2023 Festival Workshops

Details

• All workshops at this year’s festival will last approximately two hours each, will take place at the HCC Ybor Performing Arts Building, and will probably be capped at 16 students per workshop. On the low end, we’ll need a minimum of 6 people in order for a workshop to run. (Both of these numbers are flexible depending on instructor preference.)
  
• As per our commitment to keeping costs low for performers, all workshops will cost $25 each if you sign up before August 1. After August 1, the price will rise to $30 per workshop.
  
• As we’ve done for the past three years, we crowdsourced this year’s workshop roster. In May, we solicited improv workshop proposals from any performer who wanted to teach one. Then, we asked performers to vote for their top five workshop choices. The voting results were the single most important factor in this year’s workshop selection process. For more on our methodology, click here.

2023 Festival Workshops

Friday, August 11

12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, August 12

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

HCC STUDIO THEATRE

LOVE & WILL WITH DIANA BROWN
DIANA BROWN

Scenes from the Heart: Emotionally Committing to Scene Work
Amy Angelilli

Friday, August 11
2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
HCC Rehearsal Hall
1411 E. 11th St., Tampa, Fla.

Real connections make for real (good) improv. So why is it that as improvisers we sometimes take the stage and feel the need to fill every quiet space with things that don’t matter? This workshop approaches scene work from the perspective that real feelings drive real connections. From this place of honesty, we can have rich scenes that are about people and relationships. And, with this mindset, we’ll never be at a loss for what to do next in a scene because our emotional commitment will lead our characters to natural responses. Let’s practice doing what a real person would do … Caution: real feelings and real connections just might happen!

Level: Intermediate/advanced improvisers only, please!

Instructor Bio

A 20-year improvisational theater performer and certified laughter yoga leader, Amy Angelilli also teaches classes for the stage and facilitates workshops for real world personal and professional application. She is a graduate of Philadelphia’s ComedySportz School of Improvisation and Denver’s Bovine Metropolis Theater School of Improvisation. She has performed in the Alaska State Improv Festival, the Boulder International Fringe Festival, the Colorado Improv Festival, the Countdown Improv Festival, the Denver Improv Festival, Duofest, the Miami Improv Festival, the Omaha Improv Festival, the Palm Beach Improv Festival, the Tampa Improv Festival, and the Wasatch Improv Festival. She currently plays in “Tiny Town” – secrets of St. Augustine revealed through audience suggestions, “It’s All About Amy” – the never-before told story of her life, and “3 Blind Dates” – a sometimes-romantic comedy. These unscripted theater experiences she created and produces.

As Chief Adventure Officer of The Adventure Project, she has facilitated team building, bonding, and development sessions for companies, conferences, and colleges as well as led improv workshops for improv festivals, adult summer camps, spiritual centers, yoga communities, retreats, and senior centers. She is a member of the Applied Improvisation Network and has presented at four Applied Improvisation Network World Conferences. She also heads up a five-level improv training school in St. Augustine with support from Limelight Theatre. Since moving to Florida in 2015, she has facilitated play experiences for people from 9 to 92 and every age in between – at home and abroad believing that everyone can benefit from an improv mindset! For more about her improv adventures, visit www.adventure-project.com.

Scenes & Notes with Joe & Jen
Joe Bill and Jen Lavenhar
THIS WORKSHOP IS SOLD OUT

Saturday, August 12
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
HCC Rehearsal Hall
1411 E. 11th St., Tampa, Fla.

This workshop will be a scenework intensive with coaching and individual feedback, to help you stay curious, harmonize your inner jazz musician and engineer, and use movement to find honest, rich, authentic humor in your scenes.

Level: Some improv experience preferred.

