Course: Introduction to Improvisational Theatre

Kaivalya Plays invites you to 

INTRODUCTION TO IMPROVISATIONAL THEATRE

A weekend course for everyone and anyone looking to add the magic of improv to their lives in a fun, safe and no-pressure environment.

🗓️ Begins Sunday July 7

⏰ Runs 2pm-4pm on Sundays (July 7, 14, 21, 28)

📍 Sanskriti Kala Kendra, Aya Nagar, South Delhi 

🎟️ INR 3999/- per participant. Get 20% off on booking on or before 15th June 2024 by purchasing the available Early Bird ticket.

ABOUT THE COURSE

This course is an introduction to the world of improvisational theatre (aka improv!). Improv is a form of spontaneous storytelling where one uses suggestions from the audiences to create characters and scenes on the spot without a predetermined script. Open to folks from all walks of life, you don't need to be an actor or performer, just someone with a zeal for telling stories!

This is a "no pressure" series, with the emphasis on laughing and having fun while working piece by piece to put concepts together. The goal is to introduce the language and basics of improvisation to individuals with little to no prior experience. There will be a strong focus on stage time and instructor interaction. The workshop encourages listening, teamwork, positivity, and self-confidence through fun, interactive games, and exercises. Our methodology builds on the teachings of Viola Spolin and Del Close. At the end of this course, you will be able to participate in a short-form improv show, online or in-person!

SESSIONS & SCHEDULE

First Session: Where?

The first resource the improviser must be free to draw from are the three environments: immediate, general and larger. Learn to draw inspiration from your surroundings to move a scene forward.

Second Session: Character

Combine voice, shape, movement, rhythm and distance to create one unified vehicle of expression and develop it as an instrument for perceiving, making contact, and communicating.

Third Session: Relationship

Apply listening, seeing, reacting and silences. Here, the actor learns to remove the curtain in front of their open eyes that isolates them and fully engage in the work with their scene partners and understand the demands of the scene.

Fourth Session: Objective

In the final session, learn to focus on a goal created with your scene partners completely at the moment to build a compelling and engaging narrative.

ABOUT THE FACILITATOR

Gaurav Singh Nijjer is a theatre-maker, creative technologist, designer and improviser whose artistic works explore technology and media in live performance. He has been performing and teaching improvisational theatre since early 2019, as one-half of the Indian performing arts collective Kaivalya Plays. Herein, he was a deviser and performer in "Unravel", an interactive performance supported by the Goethe Institut / New Delhi that explored the therapeutic effects of improvisational theatre as well as extensively involved in the improv-led devising processes across multiple productions of Kaivalya Plays. He was also a deviser and performer in "Climateprov", an interactive improvised performance featuring artificial intelligence on stage and supported by BeFantastic India. Gaurav trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, during which time he also attended improv courses at/with The Hoopla Theatre, The Nursery Theatre, The Make Em Ups and The Showstoppers! He previously worked at the London-based improvisational theatre company, The Nursery Theatre. He is a former German Chancellor Fellow and a Chevening scholar. Apart from theatre, Gaurav also works as a freelance marketing, design and creative consultant for diverse organizations.

ABOUT KAIVALYA PLAYS

Kaivalya Plays is a performing arts and production company led by Varoon P. Anand as its Artistic Director and Gaurav Singh Nijjer as its General Manager. Since 2012, they have worked consistently, been very noisy, and built transcultural associations across India and the world. Their artistic work includes original, devised theatre performances which are multilingual, interactive and hybrid, use technology and media on stage as well as are built using techniques of improvisational, documentary and physical theatre. Their work includes live performances, education and training, community arts programs, producing guest performances, and more. Improvisational theatre is the cornerstone of Kaivalya’s artistic practice, which they apply to arts programs focused on artistic development, language learning, mental health and wellbeing, gender and representation, and multicultural performances, among other areas. They have received multiple artistic commissions and grants, such as EU MediaFutures Artist for Media grant, Goethe Institut’s Refunction and Gender Bender grants, amongst others. Their recent artistic work includes ABSURDO (2023), Mining Hate (2023), Ollantay (2022), Lifeline 99 99 (2021), Luz Negra (2020) How To Disappear Completely and Never be Found (2020), Unravel (2019), amongst others. Most recently, they received the Creativity Pioneers Fund 2023 from the Moleskine Foundation.