WORKSHOPS

THE DECONSTRUCTION with Brian James O'Connell
Created by The Family, and under the direction of Del Close himself. The Deconstruction is the single most important long form ever created as it contains every single possible permutation of scene approach and thematic development. An understanding of The Deconstruction is essential for the artistic, intellectual and technical development of an improviser. Quite simply, an improviser’s understanding of the “work” will never be the same after being exposed to “Decon”; whether you perform short form, improvised Shakespeare or are merely a writer looking to improve your understanding of character and structure, learning these skills will radically improve your understanding of improvisation and raise your level of play. (NOTE: Miles Stroth is my mentor and taught me The Deconstruction personally.)
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FRIDAY, MARCH 3rd - 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Class Size: 20 spots available
Cost: $30/person
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BRIAN JAMES
​O'CONNELL bio
 Brian James O’Connell is a working actor, writer, director, filmmaker and teacher in Los Angeles. He taught as part of the Core Faculty at The Pack Theater and at iOWest for over a   decade before pursuing his own independent, bespoke & curated student training ALL   IMPROV. Brian is the Creator and Executive Producer of   Big Yellow Taxi, the Executive Producer and Founder of Long Hard Tuesdays, the Executive Producer and Founder of The Lady Invitational and Executive Producer of Genre Night! at The Pack Theater. Brian travels the world teaching his expertise in The Deconstruction as part of his ALL IMPROV courses and as a founding board member of Camp Improv Utopia.
POWER OF SILENCE with Mike Eserkaln
Sick of talking heads scenes? Scenes where everyone’s oh so witty with their talky talk (or shouty shouts), with no movement or interesting characters? Characters that are just a funny voice? Have you ever tried to calm a shouty scene down by being the quiet one, only to be ignored because… well, because you’re not shouting too. Well, let’s learn together how to be funny without relying on the crutch of words. Harpo Marx, Teller, Mr. Bean, Charlie Chaplin (heck, anyone from before talkies… can you believe that before talking pictures people didn’t talk at all?! Also, everything was in black and white.)
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SATURDAY, MARCH 4th - 11:00am to 1:30pm
Class Size: 12 spots available
Cost: $25/person
MIKE ESERKALN bio
Mike Eserkaln has been performing and teaching improv for 35 years, and he’s just now getting the hang of it. He was the Artistic Director for ComedyCity - Green Bay for 25 years, is now a freelance artist doing arty-art things and living the artistic dream!  He’s written a couple novels, a bunch of short stories, a bunch of full length plays and short ones, and musicals, and shows for kids, and sketch comedy, and cartoon books, and some of it was pretty f'ing good. He is an award winning and internationally produced writer so, you decide. See and support his art at www.eserkaln.com and www.Patreon.com/Eserkaln
MUSIC IMPROV WORKSHOP with Shulie Cowen & Branson NeJame
Shulie Cowen (Director of Opening Night: The Improvised Musical!) and Branson NeJame (Music Director of Robot Teammate) will teach a beginning music improv workshop.   The class will be a fun opportunity to play with music in your improv, with a focus on song structure, rhyming, and how you can use music to enhance your work.
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SATURDAY, MARCH 4th - 2:30pm to 4:30pm
Class size: 20 spots available
Cost: $50/person
SHULIE COWEN bio 
​Shulie Cowen teaches improv to kids, senior citizens, and everyone in between.  She previously spent 12 years teaching at The Second City Hollywood and iO West, and now travels the USA and the world teaching acting and improv at festivals and schools. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, a former member of The Second City National Touring Company, and an original cast member of Schoolhouse Rock Live!.  Shulie studied improv in Chicago at The Second City Training Center, The Annoyance Theatre, and at iO with Del Close.  She currently directs and performs in Opening Night: The Improvised Musical!® and with the improv team EST.  Film and television credits include Mr. Mayor, 2 Broke Girls, Liza on Demand, and How I Met Your Mother.
BRANSON NeJAME bio
Branson NeJame was discovered in an abandoned music library by stray musicologists. Legend states, he had a keytar in one hand and a sustain pedal in the other. They found that he could only speak in improvisation and tasty licks. The boy couldn't do anything but groove… And Branson has done so with the likes of Wayne Brady (Whose Line Is It Anyway) and Rob Paulsen (Animaniacs/Jimmy Neutron). Branson has a wide musical range with experience in all genres (from TOP 40s to the American Songbook to Gregorian Chant) and venues from Hollywood to Vegas to New York where he was bestowed with Best Musical (twice) and Best World Opening and Best Score in the Fringe Festival. With all that, he truly believes Improv is a life skill. So let's get musical and make some things up.
SHORT FORM CIRCUIT TRAINING with Dorian Lenz
Short form Improv games are not just for performance. This workshop will help you think about how we approach improv games and flex those muscles and skills inside the game to make you a better, quicker performer.
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​SUNDAY, MARCH 5th - 11:00am - 1:00pm
Class size: 20 spots available
Cost: $20
DORIAN LENZ bio
Dorian Lenz  has more than 25 years of improv performance experience and has been teaching and directing improv since 2003. Yikes. That’s a long time. Dorian has improvised and taught all over the world including performances for US Troops as well as countless Team Building Experiences and private entertainment events.
IMPROV & EMPATHY with Michael J. Sielaff
​"Comedy requires empathy. A joke works because it builds off a shared feeling or perspective." Nell Scovell, TV writer.

So let's do it! Time to ditch (or learn how to maneuver around) shock humor and bullying on stage and embrace that improv doesn't need to be mean to be funny! We'll collaborate on how we can build empathy in our characters and scenework. Because if you care, the audience will care. And why not improv the change you wish to see in the world? Gandhi must have been an improviser.

SUNDAY, MARCH 5th - 2:30pm - 4:30pm
Class size: 16 spots available
Cost: $20
MICHAEL J. SIELAFF bio
Michael J. Sielaff, originally from Fridley, Minnesota, has trained and performed improv at Second City, Groundlings, iO West, Monkey Butler, and Comedy Sportz (L.A. & MN). His 16+ years of comedic and dramatic improv experience include performing long form with Soda Jerk & Excelsior; duo with WASP, Slim Shady, & Date Night; short form with Comedy Sportz main stage (Houston, Seattle, & L.A.); and has increased his empathy through coaching and advocating for storytelling as well as directing/producing/writing/performing on socially conscious sketch/improv troupes in college (I Am We Are) and beyond (Laughtivism).