Instructor Bios

Joe Bill is widely regarded as one of the best teachers of scenic and comedic improvisation in North America today. His goal in improvising and teaching is to foster deeper connections between people and characters, on stage and off. Joe had been a performer, teacher, and director of corporate training at iO Chicago for more than 30 years, before the closing in 2020. He is one of the co-founders of Annoyance Theater and was an artistic associate for The Chicago Improv Festival for the 20 years that it existed. He has been an internationally touring teacher, performer and director for more than 25 years and acts as an artistic adviser for a number of improvisation and comedy theaters and festivals all over the world. He has taught at pretty much every major impro/v festival in the U.S. & Canada in the last 30 years.

Jen Lavenhar studied improv with Nancy Ponder, one of the original members of The Compass Players, and originally performed in Manhattan as a member of Nancy’s group, Without Annette. She currently performs every weekend as a member of New York’s Mop & Bucket Company at their theatre, The Mopco, where she has also developed and currently directs monthly performances of Bollix Manor (the improv love child of Downton Abbey and Fawlty Towers), and is one-third of The Book Club (an improvised one-act play) with Kat Koppett and Maria Ayoob. Jen is also a member of Lokasparsa Dance Project based in Woodstock, N.Y.., where she has created and performed original dance works in conjunction with Zen Mountain Monastery and the Zen Center NYC in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Love and Will with Diana Brown
Diana Brown

Saturday, August 12
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
HCC Studio Theatre
1411 E. 11th St., Tampa, Fla.

A romantic romp through three key tropes of The Bard’s perspective on love: The love triangle, forbidden love, and love unrequited, while exploring improvised Shakespeare. All through the lens of the six levels of Elizabethan social classes: monarchy, nobility, gentry, merchants, yeomen, and laborers. These classes are determined by their fame, wealth, skills, and even birth.

This workshop will:

• Help to demystify the world of Shakespeare.
• Explore the slings and arrows of romance.
• Help you find your inner Shakespearean character.
• Lend understanding of the social and cultural and romantic traditions of the period.
• Give you confidence to further explore the world of Shakespeare after the workshop. 

Instructor Bio

Diana Brown is an improv artist, teaching artist, actor, producer, director, and voiceover talent. She was voted Most Valuable Mentor and Teacher at the San Francisco Improv Festival. Diana teaches at Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s School of Theatre and Leela Improv in San Francisco. She’s presented workshops at Camp Improv Utopia West, Salt Lake City DuoFest, 2nd Best Comedy Fest, New Orleans Improv Festival, Denver Improv Festival, Tucson Comedy Arts Festival, Queen City Comedy, 2022 Vintage Improv Festival. Diana is half of the nationally touring improv comedy duo Bingewatch. Bingewatch was awarded Best Improv at the Fringe Festival of Pittsburgh. She’s also appearing at Countdown 2023 in the improvised Shakespearean-inspired trio Gamesome Frolic.

Shut Up!
Jill Eickmann
THIS WORKSHOP IS SOLD OUT

Saturday, August 12
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
HCC Mainstage Theatre
1411 E. 11th St., Tampa, Fla.

We’ve all experienced those moments in shows where an improvisor says something so amazing, it leaves us speechless. What if that amazing something was said without words? Let’s simmer in silence and take in the beauty of physical expression. Let’s stretch our full body listening skills and quickly synch up with our partners. Let’s fuel our scenes with a strong emotional point of view and experience the profound impact of vulnerability. Let’s play! 

Level: Some improv experience preferred.

Instructor Bio

Jill Eickmann serves as Leela’s co-founder and artistic director. Established in 2003, Leela is a San Francisco-based holistic improv training center and theatre company. She designed their 7 level curriculum focusing on Leela’s powerful mission of truthful, artistic play.  Jill is also a licensed psychotherapist, drama therapist, and play therapist who is passionate about the transformative and healing powers of play.

As an improv artist, she has been drawn to physical expression, having studied with notable theatre artists and master clowns, Jet Eveleth, Meredith Monk, Chad Damiani, and Christina Lewis. Jill performed a silent improv duo show with Chad Damiani, led a group of purple unitard wearing improvisors through an experimental performance art show, “Dance-Prov,” and now performs a solo(ish) improv show, The Friendship Show, with the mission to heal loneliness through improvisation, clown, and truth-telling. 

