ALEXIS SIMPSON, Artistic Director of the PHILLY IMPROV THEATER, will teach a special two-part workshop on Saturday, July 18th. Although the workshops can be taken independently, prospective students are encouraged to take them together in order to benefit from the full experience.
In the first of the workshops, Alexis will take a soft, Jekyll-like approach in identifying the individual strengths and weaknesses of students:
You love improvisation, but you’re not sure you are getting the most out of every scene? What am I doing right? What am I doing wrong? What is my director/coach/teacher/best friend not telling me? Alexis Simpson, loving spirit, will offer firm but gentle feedback that is specifically targeted for you and you alone. True strength comes from knowing your weaknesses.
In the second workshop, the kid gloves come off, and Alexis focuses on her two immediate missions, to fix what’s wrong, and to make you cry:
Your improv is awful. Everyone is bored. Stop it; stop it right now. It isn’t your fault that all your other teachers and all your other directors are too nice to tell you that your worst fears are true: YOU AREN’T FUNNY. Worse, YOU AREN’T EVEN INTERESTING. Alexis Simpson will fix that. You will come to this workshop on time. You will do bad scenes. Alexis Simpson, total jerk, will bark mean things that are only mean because they are true. You may cry, which you deserve. So come do your shitty improv so that Alexis can fix it. CAN YOU HANDLE IT?
It sounds like a pretty intense day PHIT has put together, and I hope lots of folks plan to take advantage of it.
Workshop: Jekyll
Saturday, July 18th, 11AM-2PM
$35, $50 after 7/11
Workshop: Hyde
Saturday, July 18th, 3PM-6PM
$35, $50 after 7/11
Both workshops to be held at the Shubin Theater, 407 Bainbridge St. Register online.
