Complete Improv Program

Live classes starting in May. Contact us for updates

Limited to 8 students to ensure individual attention

LIVE CLASSS STARTING IN MAY, CONTACT US FOR UPDATES

Learn to interact with others in a more humorous, dynamic and attentive manner

In each level, we’ll continually review Viola Spolin’s (the godmother of modern improvisation) 5 Obstacles to a Direct Experience:

  1. The Approval/Disapproval Syndrome - Getting over trying to please others
  2. Self-Pity - Conquer self defeat
  3. Success/Failure - Transcend opposites of negative and positive
  4. Attitudes - Drop appearances and learn to deal with the problem
  5. Fear - Defeat fear through a direct experience

Follow The Monster improv classes are designed to make you the best improviser you can be by:

  • Lots of scene work
  • Honest individual feedback, challenges and goals
  • A genuine, in-depth focus on finding your comedic voice
  • Embrace getting out of your comfort zone & play with confidence as strong characters making bold choices
  • You’ll learn and apply what we call the ABC’s of improv: Attention, Build, Commit
  • Discover how to be the best and most confident version of yourself
  • Discover a strength inside you that wants to play
  • Learn to trust your comedic choices

Mick Napier’s book, “Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out”, is highly recommended for our students, and will help tremendously through their journey of our classes. Mick’s improv philosophy matches very well with Follow The Monster’s improv philosophy, and makes us truly unique in San Diego improv classes.

EACH LEVEL HAS 7 CLASSES

Level 1

Attention/Awareness - “A” of our improv ABC’s

The most basic, yet most important thing to do in improv is to pay attention, to be aware of everything that is going on with yourself, your partner and the scene.

  • Make strong declarative statements to start a scene, then keep the “Deal” of the 1st 3 lines of the scene
  • Recognize your Character’s physical/vocal/emotional “quirkphrases”
  • Begin using the filter of your Characters
  • Less is more - Put a period on it
  • Use silence, utilize other tools (besides words) during silence
  • Give yourself something. Say something. Do something. Justify it later.
  • Recognize the “first unusual thing”, instead of inventing
  • Concepts of push/pull/hold
  • Follow the fear, follow the failure
  • Objects and Environment to add to Characters and Scenes

Level 2

Build/Heighten - “B” of our improv ABC’s

Take what you have paid attention to, and build/heighten it by giving yourself the gifts of specifics, a strong point of view, creating the game of the scene and beginning to raise the stakes.

  • Keep/maintain the promise you made at the top of the scene with the 1st 3 lines of the scene
  • Thinking/Reacting like your Characters, begin investigating the psychology of your Characters
  • Recognize and play with status - Lose confidently
  • React with emotion - Show, don’t tell - Utilize Physicality/Clowning Principles
  • Character development - Heighten aspects of yourself for Characters
  • Learn how to break “improv rules” - Agreement is always implied - Learn how to say, “No”
  • Maintain your Character’s Point of View with specifics
  • 2 person scene work

Level 3

Commit - “C” of our improv ABC’s

In order for your scene (and show) to work, you must commit to your character’s “Deal”, commit to the promise you made at the top of the scene with the 1st 3 lines of the scene, and commit to the “Deal” of the scene. Committing can seem difficult, but it actually makes your playing more easeful, joyful, rewarding and funny.

  • Raise the stakes even higher of what you’ve established and built/heightened
  • Even further investigation of the psychology of your Characters
  • Embrace the awkwardness of not knowing exactly what is happening or what will happen
  • Reinforce commitment to your Character with Historical/Metaphorical/Philosophical specificity
  • Commit to the filter of your Character’s relation to the environment and other characters
  • 3 person scene work

Class Policies

Registration is Non-Refundable

Please be sure about your schedule before you register for class, because, your enrollment holds a space in a class that we are no longer able to offer someone else. Class payments are NON-REFUNDABLE, NON-TRANSFERABLE, and can be applied only to the current term’s class for which you have signed up. So please be sure about your schedule before you register.

Class Absences

In order to progress to the next level, you may miss no more than 2  of the 7 classes for the day you signed up for.

Age Requirement

All students must be 18 years or older. Sorry, no exceptions.