Summer Improv Workshops June 28, 2008

To register for a workshop, go to www.BovineMetropolis.com or call 303-758-4722.

Discovering the Moment
Instructor: Brian McManus
6 Hour Workshop
June 28, 10:00pm – 5:00pm
$75

This workshop will explore the art of ‘jumping’--stepping into the light with absolutely nothing in your mind but readiness. We’ll examine this as a method for moving scenes forward organically, without planning or writing out the scene in your head beforehand. You’ll leave with a greater trust in yourself and some techniques to expand this unnerving moment into a comfortable working space. We’ll celebrate our experimental ponderings with a show! Don’t think about it. Jump.

CHICK IT!
Instructor: Sarah Kirwin
6 Hour Workshop
July 12, 10:00pm – 5:00pm
$75

We are women, hear us Moo! ...wait that didn't come out right. Ladies of Improv! Come and delve into the wonders of being a spontaneous chick. Work on being more bold and daring with your scenes and shed the age-old standard roles of the Mother, the Wife, the Witch and the Lover. Play, commit and jump bravely into the moment with confidence. Explore the dynamics of the "all girl" scenes and groups.


Intro to the HAROLD
Instructor: Michael Traylor
2-Day Workshop and Show
July 19, 10:00am – 5:00pm (with an hour for lunch)
July 20, 2:00pm – 5:00pm; Show at 6:30pm
$99

Learn why Harold is the most famous improv form. This workshop will introduce you to Harold’s structure and movements, focusing on understanding group mind, supporting your partner and developing & recognizing patterns and connections. The workshop will cover callbacks, theme, edits and how to make scene work smarter, emotional and easier. Come learn what makes Harold a signature form and how to apply its lessons to all improv forms.

Go Long!
Instructor: Ben Reed
High School Long Form Workshop (Ages 14-19)
2-Day Workshop and Show
July 26, 10:00am – 5:00pm (with an hour for lunch)
July 27, 2:00pm – 5:00pm; show at 6:30pm
$99

Looking to make the leap into long form? Want to learn new tools & techniques to bring back to your school improv troupe in the fall? This workshop is designed specifically for the intermediate to advanced high school improviser to help sculpt those after-school skills into long form knowledge. You’ll learn techniques that will make relationships go deeper, characters richer, audiences laugh harder and improv more fun...ner. The class will culminate in the production of a full-blown long form show at the theater for your friends and family!

Tips and Tricks to Making Long Form Fly
Instructor: Matthew Taylor
3 Hour Workshop
August 2, 10:00pm – 1:00pm
$49

Take this chance to workshop your improv skills with Matthew Taylor. During this playful session, Matthew will be downloading all the tips and tricks he’s learned over the last 15 years to stimulate scenework and increase your overall success rate. He’ll offer his unique perspective on long form involving everything from characters and relationships to creating sound structure within scenes. Come make your long form fly!

Up Next: You!
Instructor: Jake Sharon
2-Day Workshop and Show
August 9, 10:00am – 5:00pm (with an hour for lunch)
August 17, 2:00pm – 5:00pm; show at 6:30pm
$99

Come learn to draw upon your personal experiences to create funny, stage-ready material in this two-part stand-up workshop. The first class will help new comedians write fresh material based on personal experiences and/or workshop material that’s already been written. Returning for Part 2 a week later, you’ll workshop material developed during the week and finish with a show to test the goods! As a bonus, we’ll bring in two guest comedians to offer additional perspective.
BIOS
Sarah Kirwin has been performing improv and sketch comedy for ten years. A veteran of the Denver improv community she has been a member of many notable groups and has performed in hundreds of shows and several national festivals. As an instructor for the Bovine Metropolis, she has shared her love AND her love of improvisation with a countless number of students over the past six years. Sarah has appeared numerous times on film, television and radio.

Eric Farone has trained more than 700 improvisers and professionals over the last 25 years. He has produced and directed 30 comedy revues and dozens of improvised shows. He has also directed and written plays for Bovine Metropolis Theater and Wells Humor Organization.

Beside the many Denver improvisors who have attended his classes many lawyers, psychologists, computer programmers, and teachers have also found his training invaluable and fun. He studied improvisation in Chicago at the Second City, Improv Olympic, MetraForm and Center for the Working Actor.

Before opening the Bovine Metropolis Theater Eric was a corporate trainer at USWest for three years, teaching managers skills based interviewing skills and assessment techniques. He graduated with a BA from Colorado State University in Speech Communication.

Brian McManus has been studying and performing improv since he was a teenager including five years in NYC with the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, the People’s Improv Theater, Armando Diaz, the Lords of Misrule and more. He plays every week at BMX with the SanScript Players, throws down regularly with On the Spot and co-hosts the weekly show Battle Royale. Yes, and…

Ben Reed teaches English at Standley Lake High School in Westminster and coaches the high school's improv team, Mixed Nuts. A veteran improviser himself, he performed for many years with The Lords of Misrule in Boulder and Denver and The Improverts in Scotland, including appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He also hosts the Battle Royale on Tuesdays here at the Bovine.

Jake Sharon Jake Sharon is a nationally touring comedian who started his career here in Denver. Since his start, he has won the Wits End comedy club's Survival of the Wittiest contest, become a national finalist in USA Network's 2006 "Show Us Your Character" contest, and he took first place in the Starz/Jumpcut Stand-up contest. Recently, he appeared in a pre Super Bowl commercial for the NFL which aired on ESPN among other sports channels.

In 2006, Jake also graduated from the Bovine Metropolis Improv Workshop series. Since then, he has joined 6 improv troupes, including the Generals, recent winners of the coveted Battle Royale Championship trophy! This summer he will also be hosting and co-producing the Bovine's own late night variety show, Bleu Cow 5 II.

Matthew Taylor has been performing and teaching improvisation in the Denver area for the last fifteen years. He has had the pleasure to be a performing member of Comedy Sportz, Reaction Slacks and Headgames. For the last eight years, Matthew has proudly played the Englishman in the international comedy trio A.C.E. with whom he has had the good fortune to have traveled to exotic places and consume fu-fu umbrella-ed drinks in the name of comedy. His passion for long form improvisation developed during the early Reaction Slacks days and has remained a major focus to this day. When not performing or teaching improv, Matthew is a commercial actor, a happy husband, and father of two smashing kids.

Michael Traylor learned Harold while studying at IO in Chicago. He also trained in Chicago with Comedy Sportz and Players Workshop. Michael recently performed in Hollywood at NBC Universal’s 2008 Diversity Sketch Showdown with the Hawaiian troupe Loose Screws. Also with Loose Screws, he performed on the mainstage at CIF in 2006 and headlined the 2007 Seattle Improv festival. He can be seen weekly at the Bovine with Sanscript.

Official Website: http://www.BovineMetropolis.com