2010 Championship Workshops

Online workshop registration is CLOSED!

You will be able to sign up at tournament. (You are still able to register for the Saturday Armando Diaz workshops) All players will be notified of their workshop assignments when they arrive in Philly.

We’re very excited to offer a wide range of workshops to all of our tournament attendees, including a master class workshop with Armando Diaz, a celebrated improv teacher, based in New York and founder of The Magnet Theater.

Workshops will take place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (July 14th to 16th).

SPECIAL DEAL: We are offering a special discounted rate to all registered CSz players who want to part in PUBLIC Armando workshops on Saturday July 17th — only $35! You must register via the Paypal links below. NOTE: These workshops are in addition to the free workshop Armando we are offering to a limited number of ComedySportz players (see your manager for availability). Please also note that there will be members of the general public attending these two workshops, as well.

Saturday July 17, 10am-1pm (open to the public)

What’s the Big Idea? SOLD OUT

Great improv comedy is usually inspired by powerful ideas. When players find exciting concepts and truths to explore their scene work has higher stakes and is a lot more fun to watch. But where do we get these ideas? How do we use them? In this workshop we will learn to bring strong truths to our scenes. And we will learn to identify and explore the deeper concepts in the work which will always lead to funnier scenes.
Instructor: Armando Diaz

Saturday July 17, 2pm-5pm (open to the public)

Boot Camp

Beyond mastering the fundamentals of improv, sometimes your skills need a kick in the pants. In this workshop you will get some personal feedback on what you need to work on to make you a better improviser as well as getting a good work out.
Instructor: Armando Diaz

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS AND TIMES

Wednesday July 14, 2:30pm-4:30pm

The Neutral Character

It takes bravery and skill to be the person on stage who sets up the jokes for which others seem to shine. Discover how important a neutral or “straight man” character can be to the development of a scene, and dare to be that person! Your audience will love you for it.
Instructor: Jeff Kramer, San Jose
Location: The Crowne Plaza — Large Conference Room

Don’t Let the Game Mess Up Your Scenework

It happens all the time, the structure of the game is there but the scenework isn’t. Every good story has a platform, an event, consequences and a resolution. Add a strong relationship and truth, then heighten it and you’ve got theatre. In CSz, the extra challenge is to do all this with a game layered on top. That’s a lot of balls in the air… Come to this gentle boot camp prepared to examine your personal bad habits, to move out of your comfort zone and to work on doing multilayered scenes with “spretzaturra” (the ability to make a challenging act look effortless).
Instructor: Sam Cohen, New York
Location: Second Stage @ The Adrienne Theater (2030 Sansom Street)

Scene Starts

In a three-minute ComedySportz scene, getting off to a great start can mean the difference between success and “waiting for the whistle.” In this workshop we’ll practice various scene start techniques so that ourgames get going with a bang and get the audience on our side from the beginning. If you find that you get into a lot of flat, argumentative, vague or unsatisfying scenes, this workshop could be for you. We’ll go beyond the “Who, What and Where” to techniques like starting at the end, unbridled acceptance and 3rd-party conflict.
Instructor: Andrew Berkowitz, Portland
Location: The Ethical Society Auditorium (1900 Rittenhouse Square)

Warm Ups

Learn and create new warm up exercises for your troupe. This will be the 4th tournament in a row that this workshop has run and every year we take new and fun (and crazy) warm ups back to our troupes. You will be so warm you’re HOT at the end of this .
Instructors: Bron Edge, Manchester
Location: The Ethical Society Assembly Room (1900 Rittenhouse Square)

New Thinking in Corporate Teambuilding/Applied Improv

Participating in the Applied Improv Conference changed how I look at teambuilding (including changing the name to Applied Improv). We’ll look at a new way to consider game types, how to incorporate client goals, real or imaginary Powerpoint and how to lead “teambuilding” for very large groups – let’s call it a “Keynote Address”.
Instructor: Patrick Short, Portland
Location: The Crowne Plaza — Small Conference Room

Thursday July 15, 11am-1pm

Improv Rehab

Every improvisor picks up a bad habit or two along their journey. Some know what theirs are and some don’t. You don’t have to know what it is to take this class, but you’ll know by the end. Based on hours of observing, performing, and coaching Rance Rizzutto has developed Improv Rehab. It will break your bad habits and focus you in strong relationships and environments…oh, and like rehab, your brain is gonna hurt a little.
Instructor: Rance Rizzutto, Chicago
Location: The Ethical Society Basement (1900 Rittenhouse Square)

