On Stage
Immersive, intensive, and yet incremental in nature, a residency is designed to take individuals with no experience through a learning process that will allow them to hone the skills of improvisation and begin to apply them via storytelling, singing, dancing, and poetry created in the moment.
This multi-disciplinary approach to improvisation is attractive to dancers who always wanted to sing, or actors who want to try dancing, or singers who have a hidden storyteller inside. Also, because no experience is required, this is an opportunity for students of every stripe to try their hand at performing. From budding poets to business majors, all students are welcome to attend the workshops and apply the skills they learn to their fields of interest.
Throughout the workshop sessions, we assess participants' skills, using the sessions as one long audition. We then choose cast members from the workshop participants. The final production can be one night, or multiple nights just like a traditional theatre production, except that every show will be different!
Post-Show Talk Back Sessions Encouraged
Because this kind of improvisation is typically a new experience for the audience as well, we recommend offering a talk back session after every performance where cast and audience have an informal dialogue. This interaction allows the audience to ask questions, provide feedback, and understand on a deeper level what they have just experienced.
Check out these talk back sessions from "Swallowing Fire, Etc." at Corning Community College and "Riding the Edge of the Present" with Corning-Painted Post East High students.