rachel include playing a writer on the first two seasons of 30 Rock, receiving an Emmy-nomination for writing lyrics for Justin Timberlake and working on the hit documentary Joan Rivers; A Piece of Work.