Stage Combat

Avoid injury for both yourself and other players! This course will demonstrate some quick techniques on how to properly and safely perform stage combat. Learn to punch, kick, slap, push and even pull hair without harming the hair on another persons head. Even learn fall in a way that looks real, but won’t make you take a trip to the doctor or make the audience shudder.
Instructor: Brian McCann, Philadelphia
Location: The Ethical Society Assembly Room (1900 Rittenhouse Square)

Musical Improv

Everybody loves to sing! This workshop will help you find organization and comfort in singing through useful tools that you can keep in your improv pocket. Learn about song structure, rhyming, harmony and tricks to wow your audience. If you know nothing about music, great. If you’re a good singer, great. If you’re scared, great. Just come sing.
Instructor: James Bailey
Location: The Crowne Plaza — Large Conference Room

Recharged Reffing

Whether you’re new to reffing or an old hand, it’s always possible to learn new tricks. In this workshop we’ll break down the elements of reffing and push ourselves to be better, stronger, faster, smarter. Bring your trouble spots and we’ll iron them out. Learn by watching others. Fine-tune your ref persona, your on-stage confidence, audience interaction, game calling and explanations. Get out of your ref rut, or get started on your ref career with a jump start that will have you reffing with turbocharged confidence.
Instructor: Andrew Berkowitz, Portland
Location: Second Stage @ The Adrienne Theater (2030 Sansom Street)

Getting Media Attention Without Committing Murder

You have been there. You have the killer show. Now, you need the audience. You feel like a pick in the local newspaper would help get you there. Or, you know one of your players has an amazing story. You think they deserve some media attention. You don’t know how to get there. Like the title says, this workshop will help you figure out the rules of the road when it comes to getting media attention. You will learn how to get the attention without breaking any laws. This workshop will be full of the basics and solid advice you can take home with you.
Instructor: Carrie Gorn, Philadelphia Publicist and Marketing Professional
Location: The Crowne Plaza — Small Conference Room

Thursday July 15, 2:30pm-4:30pm

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

You may do great in CSZ games playing variations of yourself, even when you are being a “different” character. But why not explore new territory? This workshop will focus on using classic character building tools to allow you to build a solid, grounded character on the fly. Never be mistaken for yourself again!
Instructor: Kelly Jennings, Philadelphia
Location: Second Stage @ The Adrienne Theater (2030 Sansom Street)

Longform: The Harold, Part I

What the heck does longform really mean? Part 1 will give you the overview — how to solicit suggestions, explore point of view, height emotional status within an interpersonal two-person relationship, as well as the purposeful use of edits, tag outs, character dashes and the ever elusive openings and “game slots.” Friendly and energetic sidecoaching on scenework here is available if wanted. Loose foundation of the well known “Harold” structure will be implemented in this workshop, and you’ll be up on your feet quite a bit trying those tools for yourself. For those of you who took the longform trial workshop last year — this is not the same. NOTE: This course is two-parts and intended to be coupled with Part II. Check in with Tara if you can’t do that one. Part two takes place July 16th from 2:30 to 4:30.
Instructor: Tara Defrancisco, Chicago
Location: The Ethical Society Assembly Room (1900 Rittenhouse Square)

Singing Solo with Confidence

The number one problem with solo singing for many improvisers is a lack of “oomph,” usually the result of fear and lack of character and emotional point-of-view. In this workshop learn some easy methods for adding these elements, which will help you to create songs that kick a**! A little power goes a long way. Good for beginners, but applicable to all.
Instructor: David Dritsas, Philadelphia
Location: The Crowne Plaza — Large Conference Room

Advanced Spacework: Focused Physical Communication

Improv demands that we create a physical reality from nothing. This workshop will help you be more specific and accurate with your space work and mime. Visualization, muscle control, isolation, spatial memory, perceived weight, self generated resistance… fine tune your mime skills to create more vivid “Wheres” and objects that the audience can see even when you’re not holding them.
Instructor: Dave Jadico, Philadelphia
Location: The Ethical Society Assembly Room (1900 Rittenhouse Square)

Teaching Improv in the Corporate Environment

If a company just wants an improv class for their employees to have a good time or inspire camaraderie, then a normal CSz class will do. But if the corporation wants to use improv to address a specific concern, such as communication breakdowns, staff relationships, vertical thinking, etc., then you have to alter exercises and the way you talk about them in order to address the concerns of the organization. You need to make it clear that the skills you are showing them have direct application to their work. This workshop will give an overview of some of the ways to adapt common improv exercises to address specific business concerns and is ideally for people who already teach improvisation classes.
Instructor: Michael Rock, New York
Location: The Crowne Plaza — Small Conference Room

