It’s that time of year again, back to running for the bus, back to over-doing it on the caffeine, back to exams, and staying up all night to study, back to school. Who doesn’t love being a student?
Here’s an idea, instead of spending this semester stressed out, why not take a class you’ll actually want to go to? The Improv Comedy Institute (ICI) at Vancouver TheatreSports (VTS) offers a range of improv classes, whether you want to enhance your acting abilities or use the practical aspects of improv to help build your confidence and public speaking skills, they’ve got a class for you.
Looking to get serious about improv? Spontaneity, the prerequisite course in the ICI’s Core Series, teaches the basics of improv while preparing you for the rest of the courses needed to complete their core series (Environment, Character, and Story). Beyond improv, you’ll learn how to be a good listener, how to move an idea forward while building confidence in your own abilities, as well as how to relax and let your own creative ideas flow.
The ICI also offers workshops, such as: Sketch: The Writer’s Room, Acting: Scene Study with Graeme Duffy, and a Create Your Own Demo Reel class. Take these classes if you want to refine your skill set. Not sure if improv is for you? Try one of their drop-in classes every Saturday at the False Creek Community Centre instead. Taught by experienced VTS improvisers, the Saturday drop-in classes are a great way to explore improv in a supportive and fun environment.
If that isn’t enough to get you into the scholarly scene, take in VTS’s Back to School TheatreSports this September. This take on classic TheatreSports sees traditional short form improv games adapted into a scholastic setting. You may see Nerds go head to head with Jocks, or the Cheerleaders go up against the Band Kids. Instead of the traditional TheatreSports referee, a stern Principal will be out detentions to anyone who breaks the rules. With school-themed suggestions, the players will build scenes featuring all your favourite high school moments, like trying out for the team, asking your crush to prom, and cramming for those tests you didn’t study for… Since no two shows are ever the same and based off of audience suggestion, you never know who will end up in detention, but you will laugh all the way back to class.
