Improv 1: Intro | Improv II: Art of Improv | Combo: Improv I & 2 | Improv III: Scenes | Advanced Improvisation| Improv IV: Theater | Master Classes | Retreat
Our classes are now online! The world is changing – temporarily, we hope! – and Synergy Theater is changing with it. Our state-of-the-art improv classes will be taught online until… Well, you know! Until we can all go outside again!
Synergy Theater’s School of Improvisation provides world-class training and education in the art of improvisational theater. Our classes are taught by Synergy Theater company members including Artistic Director Kenn Adams, author of the book How to Improvise a Full-Length Play: The Art of Spontaneous Theater. With a full progression of classes, we have something for everyone. So, whether you’re looking for a friendly place to have some fun or a professional training program with an eye towards performance, Synergy Theater’s School of Improvisation is the place for you.
SHOTGUN STUDIOS, 1201 University Ave, Berkeley, CA
IMPROV I: INTRO TO IMPROV
Get creative, make new friends, and have a blast with Synergy Theater’s introductory improv class. You’ll learn our Three Rules of Improvisation—be spontaneous, make your partner look good, and build on your partner’s idea—and, in no time flat, you’ll be making up stories, creating outrageous characters and improvising your way through hysterical scenes, sagas and sketches. This class will tickle your funny bone, spark your imagination and inspire your creativity. Take it once, on your way to our next-level class, or stick around and enjoy it as long as you like!
Instructors: Griffen Davis Bier, Arastoo Darakhshan / $80 for six 90-min classes
IMPROV I & II TOGETHER!
Get creative, make new friends, and just have a blast with Synergy Theater’s introductory improv class. You’ll learn our patented Three Rules of Improvisation – be spontaneous, make your partner look good, and build on your partner’s idea – and, in no time flat, you’ll be making up stories, creating outrageous characters and improvising your way through hysterical scenes, sagas and sketches. Through a fun and exciting series of theater-games, improv exercises and classic “short-form” scene-structures, this class will tickle your funny bone, spark your imagination and inspire your creativity.
In the second half of class, we explore improvisation as more than just a means for personal growth, a social activity, or a tool for the actor. We explore improvisation as a performing art; the art of spontaneous theater. We continue to deepen and expand our application of the Three Rules of Improvisation. Plus, we begin to focus on the basics of acting such as diction, vocal projection, stage presence and stagecraft; the basics of directing such as stage movement and visual storytelling, and the basics of playwriting such as scene structure and story structure.
Instructors: Griffen Davis Bier, Arastoo Darakhshan / $150 for six 3-hour classes
IMPROV II: THE ART OF IMPROVISATION
At the very least, you are an improviser, actor, director and playwright. In IMPROV II, we explore improvisation as more than just a means for personal growth, a social activity, or a tool for the actor. We explore improvisation as a performing art; the art of spontaneous theater. We continue to deepen and expand our application of the Three Rules of Improvisation: be spontaneous, make your partner look good and build on your partner’s idea. Plus, we focus on the basics of acting: diction, vocal projection, stage presence and stagecraft; the basics of stage movement and visual storytelling, and of playwriting such as scene structure and story structure. For those who have taken and enjoyed IMPROV I and are ready for something more.
Instructors: Griffen Davis Bier, Arastoo Darakhshan / $80 for six 90-min classes
IMPROV III: SCENE STUDY
The heart of improvisation is the solid, two-person scene. What Synergy Theater refers to as the “substantial scene.” In IMPROV III we break it apart and rebuild it from the bottom up. We focus on:
- Scene structure
- Building and using the environment
- Character development
- Character relationship
The work in this class comes directly from Artistic Director Kenn Adams’ book, How to Improvise a Full-Length Play: The Art of Spontaneous Theater.
For those with an eye towards performance, this class is an invaluable next step.
Instructor: Arastoo Darakhshan / $100 for six 2-hour classes
IMPROV IV: IMPROVISING THEATER
In this advanced-level class, we’ll dive deep into the necessary skills of the Improviser (with a capital I): improvisation, acting, directing and playwriting. Then, we’ll put it all together as we introduce various mid and long-form performance structures such as The Harold, The Montage, and the Mono-scene. we’ll focus on:
- Tapping into our “core spontaneity” and living “in the zone”
- Intense partner connection via the Meisner acting technique
- Complete character development and truthful emotions
This is the class that will empower you to stop “doing improv” and start improvising theater.
