Teen Improv: Creating Scenes
13-18 years
Teacher: Brenton Newell
The goal of this class is to strengthen foundational improv skills that turn a basic scene into an excellent one. In this course, we will review/introduce the foundational building blocks of an improv scene: Character, Objective, Relationship and Environment (CORE). But that’s not all! We’ll venture into “beyond-the-basics” techniques like conflict/conflict resolution, dialogue & narration, non-linear storytelling, chaos & grounding. Feeling intimidated? Don’t panic. Improv is mostly fun games and creativity, which we will be doing a lot in this class. So whether you want to learn how to tell a great story, make people laugh, or you just have an improv itch to scratch, this course is for you. What makes me most excited about this course is to provide a safe space for students to overcome that all-too-common fear of inhibition, and feel great doing it. Story-building is hard, especially with spotlights and microphones involved. With some fun, games and creativity, story-building through improv can develop not just skills in theatrical performance but steps toward overcoming inhibition. What I have in mind for a lesson plan is a track to get students from all backgrounds and experience (from total newbies to seasoned players) to extend beyond what’s the next level, and to reach a point of confidence in their improv skills.