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Improv 401 — Harold Workshop

Tuesdays 3-6pm starting Sep 23, 2008
Prerequisites: Completion of Improv 301
Cost: $325

This course offers students the chance to strengthen their own individual skills while simultaneously allowing them more practice with the long form improvisation performance known as the Harold.

One goal of the course is to help students perform stronger scenes. The instructor will use the first half of the course to identify and troubleshoot any weaknesses that the individual players may be demonstrating.

The other goal of the course is to allow students to continue to perform full Harolds. The instructor will use “side-coaching,” or feedback given during an improvised piece as it is happening, in order to facilitate success in the students’ improvised scenes. The instructor will also give notes after each performance in order to enhance and improve the quality of future performances.

This course meets for three hours a week for eight weeks. Students will perform in two class performances at the UCB Theatre – once halfway through the course and once at the end. 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

Admission to 501 after the completion of this course is not guaranteed. Students will be judged on their application of concepts that they have learned in previous levels.

Anthony King

king, anthony

Anthony King is the Artistic Director of the UCB Theatre. He has studied improvisation with the UCB Four, Armando Diaz, Bob Dassie, and others. He has performed at the Chicago Improv Festival and Piccolo-Spoletto Festival, and performed and taught at the Toronto Improv Festival, Dirty South Improv Festival, and Skidmore Improv Festival. He is also a member of the UCBT Touring Company and tours from time to time with "Horatio Sanz and The Kings of Improv."

Anthony's regional and NYC directing credits include: 1940s RADIO HOUR, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, MISTER (starring Anthony Rapp), A CHORUS LINE and many others. UCB Theatre directing credits include THE PATRIOTS (HBO Aspen Comedy Festival), AZIZ ANSARI PUNCHED A WALL, WHO'S YOUR DADDY (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), GOD'S POTTERY (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, "Best Newcomers"), LISTEN KID (NY Music Theatre Festival), and many more. He was also the Assistant Director of the Off-Broadway shows SUMMER OF '42 and THE WILD PARTY (Lippa). Anthony is a member of the Lincoln Center Director's Lab and a proud recipient of the Jonathan Alper Directing Fellowship at Manhattan Theatre Club.

Anthony co-wrote the Off-Broadway show, GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!, which also enjoyed a run in Off-West End in London and is now being performed all over the world. The show received Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle & Drama Desk Award Nominations, and won a NYMF Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Writing (Book).

Stage performance credits include Anthony's solo shows, CHOSEN, which he performed as part of the NYC International Fringe Festival, and DAY 8: TAKE COMPLETE CONTROL, which played at UCBT. On the TV, Anthony has been featured on MTV's Human Giant, Comedy Central's Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn, and many commercials. He also played an appropriately middle-ages type in the Comedy Central Motherload show, All Access: Middle Ages, and voiced a scary bomber in Comedy Central Motherload's show, Window Seats.

Anthony is a member of the UCBT House Team REUBEN WILLIAMS, which performs on Saturday nights at 10:30pm in their show AS SEEN ON TV and can also be seen regularly at UCBT in GRAVID WATER, LET'S HAVE A BALL, and the monthly current events debate show, SHUT UP! I HATE YOU!

Student Feedback

"Anthony gave lots of constructive advice, making the atmosphere incredibly welcoming, non-intimidating, and supportive. He is very patient, and explained exercises well. I can't say enough good things about him!"

"I was really impressed by Anthony's detailed notes during scenes and exercises from which good constructive comments came."

"Anthony was a great instructor. He would offer very helpful suggestions on how to improve our scenes."