Improv Taxonomy
Chris George
THIS WORKSHOP IS SOLD OUT

Saturday, August 12
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
HCC Rehearsal Hall
1411 E. 11th St., Tampa, Fla.

Since antiquity, we’ve used our voices and instruments to make music, and as we’ve evolved, so has what is music, to the point where it is necessary to differentiate between sub-genres like “industrial early vaporwave” and “post-third wave newtone ska.” In music we have technical conventions like time signatures, chords, and tempo, but often we resolve genre further with lyrics, style, and clothing. Improv has, shortform v. longform aside, managed to mostly avoid such genre, though inside-baseballers know the difference between a “TJ & Dave-like slowplay” and a “Dummy-like character romp.” Inside improv already exists a set of motifs, conventions, cliches, common language, and tradition that defines every show we do without even knowing it. In this workshop, we’re going to take a long look in the mirror and then step through the looking glass into some improv-genre exploration. We’ll look at some common artistic customs in our artform that transcend form, game, or suggestion. Using group dialogue, we’ll map out three distinct “styles” of improv, outline the box the style contains, see what we can stuff inside, and if we can blow up the box. Improvise with purpose and intention – play the music loud and proud. This is a great workshop for intermediate to advanced players looking to stretch their creative muscles, try playing a different way than they do already, or just experiment with some new modes and methods.

Level: Some improv experience preferred.

Instructor Bio

Chris George is a chemist, writer, and performer from Chicago, Ill. He is a graduate of multiple training centers in Chicago and San Diego, Calif., and is a co-founder of Finest City Improv in San Diego. He has been on the faculty at FCI, Sidestage Improv (now Mockingbird), and the Chicago Improv Studio, and is currently the director of Keystone Improv, iO Chicago’s Deconstruction team.

He has taught, coached, and performed extensively across the U.S. and Canada since 2009, and is an apprentice of Bill Arnett.

Freestyle Rapping for Your Whole Brain
Alex Grindeland

Friday, August 11
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
HCC Studio Theatre
1411 E. 11th St., Tampa, Fla.

Learn the fundamentals of free-styling as well as some tips and tricks to level up your rap game. In this workshop we’ll approach the art of improvised rap from two directions: one that will satisfy your logical left-brain; and another that will provide your creative right-brain the freedom to play and have fun.

Level: No improv experience required.

Instructor Bio

Alex Grindeland owns, manages, and performs regularly with two improv comedy companies… on opposite sides of the country: CSz Seattle and First Coast Comedy, which is located in Jacksonville, Florida. He also formerly served as president of the CSz Worldwide Executive Council. CSz Worldwide is the organization that licenses theatre companies to perform ComedySportz internationally.

Alex has been an improviser, actor, comedian, teacher, and an almost daily shower taker for over 20 years. During that stretch, Alex earned his B.A. in theatre education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He continues to perform improv comedy weekly, while enjoying teaching improv to students of all ages and experience levels.

Getting out of Your Head (with T.J. Mannix)
T.J. Mannix
THIS WORKSHOP IS SOLD OUT

Saturday, August 12
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
HCC Rehearsal Hall
1411 E. 11th St., Tampa, Fla.

Does it ever seem as if the more you study improv, the less you know? So many new tools, options, and challenges… This workshop is all about spontaneity and getting out of your head. Introducing effective techniques and exercises to break out of that negative loop of self-doubt that sometimes drags down your improv work and keeps you on the back wall for that one second too long.

Level: Intermediate/advanced improvisers only, please!

