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The 2008 Denver Improv Festival is proud to announce the workshops instructors visiting us from the country!

WORKSHOP INFORMATION:

November 7th, 2008. Saturday. Denver Improv Festival Workshops. Watch. Perform. Learn. ________________________________ DO IMPROV. ________________________________ Please email info@denverimprovfest.com to sign up for the class you want today! Once you have been confirmed in the class, you will be receiving a confirmation email shortly after.

SIGN UP NOW, THEY'LL GO FAST! _________________________________ TIDBITS WORKSHOPS. These workshops will be focusing on one or a few small techniques to improve your improv skills. These workshops will last about one hour and will leave you hungry for more! 9:00-10:15: "WHERE THE F AM I?" taught by Impulse's Adrian Holguin- only $20! --- 9:00-10:15: "FREE IMPROV 101" taught by Bovine Metropolis' Eric Farone- FREE! --- 9:00-10:15: TBA taught by TBA- only $20! ________________________________ _________________ WORKSHOPS. These workshops will dive a little deeper into the techniques and ways to grow as an improv artist. Workshops will run roughly two hours to engage and teach meaningful lessons to all improvisers. 10:30-12:30: "Make Your Improv Top-Focused" taught by MN's Nate Melcher- $40 Are you tired of your improv scenes taking forever to figure out what they're about instead of actually being about something? There are ways to get to the heart of an improv scene both as quickly and simply as possible without sacrificing patience by being focused on the top of the scene. This workshop is dedicated to creating character relationships and stakes that start scenes high while leaving plenty of room to heighten. --- 10:30-12:30: "The Fireball Theory" taught by MTV's Made and MN's Jill Bernard- $40 This workshop presents Jill Bernard's Fireball Theory and offers exercises to help you improvise faster and harder than you can judge yourself. You will learn to metaphorically hit the scene running and outrun the explosion of self-loathing and doubt like an action movie hero outruns a fireball thus defying the laws of physics. Please wear closed-toe shoes. --- 10:30-12:30: TBA taught by Chicago's Joe Bill- $40 ________________________________ ________________________________ WORKSHOP INTENSIVE. This three-hour long improv class will dive headfirst into the fundamentals, tools, and skills needed to be a YESANDing improviser on and off stage. Taught by two of the most influential teachers in the improv community, these are sure to satisfy your improv sweet tooth! 1:30-4:30: "VAPAPO Character Toolkit" taught by the talented Jill Bernard- $60 Jill Bernard offers a character toolkit to give participants the ability to create strong, compelling characters that they can hang onto through the whole scene. This session will focus on using Voice, Attitude or Posture, and Animal, Prop or Obsession to build instant characters. Participants will use these tools to fearlessly initiate scenes, create relationships and find agreement. Please wear closed-toe shoes. --- 1:30-4:30: TBA Intensive taught by the talented Joe Bill- $60 ________________________________

"Please excuse our mess! We are currently working out the kinks in our web-based sign up and ticket buyer server. Please email info@denverimprovfest.com for more information regarding workshops and how/where to buy tickets."

DIF Workshops

Taught by JILL BERNARD!

Minneapolis, MN

Since 1993, Jill Bernard has performed with ComedySportz-Twin Cities and is their Director of Education, and was a member of the 2004 ComedySportz World Championship Team. Jill has performed in over 17 states and two provinces, and was seen by millions teaching improv on MTV "Made." She is the winner of the 2005 Chicago Improv Festival Avery Schreiber Ambassador of Improv Award and the author of "Jill Bernard's Small Cute Book of Improv."

Her one-woman improv piece, Drum Machine, has been featured at improv festivals such as the Chicago Improv Festival, the Toronto Improv Jamboree, Philadelphia's Female Funny Fest, the ComedySportz World Championship, and the Courageous Mongoose Festival in Bowling Green, KY. Drum Machine is a one-person unscripted structure featuring scenes, monologues and songs accompanied by the mad beats of the Zoom-Rhythmtrak 123. The show is an epic historical musical based on suggestions from the audience. From a punk persona launch pad, Bernard switches back and forth between characters with stunning virtuosity.

Jill is a purveyor of the Minneapolis style of joyful improv. She believes in playing out in front of your headlights where it's scary and anything could happen, and being perfectly happy there. Her teaching style mostly consists of clapping her little hands and saying, "Yay!" Everyone knew how to improvise when they were seven years old, the world just beat it out of us in the meantime; which means a little positive reinforcement may go a long way in teaching us to be naughty again.

Taught by JOE BILL!
Chicago, IL

Joe Bill is one of the co-founders of Annoyance Theater, where he performed in and directed over 50 productions from 1987-2000, including smash hits "Co-ed Prison Sluts", "The Real Live Brady Bunch" and "The Screw Puppies". Bill has coached and performed with numerous ensembles at iO from 1985-1987 and 1995-present. Highlights include Georgia Pacific and the innovative lights out long-form, "The Bat". He currently performs with the improv supergroup Weasilicious and co-stars with fellow Annoyance co-founder Mark Sutton, in the nationally touring production "Bassprov", which headlined the 2003 Chicago Improv Festival with special guest Fred Willard. "Bassprov" has toured the United States since 2002, and also was named one of the top 10 comedy shows in Toronto in that same year. Bill teaches improvisation for iO, the Second City Conservatory and Training Center, the Annoyance, the Playground and around the U.S., Canada, UK and Netherlands. He started doing improv in 1977. Joe has been performing, coaching and teaching at The Playground almost from the beginning. He currently plays with Inside Vladimir, and is the coach of American Dream.