Improvised Comedy - Stapleford Library and Learning Centre - Adult Learning

What is Improv? Do they really make it up as they go along? Could someone like me ever learn how to do that? If you’ve ever wondered about any of those questions, this is the course for you.

You’ll learn what improvised comedy is and some simple tricks of the trade to make it look so good people will think it’s scripted. Whilst having fun and learning new techniques you’ll also develop your confidence to enable you to speak and perform in a group.

Each session will introduce a new fundamental aspect of improv and give you lots of opportunities to play with it. Whilst there is theory involved, these sessions are very hands on, you’ll be playing warm up games and performing with a partner within the first hour. We’ll gently build on skills that you already have, the early work is really nothing more than having a chat. And if you find that hard, we’ll do some silent work too. Before you know it, you’ll be jumping out of your seat wanting to be involved in the next scene.

What will learners achieve by the end of the course?

• Have learnt key skills in listening and developed ways to respond appropriately.

• Learnt to trust yourself and take risks.

• Fail (like everyone else) and realise that it doesn’t matter.

• Know how to speak clearly in front of an audience.

• Be present in the moment and relish the here and now…even if it’s going horribly wrong.

• Understand that the easiest way to be funny is to not try to be funny.

• Have worked as a team to support everyone involved and build on all our unique skills.

• See the joy in everyday events and how we can turn them into comedy gold

You will also need for the course:

A notebook and pen is always useful for making notes. Unless you have a specific need that means you can’t take notes by hand, this will be a recording free zone. Let’s get away from our phones and be present in the moment. 

The following books are both available through the Inspire library service. Whilst they do not specifically cover what you will be learning in the course you may be interested to read them and find out how Improv can be useful in many different areas of your life. I have read them both and can recommend them.

1) Improv Your Life by Pippa Evans

2) Improvise! Use the secrets of Improv to achieve extraordinary results at work by Max Dickens

There’s also lots of great Improv on the internet. Feel free to Google it but remember that there are lots of different styles and formats for Improv and what we do might not be exactly the same as what you watch. Also, many of the performances that you may find on platforms such as YouTube will not be suitable for younger audiences – although we will be making sure that our teaching sessions are free from bad language.