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Improv 101 — Improv Basics

Saturdays 12-3pm starting Apr 26, 2008
Cost: $325

Students will learn the fundamentals of long-form improvisation. Core concepts covered include using character agreement to make your scenes succeed, developing character, character status, object and environment work, “playing at the top of your intelligence,” and heightening (finding ways to make your scenes get funnier from start to finish).

This course also introduces the specific vocabulary of the UCB Training Center.

This course meets for 8 sessions that are each 3 hours long. At the end of the course, students will take part in a class performance at the UCB Theatre. Graduation is also contingent upon students seeing at least two improvised shows at the UCB Theater before the end of the course.

Class Size: 16 Students

No Class May 24th.

Porter Mason

mason, porter
Porter Mason has been performing improv since 1997 and has been performing at the UCBT since 2000. He was a founding member of Duke University Improv, and went on to teach beginner and advanced level improv classes at the DSI Theater in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as well as workshops at Duke University.

Porter began performing and directing at the UCBT in 2000, and has been involved in a variety of shows and groups, including My Kickass Van, Arsenal, B-Roll, and Anydayville. He currently performs with the Harold team, 1985, and a three-man group, T.J. Monkey's. Over the years, he's trained with a variety of great teachers, including Kevin Mullaney, Armando Diaz, Miles Stroth, Mick Napier and T.J. Jagodowski.

Porter's comic strip, "Bassist Wanted", appears in weekly newspapers across the country and online at http://bassistwanted.com. Porter is happy to have made your acquaintance.

Student Feedback

"Porter was an excellent teacher and was very helpful in explaining ideas and concepts."

"Porter was great at making difficult scenarios easy to understand."