Instructor: Kenn Adams / $100 for six 2-hour classes
MASTER CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
CREATING CHARACTERS
Offered on Mondays at 2:00 pm PDT
This brand new master class will focus on creating three-dimensional characters with truthful behavior and complex emotions. We’ll look at different approaches to creating instant characters, building their emotional truth, and preserving their “core essence” while remaining flexible and spontaneous. Taught by Kenn Adams, this class is limited to eight students with a minimum of one year of improvisation training or performance experience. Instructor: Kenn Adams / $200 for six 2-hour classes / 8 student max
IMPROVISING SHAKESPEARE!
Offered on Tuesdays at 11:00 am PDT
Learn how to improvise in the style of the Immortal Bard! We’ll explore Shakespeare’s language, use of prose and poetry, typical characters, and favorite plot devices. We’ll learn how to emulate his style rather than parody his style and, before you know it, we’ll be improvising one-act Shakespearian plays! Taught by Kenn Adams, this class is limited to eight students with a minimum of one year of improvisation training or performance experience. Instructor: Kenn Adams / $200 for six 2-hour classes / 8 student max
HOW TO IMPROVISE A FULL-LENGTH PLAY
Offered on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm PDT and Fridays at 11:00 am PDT
How to Improvise a Full-Length Play is taught by Kenn Adams and based on the process that he writes about in his book, How to Improvise a Full-Length Play: The Art of Spontaneous Theater. The class is limited to six students with a minimum of one year of improvisation training or performance experience. Instructor: Kenn Adams/ $200 for six 2-hour classes / 6 student max
IMPROVISING THEATER
Offered on Wednesdays at 3:00 pm PDT
This is an additional offering of our advanced-level course, Improv IV, introduced on a new day and time, Wednesdays at 3:00 pm PDT. Each 6-week session is devoted to the exploration of a different structure of longform improvised theater. We visit classics such as The Harold, La Ronde and The Spokane, in addition to some innovative and original Synergy Theater formats. The class is limited to eight students with a minimum of one year of improvisation training or performance experience. Instructor: Kenn Adams / $200 for six 2-hour classes / 8 student max
IMPROVISING FILM NOIR
Offered on Wednesdays at 11am and 7pm PDT
Learn how to improvise in the style of the popular film genre, Film Noir. We’ll explore the plot devices, characters, language, morality, and themes that identify the genre. We’ll learn to emulate the style rather than parody it and, before you know it, we’ll be improvising one-act Film Noirs! The class is limited to eight students with a minimum of one year of improvisation training or performance experience. Instructor: Kenn Adams / $200 for six 2-hour classes / 8 student max
IMPROVISING THEME, SYMBOLISM AND METAPHOR
Offered on Thursdays at 3:00 pm PDT
Great theater speaks to its audience in a universal language that transcends the plot and deepens the play. Its unique vocabulary is theme, symbolism and metaphor. In this 6-week master class, we’ll learn how to turn our improvised scene’s location, objects, characters, and external conditions, such as weather, into symbols that represent a deeper meaning, and how to use that deeper meaning towards discovering and illustrating a theme. Taught by Kenn Adams, this class is limited to eight students with a minimum of one year of improvisation training or performance experience. Instructor: Kenn Adams/ $200 fox 6 2-hour classes / 8 student max
AWESOME IMPROV RETREAT
The point of the weekend is to have a blast while exploring the art of improvisation on a deeper level than the standard improv class allows. We’ll start with enough of the basics to make sure that everybody is on the same page and ready to move forward together. Then, we’ll dive deep into various elements of the art of improvisation. In the past, we’ve focused on large areas such as ensemble building, scene structure and deep-spontaneity, as well as more specific skills such as character development, gibberish, and spontaneous writing.
Due to Covid-19 our Fall 2020 Awesome Improv Retreat has been postponed until further notice.
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