The 6th annual Teen Comedy Fest
May 11-13, 2012

WORKSHOPS

Session #1, 9:30am-11am
Session #2, 11:15-12:45pm
Session #3, 1:45pm-3:15pm
Session #4, 3:30pm-5pm

Teen Comedy Festival Instructors: Bryan Bowden, Emily Dugan, Jason Grimm, Alan Hawkins, Kenny Metroff, Alex Moffatt, Jeff Poole, Jessica Rogers, Jameeleh Shelo, Jay Sukow.

Scroll all the way down for instructor bio's.

Workshops For TCF Students

Advanced Long-Form Improv: with Emily Dugan, Session #4, 3:30pm-5pm
Move beyond the basic Montage or Harold to explore new ways to find connections between scenes, play scenic games, experiment with scenic transitions, and deepen character development and relationships. [Advanced workshop—must be a sophomore, junior, or senior WITH PRIOR LONG-FORM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE in order to register]

Finding the Heart of a Scene: with Alan Hawkins, Session #4, 3:30pm-5pm
Suffering from information overload in your scenes? Always feel like you or your partners are not on the same page and in search of the scene? This workshop will help you immediately discover and focus on what the scene is truly about. This is a scene work intensive workshop with plenty of one on one feedback.

Freestyle Rap and Improvised Rhyme: with Emily Dugan, Session #2, 11:15-12:45pm
Once you start you’ll never want to stop. Nothing beats the thrill of improvising to a beat while your audience looks on in stunned amazement. Learn exercises and games to get your creative juices flowing and help you find your "personal flow".

Improvising a Long-Form Musical: with Jason Grimm
This workshop focuses on three song types you can use to give a musical a compelling narrative structure. Using real world examples, we'll examine how a director creates the mood and style of a musical. Then, we'll explore those structures on our own, first by improvising new songs based on pre-existing material, and then in the creation of a completely original and spontaneous piece. Students should bring a notebook, and three favorite movies or books to use as examples. Requires an understanding of improv basics, no prior musical experience is necessary.

Improvised Song Structure: with Jason Grimm
Ramp up your short-form game by learning a few simple song structures that knock an audience's socks off! The vocabulary gained in this class will help teams communicate about how they want to approach a musical challenge round of theater sports. Song types include Circle Riff, Chorus-Verse Song, Interior Song-a-Logue, and Point of View Song. Requires an understanding of improv basics, no prior musical experience is necessary. Please bring a notebook.

Intro to Long-Form Improv: with Kenny Metroff, Session #2, 11:15-12:45pm
Tired of the same old games and gimmicks? Explore the world of long form improv and learn to create a tapestry of scenes through group discovery based on a single suggestion.

Object Work and Interactive Environments: with Alan Hawkins, Session #1, 9:30am-11am
Break free of the dreaded "talking heads" scene and learn to create a "tangible" environment and use the objects you create in tandem with your scene partners to move the scene forward, express emotion through action, and enhance the comedy and believability of your scene without talking about what you’re doing.

Organic Improv, Living the Truth of the Scene: with Jay Sukow, Session #3, 1:45pm-3:15pm
Play honest and real, forget the funny voices and complicated plotlines. We don't need wild characters and absurd events to bring comedy to the stage. Some of the funniest moments can be found in simple truths and honest human relationships. Learn to build a scene from the natural impulses that arise as you step on to the stage and follow the organic flow of interaction between you and your scene partner as yourself, the funny will arise on its own!

Playing New Characters: with Alex Moffat, Session #2, 11:15-12:45pm
Every improviser has their go-to characters, their "bag of tricks". We can tend to fall into a rut of making the same character choices over and over again on stage. This workshop will focus on stretching yourself to make totally new choices. You'll learn tips for getting out of your head and doing new things with your body, your voice, and your perspective. The workshop will focus on creating characters that are fun, smart, and three-dimensional.

Sketch Comedy Writing: with Jameeleh Shelo (Session #1) and Jeff Poole (Session #4)
Join us for a guided writing process that will introduce you to the many ways sketch comedy writers generate, choose, and develop ideas for performance. This class will culminate in a short evening performance during one of the evening shows. (Class participants must be prepared to perform in the closing show in order to participate in this workshop).

Beginning Improvised Shakespeare: with Alan Hawkins, Session #3, 1:45-3:15pm
Discover the world of the Elizabethan theatre even if you have never seen or read a single play by William Shakespeare. This workshop will explore the techniques and approaches that will help you paint with all of the colors of the world’s most recognized playwright. Students will improvise scenes, perform monologues and play games based around the exercises in this workshop.

