The InterCity Improv Festival is proud to offer workshops by some our friends, who happen to be some of the world’s finest improv instructors. 100% of the workshop costs go directly to the instructor.

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Workshop Schedule Overview

Friday, March 26th, 2021
1:30pm–3:30pm PDT / 4:30pm–6:30pm EDT

Looking to push your improv to new levels of scary? Solo improv is a great way to challenge yourself and become more confident in your choices! In this workshop you will learn how to perform a solo improv form that’s easy to remember and follow! Playing solo makes you a better group player. Learn to ghost characters, command silence, and deliver a strong performance all on your own.

Anthony Francis was New York born and Florida raised. He has been teaching actors, business professionals, parents, students and kids how to work together more effectively on and off stage since 2012. In 2014 Anthony opened Improv U, an improv training and performance space in Delray Beach, FL. Now Anthony brings his gift for teaching and directing to the professional world with a unique team building concept that brings groups together in a powerful and lasting way.

Saturday, March 27th, 2021
11:00am–1:00pm PDT / 2:00pm–4:00pm EDT

Many of the tradition improv rules and concepts separate us from the real world. Our lives are full of questions and no’s yet these are often frowned upon. By looking towards the rules of life we will discover how to create more natural and textured scenes that are easier for us to play and more compelling for an audience to watch.

Bill Arnett, founder of the Chicago Improv Studio and author of The Complete Improviser, is known as a good-natured teacher with an empowering approach to improv. He started improvising at the University of Florida in 1992 before moving to Chicago in 1998. He has been a part of several acclaimed ensembles including People of Earth, Maximum Party Zone and 3033. Arofter 12 years of teaching at the iO Theater and 18 months as the Training Center Director Bill left to start the Chicago Improv Studio, a stage-focused training and performance company that takes a non-traditional approach to improv.

Thursday, March 25, 2021
1:30pm–3:30pm PDT / 4:30pm–6:30pm EDT

In 2020 the world of improv went from stage to screen. New mediums deserve new approaches. Improvising on-camera comes with a slew of new challenges as well as rewards. Learning specific tools geared for on-camera improvisation will give you a stronger command over your craft, enabling you to tell richer stories and have more fun. Gaining confidence in your on-camera performance will lead to stronger choices in your play and play with more freedom. 

By using adaptations of traditional cinematic camera angles, along with the native behavior that’s built into Zoom, you will learn to tell narrative stories in ways that are more digestible to an audience that is used to consuming on-screen content. 

In this workshop you will learn how to setup your play space for success, the specifics of the Fixed Lens Improvisation (F.L.I.) Technique, and how to utilize the technology that you are already using with more efficacy in your improv. Let’s think outside of the zoom box, open yourself up to infinite possibilities, and build a foundation for effortless play. 

More info on the F.L.I. Technique can be found here: https://momentimprov.com/f-l-i-technique-fixed-lens-improvisation/

Wanna see the F.L.I. Technique in action? 

Check out this TeleProv Show Sample: Previously On… Lost Pilots: Google Boogaloo

Marcus Sams is the Founder/Artistic Director of Moment Improv Theatre. Established in 2014, it is one of the first African-American owned improv theatres and training centers in the United States. He is also the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Improv Festival and has been in the improv world since 2001. He has performed in 75+ national improv festival shows, including the “Secret Show” at the Chicago Improv Festival, where he opened for BassProv with his duo Liss n’ Sams, featuring Joe Liss of Second City. He was a “Master Teacher” at the Alaska State Improv Festival in 2017 and has been a headlining act and instructor at the KC Improv Festival, Out of Bounds Comedy festival, and Seattle Festival of Improv Theatre, among many others.