Friday July 16, 11am-1pm

Special Guest Workshop with Armando Diaz

Point of View

Essential to every good improv character is a specific point of view. In this workshop we will explore how to make strong empowering attitude choices that define our characters and help us sustain scenes. We will also examine how a character’s point of view is essential in understanding and playing the “game” in the scene. Note: This workshop will be offered twice, but will have a limit of 16-18 people per workshop.
Location: The Crowne Plaza — Large Conference Room

Rare CSz Games

You’ve either never heard of these games, or played them years ago and forgotten them. We’ll blow the dust off of these games and maybe you’ll discover a new treasure to bring back home.
Instructor: Jeff Kramer, San Jose
Location: The Ethical Society Basement (1900 Rittenhouse Square)

Improvising Serio-Comic Realism

Learn how to create scenes that could take place in real life. This work emphasizes truth-based inspiration, emotionally driven characters, and physical relationships. While often funny, this work allows space for serious, touching moments to arise organically. Learn how to follow the truthful connections between characters to find the tone of the scene and how to use your own life and the lives of others to inspire realistic scenework and characters. Learn to play in the real world without reaching for the outrageous, surreal or magical to “save” your scene. Find the funny in all of this. Find the drama in all of this. Play with reality – don’t fear it!
Instructor: Bobbi Block, Philadelphia
Location: Second Stage @ The Adrienne Theater (2030 Sansom Street)

Status Workshop

In just about every scene game – whether we intend to do so or not – we create low-status and high-status characters. The purpose of this workshop is to examine how character status can motivate and drive a scene, and how even small adjustments in physicality and tone can alter status. We’ll also look at how adopting a status level can help create new characters and take us outside of our individual comfort-zones on stage.
Instructor: Glenn Packman, New York
Location: The Crowne Plaza — Small Conference Room

Madskillz

MadSkillz teaches how to rap for an improv show. Rene Duquesnoy, creator of the hiphop improv show The Beatbox, will teach freestyling techniques, short-form rap games (like Rap Line, Beastie Rap, and Audience & HammerTime), and different effects used in The Beatbox. Learn how to enhance a scene by adding quick hiphop tricks.
Instructor: Rene Duquesnoy, Chicago
Location: The Ethical Society Auditorium (1900 Rittenhouse Square)

Friday July 16, 2:30pm-4:30pm

Special Guest Workshop with Armando Diaz

Point of View

Jekyll & Hyde

Your improv is awful. Everyone is bored. Stop it! stop it right now!! It isn’t your fault that all your other teachers and all your other directors are too nice to tell you that your worst fears are true: You aren’t funny or even interesting. Alexis Simpson will fix that. You will come to this workshop on time. You will do bad scenes. Alexis Simpson—total jerk—will bark mean things that are only mean because they are true. You may cry, which you deserve. So come do your shitty improv so that Alexis can fix it, but can you handle it, can’t you?
Instructor: Alexis Simpson, Philadelphia
Location: The Ethical Society Assembly Room (1900 Rittenhouse Square)

Lonform: The Harold II

See? You’re doing it! You’ve got the skills, you’ve got the terminology, you’ve got more swagger, and it’s time to give it a whirl. In Part 2, Tara will walk each set through all three Beats of the Harold, including opening devices and games. Scenework fundamentals will inherently be pushed throughout this curriculum, and incredible fun and joy are always mandatory. Let’s take the scary stuff out of longform and make it playful again. Openings through endings will be run throughout this course, and you’ll be split into Harold teams to play and support each other. NOTE: This course is intended to be coupled with Part I. Check in with Tara if you can’t do that one.
Instructor: Tara Defrancisco, Chicago
Location: The Ethical Society Auditorium (1900 Rittenhouse Square)

Acting For Improvisers

Your platforms are solid, you Yes-And with abandon, you are never caught without a quick pun, you eat rhymes for breakfast. Still you can’t help thinking you’d like more depth to your work. This workshop is NOT an improv workshop and we will not play any CSZ style games. We will focus on very basic acting and connecting exercises, maybe even use a little text to get beyond the surface of funny and get in touch with more real emotions.
Instructor: Kelly Jennings, Philadelphia
Location: The Crowne Plaza — Small Conference Room

Shakespearean Improv

Learn the ins and outs improvising from two CSz Philly players who just also happen to be award-winning Shakespearean actors. This course will cover how to improvise brand new material that captures the spirit of the language, characters and plot twists of the Bard’s immortal material.
Instructors: John Zak and Brian McCann, Philadelphia
Location: Second Stage @ The Adrienne Theater (2030 Sansom Street)