FAD Workshops 2024
If a class is sold out, sign-up for the wait list here.
WED, JULY 10
Finding Your Relationship w/ The Audience
Rachel Coster
Wednesday, July 10th
7:00PM-9:00PM
Learn how to use audience assumptions and relationships to shape your performance and adapt to different situations or how to use status and character to relate to the audience in a stand up setting.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #1
Consent In Improv - Free Seminar
Wednesday, July 10th
7:00PM - 8:30PM
Facilitator: Luis David Cortes (from iO Chicago)
Over the last few years we have seen interest grow in the worlds of Inclusion and Consent. In this discussion, Luis Cortes will walk you through the basics of these topics and answer those burning questions that you’ve had but have not been able to ask.
Where: BCC Pig Pen
Pirates, Robots, & Ninjas
Taylor Gonzalez
Wednesday, July 10th
7:00PM-10:00PM
Taylor is a staunch believer of the “Pirates, Robots & Ninjas” improv theory and he’ll be the first to argue with you about it. This theory suggests that every improviser, regardless of their experience level, falls into one of three play styles: the Pirate, the Robot and the Ninja.
In this unique one-off workshop, you’ll dive into these distinctive play styles, dissecting their advantages and drawbacks, and learning to draw from all three approaches. It's a fantastic opportunity to enhance your strengths, clock your areas of improvement, and ultimately, become a better improviser both on and off the stage.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #2
Empowering Yourself - Free Seminar
Lineup: TBA
8:30PM-10:00PM
We at the BCC believe in empowerment - we want you to get on our stages, hone your craft, and create your own shows. Come to this free workshop to hear from Artistic Director Philip Markle and Associate Director Maya Sharma and fellow BCC Producers who've created their own brand of fun and dumb comedy over the years. Get advice on how to find your people, find your voice, submit a show, and create your own opportunities in comedy.
Where: BCC Pig Pen
SAT, JULY 13
Set Bitch Free
Devin Bockrath
Saturday, July 13th
11:00AM - 1:00PM
“Set Bitch Free '' is a workshop and tribal event for improvisers of any experience level hosted by Devin Bockrath. With a focus on technique, character development, risk taking, and the power of support, this class aims to shake vulnerabilities loose and test personal limits. This workshop enthusiastically welcomes all non-male performers looking to explore their inner bitchness.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #1
Mind Body Improv
Nicole Asava
Saturday, July 13th
11:00AM-1:00PM
Here we’ll explore how powerful your body can be in comedy. Silent scenes, dancing, we’ll do it all! We’ll also work on clearing your mind, learning how breath work and meditation can sharpen your mind and your comedic abilities.
Clear mind, fun bodies, can’t lose!
Note: This class is for everyone that is open to wiggling, dress to wiggle.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #2
Organic Work
Big Deborah (iO Theatre)
Saturday, July 13th
1:00PM - 3:00PM
Openings, games, and amorphous group scenes are some of the most challenging and rewarding exercises in improv. Incorporating organic group work into a set is an effective way to build ensemble and stand out as an improv team. In this workshop, we will learn and practice multiple techniques to set up our scenes for success and weave together group-think with theatricality to generate themes and ideas to explore and tie together the entire piece.
Spend the afternoon with Big Deborah and tackle exercises that highlight the usefulness of organic group work, the biggest traps that tank a group scene, and how to specifically use organic work to weave together a set.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #2
Marrying Game & Deal
Amanda Breen
Saturday, July 13th
3:00PM - 5:00PM
Combine multiple philosophies to become a better improviser! Giving yourself a well-rounded improv education by taking classes at different institutions is critical in growing your talent, education, and joy. But sometimes it is difficult to figure out how to combine these philosophies together into a successful scene. That is what this workshop is all about!
Learn to bring the superpowers of different schools into one powerful improviser (YOU!). We will focus on pairing the BCC’s f*ck it / love it philosophy and playing from a deal with a game-based approach to finding and playing with the unusual thing. Learn to play fearlessly from a deal while honing the game of the scene - and keeping it all loose and fun.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #1
Make Yourself Laugh
Ladies Who Ranch
Saturday, July 13th
3:00PM - 5:00PM
Believe it or not, laughter is medicine, perhaps even the best. A surefire way to make your audience laugh (and in doing so heal their wounds) is to make yourself and your teammates laugh! Improv should be fun, and in this workshop we’ll explore pushing fun to its fullest potential. You will learn how to invest in your own sense of humor, hone in on specifics and idiosyncrasies, and how to approach improv as a form of play. Be ready to go silly mode, and cure the common cold.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #2
Improv to Sketch
Devin Bockrath
Saturday, July 13th
5:00PM - 7:00PM
In this Improv-to-Sketch/Character workshop, students will be given a crash-course in the fundamentals of developing a sketch or solo character through the process of improvisation. From ideating a premise to improvising that premise to honing and editing that premise based on feedback and instinct, students can expect to leave with a firm understanding of the joys of developing an idea through the lens of improvisation.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #1
Get Into the Scene w/ Grounded Play
Maria Randazzo
Saturday, July 13th
5:00PM - 7:00PM
In this workshop, we'll focus on improvising from a grounded, patient place that's rooted in strong, emotional choices. You'll learn to build one brick at a time with your partner and let go of the fear to "get somewhere" in the scene. It's all about the journey not the destination.™️
Specifically, we'll explore:
- How much you can mine and build upon just from the top of the scene
- Discovery with your scene partner versus invention
- Playing from a place of trust and patience not fear or panic.