Friday, March 26th, 2021
1:30pm–3:30pm PDT / 4:30pm–6:30pm EDT

Remember that time you said you were going to create a solo show and never did? “Creating Successful Solo and Duo Shows with T.J. Mannix”. Why bother? What’s the point? What makes your show any different from the hundreds of other vanity projects out there? T.J. has been directing solo and duo shows for years in NYC, working with individuals and duos to figure out the why, the how, and the specifics that will set your show apart. Breaking the rules. Going with your gut. Figuring out why you care enough to make the show work. Using your strengths to discover new ways to tackle openings and transitions. Finding a new approach to narrative.

T.J. Mannix has been teaching acting and auditioning in NYC and around the world for over 15 years. His former students are working on Broadway, with the Second City, in the recording studio, on films, and on television as series regulars and guest stars.

He is a member of the faculty at the Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre, NY Film Academy, the Montclair Film Festival, and Magnet Theater, and specializes in Acting for Film/Television, On-Camera Auditioning, Commercial Auditioning, and Improvisation/Musical Improvisation. He is an alumnus of the University of Miami, Florida and has taught master classes across the U.S., Canada, and 14 countries.

During his two decades in NYC, T.J. has appeared in more than 85 TV and radio commercials – along with roles on “Law and Order: SVU,” “Law and Order,” “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” “All My Children,” “One Life to Live,” “As the World Turns,” and numerous appearances on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

He is 23-year veteran improvisor in NYC and Chicago, and has toured with several casts of The Second City/NCL. He was an original cast member and host of the innovative, “NY Times approved,” ”BLANK: the Musical” off-Broadway.

He is the founder of the 12th annual New York Musical Improv Festival http://www.NYMIF.com and is currently touring with the epic one-man improvised musical “LimboLand.” He admits to spending a very dark year working as a Mouseketeer.

Saturday, March 27, 2021
11:00am–1:00pm PDT / 2:00pm–4:00pm EDT

Improvisers act, “write” and direct. How much of your director’s side do you work with? How to direct, see and make choices, without controlling the improvisation. Based on my PhD research about Improv, in this workshop we will play with tools to train our directing view during our improvisation.

Luana Proença is a Brazilian artist, graduated in Acting with Masters in Arts, taking her PhD in Theater Studies at Lisbon University. 

Sunday, March 28, 2021
11:00am–1:00pm PDT / 2:00pm–4:00pm EDT

To quote Keith Johnston, “Rats will leave a sinking ship, but few improvisers will leave a sinking scene…” Agreeing to an ending or gifting your fellow players with an edit can be hard to do. In this workshop, we will look at useful techniques to end and edit scenes using an ensemble approach.

Brooklyn Improv Training teaches Ensemble Improv: the skills of spontaneously creating, as a group, a single piece of work. Drawing from the wisdoms of Viola Spolin, Keith Johnstone, Del Close, B.I.T.’s approach is experiential, on your feet, and full of joy. We will teach you how to let go of judgment, how to stay present, and many other practical strategies to create hilarious and delightful scene work with an ensemble of players. Our goal is not to teach you how to be the funniest person in the room, it’s to make the whole room funnier.

Brooklyn Improv Training is captained by long-time collaborators and friends, Scarlet Maressa Rivera and Nolan Kennedy with more than 20 years combined teaching experience. Scarlet and Nolan are performers, Co-Artistic Directors, Producers, and the best darn theater parents you could hope for!

They already created these events with the Workshop infos on facebook and ovationtix:
https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10633889
https://fb.me/e/17ZRfy7tT

Sunday, March 28, 2021
1:30pm–3:30pm PDT / 4:30pm–6:30pm EDT

Often on stage, but even more so online we end up in the dreaded “talking head” scenes, unsure of who or where we are. This workshop will help get you out of your head and into your body to discover characters and share environments through the screen. Whether you’re looking to grow beyond your stock characters, discover your online environment or find ways to use more of your screen, this workshop will you get out of the chair, and realize how you are effects who and where you are.

Nick Condon has been improvising, teaching and coaching for over two decades, and has performed in nearly every state in the union. A Minneapolis native, he studied and performed at The Brave New Workshop, and ComedySportz, and was a founding member of Five Man Job. 

