Each year the Vancouver International Improv Festival offers an opportunity to learn from some of the world’s best. Workshops at VIIF 2016 reflect the diverse sets of skills and styles showcased in the festival, all taught by performer’s of the festival.
Kristen Shier of Philadelphia's Amie and Kristen Show will be teaching a workshop on “Making Mischief”, which marries her years of clowning experience with her playful improv style.
The Kristen and Amie Show
“I love working with people in this workshop to explore that certain part of them that is excited about mischief of all kinds” says Shier, “How raw and delightful it is to play with all things bad – to let go of worrying about being too polite, too proper or too perfect.”
Kristen, also a member of International Ensemble Bravo, teaches her workshop on October 8 from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm at Instant Studios.
Another workshop being offered at VIIF is from Rapid Fire Theatre’s Matt Schuurman, who will be workshopping "Cinematic Storytelling" techniques used in RFT’s Sneak Peek. Schuurman will teach improvisors how to create a completely improvised movie, with the improvisors acting as screenwriters, directors, and actors.
"I'm excited to bring my cinematic storytelling workshop to VIIF this October. My workshop focuses on the techniques that my partners and I have adopted for our improvised "films" in our show Sneak Peek. I love sharing these techniques with others and getting inspired by the new energy that they bring.
The workshop will take place on Saturday, October 8th from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at Performance Works on Granville Island.
Rapid Fire Theatre Sneak Peek
If you’re looking for a more poetic approach to improv, Dave Morris' workshop, “Poetry and Improv” may be the one for you. Dave Morris is the Artistic Director of Paper Street Theatre co. in Victoria, but is also a talented spoken word poet and slam champion. Dave’s workshop will focus on poetic language in improv and using words to create beauty in the scene and will take place on Sunday October 9 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at Instant Studios.
Check out the VIIF website for more details and other workshops, including silent improvisation, the impact of the first twenty seconds of a scene, and breaking the rules in musical improv. These workshops are geared towards those who have prior improv experience. If you are looking for a way to dip your toes in improv, the festival recommends you check out an intro class at one of Vancouver’s improv schools, like Vancouver TheatreSports League, Instant Theatre, and Blind Tiger.
