w/ John Ratliff
August 2, 9, 16, 23
7-9ish pm
Studio 1803 (7th and Navasota)*
Playing a good two-person scene -- without a suggestion or a predetermined goal -- is the essential improv skill. It's improv stripped down to the wheels and engine. It's the thing we spend our whole lives trying to get better at.
From 7 to 9ish on the first four Thursdays in August, I'll be conducting pay-what-you-want scene study workshops. Specifically, I'll be focusing on the emotionally realistic, non-narrative style pioneered by Del Close in Chicago and practiced by such groups as TJ & Dave, Dasariski, and The Reckoning.
If you've been coached or taught by me, you already have a pretty good idea of what this entails. A lot of it is just paying attention. In searching for what a scene is about, we tend to look everywhere except the actual scene itself. In these workshops we'll slow things down so you can explore how much useful information is already there at the top of every scene.
The workshops are not sequential. Each one will start with roughly the same approach and then develop according to what happens that particular night. You can take one, or some, or all of them.
These are open to improvisers who are comfortable playing realistic scenes without extensive coaching. In other words, beginners might feel a little overwhelmed. And if you can't play a scene without making jokes or going immediately to Crazytown, you'll probably find my approach pretty frustrating.
But if you're willing to work with me a little, I'll make your scenes better.
Each session will be limited to ten people.
To enroll:
- Send me an email. My Google-mail handle is fatliff.
Include your name, your phone number (for waiting-list purposes), and what date(s) you would like to attend. (Available dates: August 9, 16, and 23.)
Don't sign up unless you're sure you can come. If you're enrolled for a class and don't show up, you'll be moved to the bottom of the waiting list for any subsequent classes.
*Location subject to change; participants will be notified each week of location as class fills.