In 2006 he moved to Talkeetna, Alaska where he served as Creative Director of Denali Drama and Iditaprov. While in Alaska he produced, directed, taught, and performed all over the state. 

He moved to Portland in June of 2016 to teach, coach, and perform at Curious Comedy. He is currently a member of several troupes including Bantam Roosters, The Nancy Boys, and Solitaire: The Improvised One Man, One Act.

Saturday, March 27, 2021
1:30pm–3:30pm PDT / 4:30pm–6:30pm EDT

Improvised Monologues can capture and heighten any improvised scene. Whether it is improvised poetry, storytelling or incorporating monologues into genre based improvisation, Shaun will give you the tools to present character driven monologues.

A Native of Chicago Illinois living in Los Angeles, Shaun Landry is the Artistic Director of Oui Be Negroes, founded The West Coast Improv Alliance and cofounded The San Francisco Improv Festival. She is also half of the Duo of Landry & Summers and currently on faculty at The Pack Theater teach level three improvisation.

Shaun has worked for The Second City Chicago Tour Company & Children’s Theater, Geese Theater Company, African American Shakespeare Company and has been in the improvisational festival circuit teaching and performing (the short list) in the Kansas City, Austin, New York, Miami, Hawaii, Philadelphia, Oberlin, Chicago, Belgium, Dublin, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Seoul, Manila, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

As a member of the SAG/AFTRA, she has appeared on Conan, Transparent and in the movies Read You Like a Book with Danny Glover and Karen Black as Marcia and The Oscar Award winning movie Milk with Sean Penn as Gwenn Craig.

If you are over fifty? Ask her about The Seniors Improv Comedy at The Pack.

Sunday, March 28, 2021
11:00am–1:00pm PDT / 2:00pm–4:00pm EDT

It’s the future (welcome)! Our wildest dreams have come true: TV’s on our respective wrists, splitting the atom, and indefinitely preserved food. What will the next wave of super-science bring? In this survey of the current state of improv, participants are encouraged to bring their problems to the lab and see what a mix of Q&A, crowd-sourcing, group-mind, and interactive improvisation can do to solve these problems and more! Will we finally figure out a better explanation than ‘”Whose Line?” but longer’? What is better than “Yes, and…”? When will we have the last Tinder-date scene? These questions (possibly) but so much more are all up for grabs and the miracles of improv-science will solve them!

Chris George is an actor, improviser, and chemist from Chicago, IL and an apprentice of Bill Arnett.

He is a graduate of the iO, Annoyance, CSz Advanced, and Chicago Improv Studio (CIS) training centers, and is a founder of the National Comedy Theater’s (NCT) Sunday Company, co-founder and former Assistant Artistic Director of Finest City Improv (FCI) (San Diego, CA), and the San Diego Improv Festival.

He is a former faculty member of FCI and Sidestage Improv (now Old Town Improv Company) and has been a guest instructor at NCT, the Dallas Comedy Festival, Spectacles Improv Engine (Orange County, CA), Endurance Improv Festival (Madison, WI), Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute (JITLI), Naval Justice School, University of Texas Dallas’ Advanced Improvisation Program, Longshot Theater Company (Biloxi, MS), Countdown Improv Festival, Kansas City Improv Festival, Palm Beach Improv Festival, San Francisco Improv Festival, and CIS.

He is an ensemble member and the Public Affairs Director of the Odd’s Bodkins Shakespeare Company; past roles include Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Antipholus of Ephesus (Comedy of Errors), Birowne (Love’s Labour’s Lost), and Banquo (Macbeth).

