A2 Improv Theatre Course (In-Person in New Delhi)

Kaivalya Plays presents

A2 IMPROV THEATRE COURSE 

(In-Person in New Delhi)

This course runs on Sundays, 6:30pm to 8:30pm IST at the Kaivalya Plays Studio in New Rajendar Nagar, Central Delhi.

Starts Sunday, 1st May onwards and runs for 6 weeks (May 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th and June 5th) with a private student showcase on the last date.

Learn more and register for the course at the link (kaivalyaplays.org/improva2) 

Course Fees: INR 7000/- for the full course of six sessions. 

• 15% concessionary discount for students, unwaged and financially challenged - use code KPCONCESSION
• 20% early bird discount for purchases made before 25th April 2022 – use code KPEARLYBIRDA2

ABOUT THE COURSE

This is an advanced-level course for improvisers with prior experience. Students will play a variety of exercises and games, many developed by Viola Spolin and Del Close. These exercises and games train the analytical side of the brain to focus on goals, freeing the creative side and silencing the negative thoughts that can make us freeze in performance (or in life, for that matter). Students will also be introduced to the long-form format of the Harold and musical improvisation. At the end of this course, you will be able to participate and create your own short-form improv shows, online or in-person as well as get started with long-form improv shows.

SESSIONS & SCHEDULE 

May 1st 2022 | Session 1 - Spaces & Objects

Start by manipulating negative space into imaginary props, costumes, and set pieces that help create the world the scenes inhabit. By existing in our environments, we uncover details that can inspire us and lead to powerful discoveries about our characters and the environment. Concentration on object work provides our scene partners similar inspiration about the relationship our characters are in, their character’s relationship to us, their relationship to the environment, and their own ability to exist in the world.

May 8th 2022 | Session 2 - Conflicts & Escalation

Improvisers understand that arguing on stage accomplishes little but it is important to explore other conflicts, such as internal conflicts, or conflicts with nature. Making the conflict bigger is a way to make the scene better but raising the stakes does not have to be a sledgehammer, it can be subtle.

May 15th 2022 | Session 3 - Relationships & Patterns

The improviser that can listen and use patterns that have developed in a scene can elicit a reaction from an audience that is far more satisfying than the laughs that come from a few jokes. Learn to make connection will allow improvisers to discover different levels of meanings to ideas and will begin the process of engendering a “group mind.”

May 22nd 2022 | Session 4 - The Harold

Our first session on long-form explores what is called the “ultimate in improvisation”, the Harold. Or as Del Close describes it, “The Harold is like the space shuttle, incorporating all of the developments and discoveries that have gone before it into one new, superior design.”

May 29th 2022 | Session 5 - Musical Improv

This session will help you find your voice and the confidence to turn it into a song. Here, we introduce the basic mechanics of songwriting; melody, dynamics, rhyme and song structure. This session will use the power of solid improv fundamentals to help you heighten the stakes of your scene-work and turn your improv scene into a musical number.

5th June | Session 6 - Student Showcase

This will be a private student showcase for friends and family, with notes and feedback on the performance.

OUR IMPROV TRAINING LEVELS

- Improv A1 Breakthrough: 8-12 hours

- Improv A2 Horizon: 12-18 hours

- Improv B1 Threshold: 16-20 hours

- Improv B2 Vantage: 16-20 hours

- Improv C1 Proficiency: 20-30 hours

- Improv C2 Mastery: 20-30 hours

Improv A-Level - Objective: you can perform in an improv show.

Improv B-Level - You can perform in an improv show, run your own team and build a set.

Improv C-Level - You can perform, run a team, build a show and teach others.

ABOUT KAIVALYA PLAYS

Kaivalya Plays is an Indian performing arts and production organization, led by Varoon P. Anand as Artistic Director and Gaurav Singh Nijjer as General Manager. Their artistic training is grounded in spontaneous improvisation, lying at the intersection of short-form improvisations (for performances and workshop) and applied improvisation (with a focus on mental healthcare, business, education, training). Their improv group CueLess improv was one of Delhi's first improv teams and became the training ground for a generation of improv performers and heads of new teams. Kaivalya Plays' original play 'Unravel' uses improvisational theatre techniques to drive conversations about mental health. Their innovative use of the improv methodology spans different sectors – driving safety conversations in the performing arts, expanding mental health dialogue through their 'Improv for Wellness' program, fostering a global community with their 'Open Space' improv jam, supporting foreign language learning with their 'Improv for Languages' programs in Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi as well as furthering improv as an artform with the multilingual 'India Improv Ensemble' and 'India Improv Sxene' that puts the spotlight on the Indian improvisational theatre community. They are committed to finding new formats and applications to make improv accessible and available to a wider audience.