Shows and workshops

Musical singing is so much more than one person shining in the spotlight. This workshop takes a specific look on the way of singing on stage and its different forms. Is it possible to create the songs and style of a real musical out of the blue? Together we will explore techniques of improvising solo-songs, duets and epic theme songs by using our characters and their voices. We will sneak into the diversity of different musical scene settings and character relationships. But most of all: We will have a lot of fun exploring our fully improvised musical ensemble! This workshop is not about musical structure, it is about creating a musical-like feeling by exploring different ways of creating songs – solo, in duets and in songs performed by the whole ensemble. Let’s create our improv musical more like a real one!

A lot of improvisors hate that voice in their head judging the scene they’re playing. Once you regard this as valuable playing material, another world opens. We’ll discover how we can become aware of the thoughts in the mind of the player and use it in a constructive way as text/action for the character. The result: sparkling scenes, happier improvisors and more truthful scenework. People who took this workshop last year wrote: "To my surprise, I found that my scenes were getting better and more honest when I embraced and even took inspiration from the voices in my head. I highly recommend this workshop." (Kelly Agathos, Belgium) "This workshop has been one of the most significant workshops I had the pleasure to participate in. It opened my mind to the possibility of improvising freely." (Nir Biran, Israel)

To improvise, you need to be two persons at the same time. You, the actor, and you, the character. In improvisation, we mostly see that the actor is working the hardest of the two. The actor builds the story and also 'plays the character'. But what if we could turn this around? What if we send the actor away, and let the character do all the hard work? If we focus on the character, and take the character very seriously, it turns out that improv becomes a lot easier, more touching, funnier, more truthful and more varied at the same time! In this workshop we will see how acting can help the improviser. Through intensive side coaching you will learn to be true to your characters, so that the story will come to you, instead of you having to make it up. We will see how stories benefit from true reactions from "you, the character". But "you, the actor", won’t be forgotten. He/she will get the important role of the trouble maker. The character, like any person, wants to stay out of trouble. The actor is watching the scene in the background, waiting for good moments to get the character into trouble. Doing nothing until the time is there to strike! We will work on the following techniques: Thinking and feeling like the character Being true to the character and the story (no faking) Recognizing the "beats" in a story (beats in a story are like the stairs in a staircase, they make you go up one step at a time) How to force a beat if needed General acting and improv techniques Working hard is good fun!