Thursday, March 25, 2021
1:30pm–3:30pm PDT / 4:30pm–6:30pm EDT

In this workshop we’ll do a fundamentals HIIT (High intensity interval training) workout with exercises focused on laying the foundation for solid scene work. 
—Agreement (including agreeing to disagree)
—Laser listening/Heightened hearing
—Character POV
—Emotional investment
—Game
—Rules (and breaking them)
—Letting go (stop pushing YOUR agenda)

Tezz Yancey is a professional Los Angeles based Improviser (Second City/UCB/IO/Comedy Central) Actor, Singer, Dancer, Musician, Writer, Producer and Director with over 20 years of performing and teaching experience. He made his Broadway debut at age 14, headlined his own shows in Las Vegas, produced multiple recording and film score projects and is a working Film and television actor in Hollywood. (Showtime, Disney, NBC, Vet-TV) He trained at the Boston conservatory and Berklee in musical theater and production and has been Blessed to travel the world teaching master classes and workshops.

Saturday, March 27, 2021
1:30pm–3:30pm PDT / 4:30pm–6:30pm EDT

The award winning, festival headlining duo Rollin’ in Riches play without any format. Their shows emerge from one moment to the next making for an incredibly unique performance that consistently slays audiences. In this workshop Rolland Lopez teach you how to play the RiR way.

Rolland Lopez‘s a voice actor who walked into a Level 1 improv class 14 years ago to help his voiceover skills and just never left. Since then, he’s been a regular improv instructor at the Westside Comedy Theater in Southern California and has taught workshops at festivals across the country. He’s a long-standing member of the house short-form show “Mission Improvable” and has toured and headlined with his duo partner, Rich Baker, as Rollin’ in Riches. He’s the creator of the series “There’s Great Improv Everywhere!” on the Rollin’ in Riches YouTube channel and you can hear his voice as the voice of Poncho in “Pooch Cafe” and currently, as the voice of the GeoSafari Jr. Globe alongside Bindi Irwin (he’s the “unknown male voice” people write about in the reviews).

Sunday, March 28, 2021
1:30pm–3:30pm PDT / 4:30pm–6:30pm EDT

At the heart of improv is saying ‘yes, and’ in an environment steeped with acceptance and encouragement. It’s the first rule of improv; everybody knows about ‘yes, and.’

But too often, the ‘yes and’ quickly becomes more ‘and’ than ‘yes.’ Liz feels improvisers often reach for the ‘and’ very quickly, not allowing themselves to soak in the ‘yes’. The consequence of this is missing the potential of an offering, the value of the first line, and overlooking what is yet to be discovered in the ‘yes’ because of a mad rush for ‘and.’  

In this workshop, we’ll cover some of Liz’s favorite exercises that focus on soaking in yes, allowing collaboration to emerge naturally, and demonstrating that the ‘and’ will find you…you don’t have to rush towards ‘and’. 

For the past 28 years, Liz Allen has performed, coached, and directed improv.

She performed with iO Chicago’s Frank Booth, taking the first-ever long-form to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1995. She ran the iO Chicago Theater’s Training Center for 3 years, and in 1999, 2000 & 2001, she won the Del Close Coach of the Year Award at iO, renamed the Liz Allen Excellence in Teaching Award. 

At the iO Chicago, Liz has taught Levels 1 thru Advanced Harold, directed The Family Affair, which performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2019, and completed the final round of online classes for iO Chicago, before it closed in 2020.

Liz coached the iO’s teams Valhalla, Fatty Four Eyes and Mission Improvable (founders of the Westside Comedy Theater in LA), and the Improv Shop’s Putty and Daddy Long Legs  teams in St. Louis, via Skype. She directed Devolution (written by Sean Benjamin) at The Neofuturarium, and directed a main stage revue for The Second City at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino. The Vegas Theater Hub awarded Liz Best Guest Speaker of the Year and Best Workshop of the Year 2015. 

Liz was honored to coach The Commune, the improv ensemble in Mike Birbiglia’s 2016 feature film Don’t Think Twice.  

She’s taught hundreds of corporate workshops over the years, and these days travels to far corners of the globe teaching improv online.