Instructor Bio

T.J. Mannix has been a performer, voice over artist, teacher, and improvisor in NYC for 25 years. He has toured with The Second City, and is currently touring Europe and North America with his solo improvised musical “LimboLand.” He was on one of the first-ever UCB Harold teams in NYC, studying with Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts, and Armando Diaz. Original cast of BLANK, the Musical Off-Broadway. He is also the founder and co-producer of the New York Musical Improv Festival (www.NYMIF.com). He has appeared in more than 85 TV and radio commercials, TV, and film, including three episodes of Law and Order. He admits to spending a very dark year as a Mouseketeer.

Position Play
Brian James O’Connell
THIS WORKSHOP IS SOLD OUT

Friday, August 11
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
HCC Rehearsal Hall
1411 E. 11th St., Tampa, Fla.

Brian James O’Connell teaches you the skills you need to find your “position” in the scene and then play it to the hilt.

Position Play was invented by Miles Stroth (Del Close’s “Warchief”, Founder, Owner & Operator of The Pack Theater in Los Angeles) as a way to understand and execute the “scene dynamics” of the Four Basic Scene Types: Straight/Absurd, Character Driven, Alternate Reality, and Realistic. If you are able to understand the few tools & techniques needed to play these individual scenes, every other choice you make on stage will be from a place of renewed confidence and successful fun!

Topics include: “Thing. Concept. Idea.,” “The Five Scenes Everyone Tells You *NOT* To Do But Darn It They Come Up On Stage Anyway,” “Playing Archetypes,” “Mapping Characters,” and many, many more.

Level: No improv experience required.

Instructor Bio

Brian James O’Connell is a working actor, writer, director, filmmaker, and teacher in Los Angeles. He taught as part of the core faculty at The Pack Theater and at iOWest for over a decade before pursuing his own independent, bespoke & curated student training ALL IMPROV. Brian is the creator and executive producer of Big Yellow Taxi, the executive producer and founder of Long Hard Tuesdays, the executive producer and founder of The Lady Invitational, and executive producer of Genre Night! at The Pack Theater.

BOC (as his friends call him) is part of the comedy collective Dr. God, who recently completed their first feature film project Bloodsucking Bastards, starring Fran Kranz, Pedro Pascal, Joey Kern, Joel Murray, and Emma Fitzpatrick, which O’Connell directed (his third feature as a director) as well as co-writing the script with Dr. God. The film was the Opening Night Premiere at Slamdance in 2015, and is available now on DVD and On-Demand after its theatrical run. BOC is a board member for the non-profit Camp Improv Utopia, the premiere improv, acting, and training retreat in the country, and served as the director of camp outreach for its first eight years.

Movement for Comedians
Emily Ramirez
THIS WORKSHOP IS SOLD OUT

Saturday, August 12
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
HCC Mainstage Theatre
1411 E. 11th St., Tampa, Fla.

Are you stuck in talking head-style improv? It’s easy to feel self-conscious making bold physical choices on stage when you’re not a trained ballerina, but guess what?? Everything you need is already within you! In Movement for Comedians, you’ll discover the way your body naturally responds to words, emotions, music, environments, and anything else you can imagine to help get you out of your head, connect with the truth in your body, and start making naturally hilarious physical choices in your improv scenes.

Level: No improv experience required.

Instructor Bio

Emily Ramirez’s vast performance background includes a 10 year career as a professional ballerina, performing in tons of musicals, directing musicals and sketch shows, performing in dozens of standup showcases, and writing/directing/producing several sketch, improv, standup, and variety shows all around Chicago, Ill. She’s a graduate of the Second City conservatory and sketch writing programs, and a performer and contributing writer to several comedy shows in Chicago. While performing as “Meg Giry” on tour with Phantom of the Opera, she took a week-long improv and sketch-writing workshop at Second City and was inspired to relocate to Chicago to pursue her love of comedy in earnest. Her style of performance has been described as, “highly physical,” “darkly feminist,” and “woah, she just did the splits!”

With 20 years of dance education under her belt, Emily loves bringing her first love of dance into the comedy community to disarm and empower artists to connect with the brilliant comedy that lies within all of our bodies. Her Movement for Comedians class is the perfect antidote to talking heads-style improv. Follow her on IG and TT @emilyramirezcomedy, and check out her virtual comedy club at babscomedyclub.com.

NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL MUSIC(AL IMPROV)!
Carlos Rivera
THIS WORKSHOP IS SOLD OUT

Saturday, August 12
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
HCC Mainstage Theatre
1411 E. 11th St., Tampa, Fla.

This is just a fun excuse to do some musical improv with your fellow festival attendees, led by a graduate of the Second City Musical Improv Conservatory. We’ll start off with some fun musical shortform games, THEN we’ll see how fast we can put together an improvised musical using some fundamental song structures. It’ll be like trying to pour a gallon of “MI” knowledge into a shot-glass of time, but the chaos is what’ll make it fun! 😉

Level: No improv experience required.

Instructor Bio

Carlos Rivera, a Miami native, has done improv for most of his adult life. Since moving to Chicago in 2016 to further pursue the comedy arts, he has successfully graduated from the Annoyance Theater, iO Chicago, CiC Theater, the Second City Improv & Musical Improv Conservatories, and has performed in improv & sketch shows all around town, as well as in festivals across the country. More recently, Carlos can currently be found in the current Chicago cast of “SHAMILTON: The Improvised Hip-Hop Musical”, “LOST REALMS”, the improvised genre-themed musical show, in addition to a bunch of non-musical improv & sketch comedy shows.

After a long week, Carlos likes to wind down by singing some “Careless Whisper” at local karaoke bars around town, or watching his hometown Dolphins play at the local Dolphins fan bar. (Assuming there IS a Dolphins fan bar in Chicago. If you happen to know which bar that is, HE’S ASKIN’!)

A Study in Avuncularity: How to Play a Lovable Dirtbag
Stephen Wyeth

Friday, August 11
2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
HCC Studio Theatre
1411 E. 11th St., Tampa, Fla.

Explore ways to create low life type characters, who skirt the line of likability; your rogues, rascals, and fun uncles.You too can play a Lovable Dirtbag!

Level: Some improv experience preferred.

Instructor Bio

Stephen Wyeth has been with Atlas Improv since 2014, and has cultivated a reputation for playing lovable low life-types. He also has a background in dramatic theater and standup comedy.

Methodology

From 2018 through 2020, festival workshops were programmed on an ad hoc basis, with the festival organizers choosing the instructors, and, in some cases, the workshop topics. We did it this way for a few reasons — for one thing, it felt like the easiest way to curate a diverse, high-quality workshop roster each year — but we were always aware that this process was neither particularly transparent nor egalitarian. In 2021, we decided try to fix this problem by putting the workshop-programming process in the hands of our performers.

There are ways in which this process worked better than the way we used to choose workshops; there are other ways in which it fell short of the old process. One major way it fell short was by taking any curatorial powers out of the producers’ hands. We think it’s important that the producers are able to have a voice in the workshops programmed at the festival, if only so that we can ensure that the workshops represent a diverse array of philosophies and perspectives.

In 2022, we refined the process to make performer voting the primary, but not the sole, determinant of that year’s workshop roster. We opened voting for a nine-day span and allowed all performers to vote once. The key difference between 2021 and 2022 was that the two festival producers also voted — but each of their votes was worth 4 performer votes. In the end, this meant that the producers’ votes accounted for roughly 20 percent of the total votes received.

To determine 2023’s workshop roster, we ran a variety of scenarios to identify the clear winners. First, we looked at the total number of votes received. Then, we looked at the total number of points received, where a first-choice workshop vote received 5 points, a second-choice vote received 4 points, and so on. Then, we looked at the total number of first, second, and third place votes that each workshop received. We then averaged the results from all three categories to come up with our workshop roster.

In 2023, for the record, we received 24 separate workshop proposals. Voting was open for a seven-day span. 47 performers voted out of 140 total performers. We will continue to refine this process in future years.