SUNDAY, JULY 14
Narrative Improv
Andy Junk
Sunday, July 14th
11:00AM - 1:00PM
In this workshop, we'll focus on the fundamentals of narrative improvisation. By emphasizing strong emotional wants, we can discover how to tell a coherent story with a satisfying conclusion through group work. We'll also touch on various narrative styles with which we can pull from to inform our choices.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #1
Find Your Bounce
Carly Ciarrocchi
Sunday, July 14th
11:00AM -1:00PM
Before the scene or the story comes the clown state: the raw space of authentic presence, possibility, and wonder. Through group games, physical play, and solo/partner work, we’ll explore and fail and feel and dance and play and laugh and cry and question. Then, we’ll head back into our sandbox of choice - improv, acting, teaching, creating, or just LIVING - with a little more availability, a little more courage, a little more willingness to share, and a little more joy. FYB is a great intro for brand new beginners on their way to the wider world of BCC clowning, or a chance for folks who already love this work to tune up/tune in. It's a truly all-levels playground, the only class prerequisite is your humanity!
Carly's approach to clown synthesizes over a decade of clown training with master teachers including 500 Clown, Paola Coletto, Philippe Gaulier, Avner Eisenberg, Jean Taylor and more. More than any other modality, she's found clown to be the most important in helping her to be a better host, actor, writer, creator, and human. Red noses will be provided!
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #2
F*ck It & Love It
Philip Markle
Sunday, July 14th
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
This workshops teaches you to say both FUCK IT and LOVE IT while improvising. FUCK IT means you don’t worry about the outcome or result of your efforts. LOVE IT means you celebrate the whimsy, joy, and delight inherent in making shit up onstage. You remember why you fell in love with improv, one of the most wonderful feelings in the world. Learn to hold both of these ideas in your head at the same time and create fearless, fun, and dumb improv.
This workshop is perfect for students new to BCC’s approach to improv.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #1
Intro to Musical Improv
Katy Berry and Adrien Pellerin
Sunday, July 14th
1:00PM - 3:00PM
Do you sing in the shower? Do you irritate your pets and loved ones with silly lil songs? If you said yes, then this is the workshop for you! During this 2-hour crash course, musical improv veteran Katy Berry (Baby Wants Candy) will teach you to nail song structure, choreograph effective stage pictures, and apply improv fundamentals like yes-anding, game recognition and pattern building to MUSIC. Students will leave with the ability to improvise fully realized musical numbers and take center stage with unhinged New York CONFIDENCE, baby! Class is delivered in a high-energy, zero-pressure environment where all levels are welcome and no musical experience is required.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #2
Just the Two of Us
Julian Hernandez
Sunday, July 14th
3:00PM - 5:00PM
In this workshop we will practice skills to take your two-person improv to the next level. Through grounded scene work and radical listening you’ll find ways to engage the audience when it’s just the two of us. We’ll discuss techniques and tricks to feel comfortable and confident with your partner on stage. Sign-up solo, sign-up with your 2prov team. Let’s get to it.
Mastery of these short-form games enhances your chops as a long-form improviser giving you new tools for heightening, commitment, crowd control, character work, and quick thinking. You’ll connect with your audience, cultivating a surprisingly accessible and explosively fun, live experience. Plus, it’s fun as hell!
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #2
Intro to Clown
Tallie Medel
Sunday, July 14th
5:00pm - 7:00pm
Do you want to try out one single clown class? Have you been wondering what this joyful world is all about? Come to the drop-in class! In each class students will practice exercises from some of the greats (Lecoq, Conway, Johnstone) while working on taming their ego and bringing out their true inner clown. Come to just one class, come to all of them, do what your heart desires. This is the perfect place to get your feet wet and learn from the incomparable Tallie Medel. All experience levels welcome.
Where: BCC Doghouse, Studio #2