Stand-Up Comedy: with Bryan Bowden, Session #4, 3:30-5pm
Learn the tools you’ll need to create a solid, well-timed stand-up comedy performance, from writing habits to timing and delivery. We'll also explore industry basics like finding performance venues and learning to tailor your material to the appropriate set length.

Unconditional Support: Caring for your Scene Partners: with Jay Sukow, Session #1, 9:30-11am
The best improvisers spend most of their time listening to and supporting the ideas of their partners on stage. In this workshop you'll learn to get outside of your own head and start focusing on what you can do to help everyone else look good and move the scene forward. Take care of each other and you'll take care of yourselves.

"Yes And", the Only Form You’ll Ever Need: with Jay Sukow, Session #4, 3:30-5pm
It’s very simple—say yes and, then watch your scenes and your pieces explode. In this workshop, we'll get back to what makes improv great: agreement instead of form. We’ll focus on listening, agreement, acceptance and support, the backbone of improvisation. You'll learn that there are no mistakes, only gifts.

Workshops For TCF Coaches & Directors

Improv, The Ideal Fundraiser:
A workshop for teachers, coaches, and chaperones on how to develop an improv show to raise money for the arts.

Short Form Games You've Never Seen or Played Before:
This workshop is designed for coaches and teachers to learn new improv games that will shake up your ensemble's current repertoire.

Note:
A free lunch will be provided for the teens and coaches attending TCF.

Alan Hawkins an improviser originally from Los Angeles California, has been teaching improv at a High School level since 2004 and currently works with seven high schools as well as teaching adult and private workshops. He is a graduate of The Second City Conservatory, The Second City Musical Conservatory, The iO West Program, The Chicago Comedysportz Training Center and The Annoyance program. He has been fortunate enough to have participated in many festivals across the US with his three-man group Extra Shelves and even been a guest player with Grand Theft Impro in London UK. Currently he directs the veteran Chicago improv ensemble International Stinger and their new teen improv ensemble Mocktail. – Spontaneous Shakespeare, Playing with Heart, Object Work

Alex Moffat is honored to be a part of TCF! As a performer, Alex has worked at The Second City, iO, The Annoyance, Zanies, and many festivals around the country. As a teacher and director, he has taught improv, sketch, and standup at The Second City as well as directed The Second City Youth & Teen Ensemble. He also acro-dunks for the Chicago Bulls and does commercial work here in Chicago. - New Characters

Jay Sukow has studied with Stephen Colbert, David Razowsky, Steve Carell, Keith Johnstone, Dick Schaal, Del Close and Mick Napier, among others. He is faculty member of The Second City, where he also performs regularly as part of their Second City Faculty Jam. He has also taught at iO Chicago, ComedySportz Chicago, Illinois State University, the New Orleans Improv Festival, the C-U Improv Festival and the Chicago Improv Festival’s Teen Comedy Week. Jay also teaches improv to people from every walk of life, from beginning students to executives at Fortune 100 companies.
He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Del Close Marathon, the C/U Improv Festival and the New Orleans Improv Festival. Jay was an ensemble member of ComedySportz Chicago and several weekend "house" improv teams at iO Chicago, where he was also head of its artistic committee. He has been a guest performer at Boom Chicago, the Second City Mainstage, the Second City ETC, the Second City Northwest and Messing with a Friend.
Jay has written, produced and been a cast member of the narrative features “American Legacy” and the directed “Trubadeuax: A Restaurant Movie.” - Organic Improv, Yes and, Unconditional Support

Kenny Metroff is honored to be the director of pH Productions' Education Program. As Education director, he oversees the college outreach program and directs Droppin' $cience at Columbia College, which earned first place in the 2012 and third place in the 2011 College Improv Tournaments. In the fall of 2011, Kenny performed and instructed comedy workshops with Second City onboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. Over the past two years, he has developed and directed the high school Improv pHundraiser Program to raise money for schools’ theater program. Kenny has also instructed at the Illinois High School Theatre Festival, Teen Comedy Festival, Studio BE Children’s program, JCC Summer Camp, State Farm Park Day Camp, and lead numerous corporate workshops with local businesses. Kenny received a B.A. in Theatre Education with Certifications in English and Speech Communications from Illinois State University. At Illinois State, he was a member of Kappa Delta Epsilon, honorary educational fraternity and head of the student committee for the Illinois State High School Theatre Festival and the regional American College Theatre Festival. In 2006, he student taught in the Speech Arts department at Glenbard East High School in Lombard, IL where he directed the school's first improvisational theater production, "On The Spot With The Spontanians". – Intro to long form