Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Toddlerprov with Jim Reynolds

What could we add to our scenes if we had the mindset of a toddler looking at a situation for the first time? Explore how we can improvise more instinctually and with a greater sense of abandon and fun, using real examples from our parenting experiences.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Silly Odyssey: Improvising a Hero's Journey with Tom North

In this workshop learn the narrative improv format ‘Silly Odyssey’, build up your storytelling skills and learn how to maximize your fun without losing track of the story.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

The Chorus of Chaos with Liam Webber & Nick Harriott

A wild and crazy deep-dive into improvising large cast musical numbers! We’ll be singing big cast songs, creating scenes, shapes, and meaning with our choreography, and generally having a rootin’ tootin’ good time.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Stuck in the Middle with Rik Brown

Stuck in the Middle is an energetic and entertaining format which involves one performer being ‘stuck’ on stage for the entirety of the performance, with no option but to go along with every offer, character, scene or genre that is being thrown at them.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Creating Stories People Care About with Tara McEntee

This workshop focuses on getting to the core of narrative improv and storytelling; what stories do people care about, and why? Through exercises and side coaching, you will learn how to work the improv muscles that lead to creating characters and plotlines audiences care about.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Head/Heart/Hole - Where does improv come from? with Matt Powell

We all have different defaults that we bring to improv, but have you ever wished you could try something different? In this workshop we look at three different approaches to making offers, and how to use those different styles with intention and clarity.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Bolder Brasher Braver! with Lindsay Drummond

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut in our improvising and start playing by default. This workshop will shake it up and get you thinking and playing outside your box!

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Everybody Dance Now with Jaklene Vukasinovic

Ever been on stage when a musical number starts, and you don't know what to do? In Everybody Dance Now, we'll explore physicality and space, build a vocabulary of the most fundamental basics; and work in groups to develop and share simplified, effective movement on stage.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Telenovela - A Deep Dive with Matías Avaca

Get ready to turn up the drama and bring the passion in this improv workshop focused on the beloved Latin soap opera genre: Telenovela!

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Shut Up and Improvise! with Brad Daniels

Improvisation relies so much on the use of language that sometimes we overlook the real power of silence. This workshop promises to level the scales, with silence taking centre stage.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

The Beat Cafe with Rik Brown

Come and let the language loose!

This workshop focuses on finding the joy in words and uses Spoken Word poetry to help free our minds and our tongues. The Beat Cafe format then uses these improvised spoken word poems to inspire characters scenes and stories.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Making Your Scene Partner Look Good (Even When It's Hard) with Liz Talbot & Noelle Greenwood

We can’t control what our scene partners do, only how we respond. Let’s talk about decisions we can make when the direction of our scene concerns us, how to support our scene partners and confidently negotiate a path to a more joyful scene.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Where the Wild Things Are with Noelle Greenwood & Adam O'Sullivan

Step out of your human skin and embrace the non-human characters that live inside you.

In Where The Wild Things Are, participants will explore a world of brutish beasts, curious critters, fantastical faery folk, mythical monsters, savage spirits and wiry wildlings.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

A Thought With Another Thought's Hat On with Jim Fishwick

Want your metaphors to be a piece of cake? Want your similes to be as easy as falling off a log?

This workshop explores simple ways to add layers of meaning to improv scenes, through metaphor, simile, and symbols: any time we use one thing to say something else.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

Get in There! (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love to 'Prov) with Marcel Blanch-de Wilt

Do you find yourself holding back on the sidelines? Do you stop yourself from entering a scene until you have the perfect idea? Take a leap of faith and get in there with this workshop on how to stop over-thinking and start enjoying yourself.

Part of the Brisbane Improv Festival workshop series!

A Formatter's Guide with Malcolm Morrison

Have you ever wanted to create a show of your own? Maybe you’re curious how it is done? Come along to learn A Formatter’s Guide: a simple, yet versatile process to follow to make creating a show easy!

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Discovery Versus Invention

Facilitated by Marcel Blanch-de Wilt & Eleanor Stankiewicz (The Newlyweds, Sydney NSW)

Why does it have to be so difficult? What keeps us glued to the side of the stage rather than diving headfirst into a scene?

Across our workshop you will be equipped with several tools to help you be a mighty explorer of the stage. You'll become someone brave enough to step out into the unknown. Perfect for improvisers who find their head swirling with doubts about their character, story, and location. We will make the difficult and challenging task of longform improvisation seem easy. What was once complicated, will become playful once again.

