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Improv 101 — Improv Basics

Thursdays 3-6pm starting Aug 21, 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

Betsy Stover

stover, betsy
Betsy Stover has been improvising for 13 years, 10 of which have been with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She is a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota and has a background in both short-form and long-form improv. She attended NYU were she studied directing and dramatic acting. Betsy has appeared on NBC, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, NPR and has also starred in numerous TV and radio commercials. She has performed in a zillion shows and Harold teams at UCBT. Betsy lives with her husband and fellow UCBT teacher, Ari Voukydis, and their dog, Walter, in the Lower East Side, where they like to pretend that they are more bad ass than they actually are. Betsy likes to curse. A lot.

Student Feedback

"Betsy Stover was absolutely wonderful with all the games, concepts, and improv teachings. She made the learning environment fun, and challenging."

"Betsy was awesome. She really did a great job of explaining everything and making us comfortable and helping us to understand what we were doing."

"Betsy Stover was an amazing teacher -- better than any improv teachers I had at NYU or Second City. She made class a joy and I learned so much. It was a wonderful experience all around."

"Betsy did a great job. Very open to students of different experience levels and from different walks of life. Felt like I was learning from someone who was enthusiastic and understood the form at a very high level."