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Improv 201 — Game of the Scene

Tues/Thurs 2-5pm starting Jul 08, 2008
Prerequisites: Completion of Improv 101
Cost: $325

The UCB Theatre Training Center bases their curriculum around the idea that all quality individual comedic scenes focus in on one central comedic idea – this idea is referred to as “The Game” of the scene.

This course will focus on teaching students how to use the idea of “The Game” to create their improvised scenes. Students will be taught how to identify “games” within their scenes, and how to use the concept of heightening to properly play out their scenes once they have them. (Heightening is finding new ways to make your scenes get funnier from start to finish.) The class will heavily focus on learning how to use patterns to fill out comedic scenes based around one central “game.”

Students will also be introduced to the idea of “second beats,” or returning to scenes, characters, and concepts from earlier in an improvised piece.

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: 14 Students

Joe Wengert

wengert, joe
Joe Wengert has been improvising for over ten years. After performing as a founding member of the first improv troupe at the University of Delaware, he came to New York City and studied at the UCB Training Center under Michael Delaney, Armando Diaz, Kevin Mullaney, Billy Merritt, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, and many others. He has been a regular performer at the UCB Theatre since 2002 in shows such as Game Face, Your Favorite Thing, the Dark Side of the Moon Show, Krompf, Instant Cinema, Dillinger, and more. He can currently be seen performing every Saturday night at the UCBT with house team Reuben Williams. He has also performed at improv festivals in Chicago and Toronto, and he currently tours the country with the UCB Touring Company. He has appeared on VH1 and in national commercials. He is currently a writer for the Onion News Network.

Student Feedback

"Joe was one of the best teachers I ever had. He is fierce and patient and gave wonderful advice."

"Joe is focused and professional, his notes were dead on. He took something that could have been scary, and just made it exciting and fun."

"Joe's emphasis on playing to the top of my intelligence helped my improve dramatically over the eight weeks. Joe is a great, funny and inspiring teacher."

"Joe fostered an environment of support, where you felt free to take risks and try new things and everybody came together to support each other."