This workshop aims to make you explorers rather than inventors. Discovery is joyful. Invention is hard work. By the end of our time together, you'll realise that everything you need is on stage rather than by the side of it.

About Marcel & Eleanor

Marcel and Eleanor are award-winning performers and creatives. Marcel is a stand-up comedian and director. Eleanor is an actor and voice-specialist who has performed with some of Australia's best theatre companies. Together as their 2prov team The Newlyweds they have been invited to perform in Chicago, Wellington, Brisbane, Adelaide, Auckland, and Melbourne.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Katherine Weaver (VIC)

Audiences love playful inspired performers and improvisers love to play with people who inspire them.

In this workshop, we will work n playing hard, bringing the fun, and looking at how to light up your scene partner. How do you know if someone is inspired? How do we set them up for success? How do we bring out the best in them?

Together we will work on the answers to these questions which in turn will have us getting to know ourselves and how to find our own inspiration.

About Katherine

Katherine is an improvisor, actor, teacher and Artistic Director of Impro Melbourne. She has performed and directed for many years with Impro Melbourne in such shows as Theatresports™, Gorilla Theatre™ and Maestro™. She is also part of the Soothplayers ensemble performing improvised Shakespeare. Her love of performing is only matched by her love of teaching, which she has been honoured to do on a weekly basis in Melbourne and as a guest in Wurzburg Germany, Wellington New Zealand, Adelaide, Canberra, and Brisbane.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Jennifer O'Sullivan (Locomotive - Aotearoa/NZ)

As improvisors, we're asked to juggle a whole lot of skills and points of focus at once; accepting offers, supporting our scene partners, responding to the audience, projecting our voices, being expressive with our bodies, keeping to the 'rules' of the show or genre, and so on and on. It is inevitable that as we juggle it all, balls will get dropped. Most of them are made of plastic and they bounce, but some are made of glass (or feel like they are) and dropping them makes a hell of a mess.

This workshop is about how and where to direct your focus, how to recognise which balls will bounce and which will break, and how to enjoy the mess when you drop a ball or three. A workshop for anyone who overthinks on their feet, struggles to find focus, or needs a reminder to have fun.

About Jennifer

Jennifer (she/her) is an improvisor, director and creative producer in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara. With an MFA in Creative Practice from Victoria University, she is the co-founder and director of Locomotive, the creative lead for Kickin’ Rad Productions, and is the former director of the New Zealand Improv Festival. The last decade and a half has seen her performing, producing and teaching in Wellington and around NZ and Australia, and in 2016 she created Late Night Knife Fight at BATS Theatre to encourage innovation and experimentation in improv forms (and to have a good time). When she's not working on cool improv and theatre projects, she's hanging out with her pets and her kid and making sure no one eats too much grass.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Matias Avaca (Argentina & Aotearoa/NZ)

Are you tired of feeling trapped by the audience's suggestions? Do you want to break out of the mold with your scene starters? Do you want to master scene edits to take your show to the next level? This workshop will help you find creative and innovative ways to use the audience's ask fors, elevate your scene starters to new heights and transition from scene to scene.

About Matias

Matias is an Argentinian improviser residing in New Zealand with a global perspective, having performed and coached in over 15 countries, including Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Russia and Japan. As the co-founder and artistic director of "Mabel Impro", the first Spanish-speaking Improv group in Australasia, and the founder and director of the Auckland Improv Marathon and co-founder and director of the Auckland Improv Festival, Matias is heavily involved in the improv community. He is also a director, performer, instructor, and producer at the Covert Theatre in Auckland, where he continues to hone his craft and inspire others.

Matias is the co-founder and co-director of “Laenye Productions” a performing arts production company based in Auckland (New Zealand); which goals are to create opportunities for Spanish speakers to express their artform and to promote Spanish and Latin American culture, art and languages. He is known for his unique approach to improvisation, utilizing different languages and the absence of them to create a universal language on stage. He is also a creator of innovative improv theatre formats, traveling the world to coach theatre ensembles in them. His popular formats "Livin' La Impro Loca" and "Perfect Strangers" have been performed by improv groups in several countries. One of Matias’ most successful projects is “Comedy World League”, a multilingual Improv show that includes performers from more than 10 countries residing in New Zealand.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Matias Avaca (Argentina & Aotearoa/NZ)

Explore the versatility of “Carousel”, a format that gets inspiration from images provided by the audience to tell unique stories.

Immerse yourself in a more naturalistic and organic style of improv, where emotional truth takes center stage over comedic relief. Master editing techniques, play with different levels of reality, and experience scenes with a wide range of colors and tones.

For Brisbane Improv Festival, this workshop will also be a casting opportunity for Carousel. People asked to perform will hopefully be available for a rehearsal between the workshop and the show, as our focus at the workshop will be more on the skills than on the format.

Please note that any Festival shows cast from workshops is at the discretion of the show's director and is not guaranteed. Please go into workshops with a view to learning new improv skills and having fun. Any performance opportunity is a bonus.

About Matias

Matias is an Argentinian improviser residing in New Zealand with a global perspective, having performed and coached in over 15 countries, including Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Russia and Japan. As the co-founder and artistic director of "Mabel Impro", the first Spanish-speaking Improv group in Australasia, and the founder and director of the Auckland Improv Marathon and co-founder and director of the Auckland Improv Festival, Matias is heavily involved in the improv community. He is also a director, performer, instructor, and producer at the Covert Theatre in Auckland, where he continues to hone his craft and inspire others.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Brenna Dixon & Panfred Reed (Impro Melbourne - VIC)

The Musical Improv Megamix workshop offers a joyful opportunity for improvisers to delve into the world of spontaneous musical performance. Over the course of three hours, participants will be taken on a journey through a vast array of different structures for improvised songs and scenes. Whether you are a seasoned pro or just starting out, this workshop promises to introduce you to new and exciting tools for songprov that you can take back to your troupes and explore further, from group numbers to solos, ballads to sea shanties, and from scene work to game structures. However, be warned - this workshop moves at a pretty fast pace, so we recommend coming with your voice warmed up if possible. Don't worry though, we'll send over some resources to help you get ready beforehand! So come ready to sing, dance, and explore the endless possibilities of musical improv!

About Brenna

Brenna is a versatile improvisational actor, director, and teacher working in Australia and internationally. She is the Director of the improvised musical Smells Like a Song, Ensemble player at Impro Melbourne, Artistic Director of the nominated Best Comedy (Melb Fringe 2019) show Soothplayers: Completely Improvised Shakespeare and co-creator and performer of I Wish, the immersive music and storytelling show. Brenna completed the Bachelor of Performing Arts at Monash University and has been teaching drama and improvisation since 2012. She has taught and performed for adults and children of all ages, and for various companies including Brave Studios, The Decent People, New Zealand Improv Festival, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Monash University and more.

About Panfred

Panfred Reed has been improvising as a musician with Impro Melbourne for the past 7 years, providing the music for such shows as “Smells Like a Song” and “Kit Kat Prov”. Pan also plays accordion in the touring world music dance band Hello Tut Tut.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Brad Daniels (Edge Improv - QLD)

Shakespeare! The word sends a thrill up audience’s spines and a chill down improvisor’s. But fear not - Shakespearean inspired improv need not be difficult - it can in fact be fun, hilarious and super easy to do. Plus the techniques taught in this workshop can be applied in a many improv shows - not just Shakespeare! So join Brad Daniels as he teaches you some tricks and techniques to spice up your playing with some Shakespeare.

Please note that any Festival shows cast from workshops is at the discretion of the show's director and is not guaranteed. Please go into workshops with a view to learning new improv skills and having fun. Any performance opportunity is a bonus.

About Brad

Brad started performing improvisation in 1994 and hasn’t stopped yet. He loves teaching improvisation at all levels and loves seeing students realise how funny they can be. Since he began training with Theatre Sports Queensland, he has studied with teachers such as Sean Kinley (Loose Moose), Patti Styles (Impro Melbourne), Keith Johnstone (Loose Moose), Sounds & Fury (LA), and many others. Brad and has appeared in and produced innumerable shows - with Theatresports Queensland, Six of the Best, Sit Down Comedy Club, Impromafia, Big Fork Theatre and his own award winning troupe EDGE Improv.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Katherine Weaver (VIC)

Do you always ... have your hands on your hips, talk over your partner, hesitate to add to the story, nod your head when people are talking, look down when starting a scene, make fists with your hands, etc.. Picking up on our habits helps us to create different characters on stage, forces us to be present, and explore different ways of playing. In this workshop, Katherine will help you discover your habits and give you tips and tricks to play differently. Adding new tools to your impro tool kit and letting go of your bad habits. (No habit can be completely bad as in impro the opposite is also true, but knowing what you do and choosing when to do it is a superpower, and 'Bad Habits' is a great workshop title)

About Katherine

Katherine is an improvisor, actor, teacher and Artistic Director of Impro Melbourne. She has performed and directed for many years with Impro Melbourne in such shows as Theatresports™, Gorilla Theatre™ and Maestro™. She is also part of the Soothplayers ensemble performing improvised Shakespeare. Her love of performing is only matched by her love of teaching, which she has been honoured to do on a weekly basis in Melbourne and as a guest in Wurzburg Germany, Wellington New Zealand, Adelaide, Canberra, and Brisbane.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Marcel Blanch-de Wilt & Eleanor Stankiewicz (The Newlyweds - NSW)

Create a load of characters in this workshop designed to keep the wonder and excitement in your two-person improv. Discover the delight of playing and swapping multiple characters within the same scene. Across the session we will build memorable characters with distinct voices, physicalities, and personalities. Learn how to make the play with your scene partner joyful and fun while also making it seem like you're reading each other's minds.

About Marcel & Eleanor

Marcel and Eleanor are award-winning performers and creatives. Marcel is a stand-up comedian and director. Eleanor is an actor and voice-specialist who has performed with some of Australia's best theatre companies. Together as their 2prov team The Newlyweds they have been invited to perform in Chicago, Wellington, Brisbane, Adelaide, Auckland, and Melbourne.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Matt Powell (Locomotive - Aotearoa/NZ)

This workshop explores how a large chorus of improvisors can create atmosphere through physicality and spontaneous choreography. Using horror as a jumping-off point, we will play around with the mechanics of making group offers that shape a scene, culminating in a show, Don't See This Show Alone.

Everyone who attends the workshop will be invited to perform in the show. Please bring plain black clothing for the performance.

Content note: We will be asking audience members for their real fears as inspiration for the show and attempting to make something genuinely scary. This may not be for you if you are easily spooked out.

About Matt

Matt Powell (he/him) has been creating improvised theatre for over 20 years in Aotearoa, Australia, and overseas. He is the Artistic Co-Director of the New Zealand Improv Festival and a founding member of Locomotive Improv Theatre Training.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Taylor Edwards (Big Fork Theatre, Brisbane Qld)

In an artform of limitless possibilities will the inevitable scenes always happen? Time to jump into the void! Explore the undercurrent of chaos in improv and challenge yourself to wield it as part of good scenework. Join Taylor Edwards to debunk fears of the wild and unknown, follow the fun and better connect with each other. This workshop is suitable for both the anarchist and adverse alike, but at least a year of improv experience is recommended.

About Taylor

Taylor is an improviser, sketch and stand up comedian, and founder of Big Fork Theatre. A regular on the Big Fork stage and a faculty member, Taylor loves reigniting people's creativity and giving them the skills and confidence from their first scene to their biggest show. She has been improvising for 11 years, having trained at the renowned iO Chicago and performing in festivals and cities across Australia and the world.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Cameron D (WA)

You don't have to be smart, fast or witty to be an effective improviser; you need to pay more attention to what your teammates are doing and less attention to what you are thinking. What they do tells you what to do next, so don't miss it. Plus, the more time you spend watching them, the less time you spend judging your actions.

You don't have to be unusually creative to improvise; you need to see what you have already done and do it again and again. Constant new ideas are not needed and do more harm than good. Do less but do it more often.

About Cameron

Cameron has been performing long and short form improv for ten years and teaching for five. His style of teaching is less talk, more action. He'll get you doing more of the things that make improv easy and less of the things that make improv difficult. Cameron knows that fun improv relies on skills that must be practiced into habit.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Laura Buskes (The Improv Conspiracy - VIC)

This workshop teaches improvisers how to perform the Improvised Movie format, and hones their performance skills to match the needs of the structure. This workshop covers the basics of improvising a narrative, playing with genre, and format-specific moves.

About Laura

Laura is the Assistant Artistic Director at The Improv Conspiracy where she has been performing and teaching for 10 years. Laura learned improv at TIC, UCB and iO Chicago, and has performed at numerous festivals across Australia. She loves the Improvised Movie because it blends her love of parody with a dam good story.

Brisbane Improv Festival -  a celebration of improvised comedy in Brisbane 22 - 29 July

Facilitated by Laura Buskes (The Improv Conspiracy - VIC)

This workshop teaches improvisers how to perform the Improvised Movie format, and hones their performance skills to match the needs of the structure. This workshop covers the basics of improvising a narrative, playing with genre, and format-specific moves.

About Laura

Laura is the Assistant Artistic Director at The Improv Conspiracy where she has been performing and teaching for 10 years. Laura learned improv at TIC, UCB and iO Chicago, and has performed at numerous festivals across Australia. She loves the Improvised Movie because it blends her love of parody with a dam good story.