Acting Techniques for Improvisers
Acting tools for your scenes, coached by Hollis Beck. Come to one session or all six.
A six-session workshop that brings acting tools into improv, so your characters feel real and your scenes land harder.
Why take this workshop
Improvisers spend a lot of time learning structure. This workshop is about the other half: acting. Hollis brings her background in devised theatre-making to help you find new ways to connect with your scene partner and your audience.
Each session takes on one problem improvisers run into and works on it through a different acting method, from Meisner and Stella Adler to Viewpoints and Brecht. Every session stands on its own, so you can drop in for the ones you need or commit to all six with the full workshop pass.
- WhenSaturdays and Sundays, 12 to 3pm
- DatesNov 7, 8, 14, 15, 21 and 22
- Where604 W State St, Garland, TX 75040
- RequirementsAt least one improv course.
The six sessions
Come to one or all of them
“I don't feel present onstage”
Take the pressure off yourself by putting all of your focus on your scene partner. Meisner-based exercises help you stop worrying about how a scene should look and start responding to what is actually happening.
Book this session →“My scenework is not specific”
Exercises that tap your imagination and your physical sense of the world, so your object work and base reality land. You'll build a personal library of memories and sensations to pull from for faster, more detailed scenes.
Book this session →“I don't know when to edit or initiate”
Stop stalling and go after what you want. Hands-on exercises to get out of your head, move with purpose, communicate game clearly and create urgency without getting stuck in conflict.
Book this session →“I don't know what to do with my hands”
Let your body do the talking. Movement and gesture work that opens up new ways to tell a story through physical expression, contact and even silence.
Book this session →“I am terrified by group game”
Turn group games into collective storytelling. Use the whole stage, the space between performers and the energy in the room to make your own contribution without stealing focus or feeling left out.
Book this session →“I feel limited by the boundaries of the stage”
For improvisers ready to bend the rules. Drawing on Epic Theatre and the Theatre of the Oppressed, you'll learn to subvert an audience's expectations responsibly and leave them entertained and challenged.
Book this session →You'll leave with acting tools you can use in your next scene.
Your coach
Hollis Beck
Hollis is a multi-disciplinary artist who draws on devised theatre-making to turn scripts on their heads and help performers find new ways to connect with an audience. She voices characters in English dubs of anime including Wind Breaker and Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!, has been pelted with popcorn in Pocket Sandwich melodramas, and performs at Dallas Comedy Club with Black Tie Casual and Butt Gay.
Schedule
Requirements
At least one improv course.
Pricing + booking
Booking opens in our box office.
Questions
Do I have to come to all six?
No. Each session works on its own. The full pass saves you $20 if you want all six.
Who is it for?
Improvisers at any level who have taken at least one improv course.
What about refunds and missed sessions?
Our full class policy is coming soon. Until then, email hello@commoncomedy.co with any questions.
Ready to play?
Acting tools for your scenes, coached by Hollis Beck. Come to one session or all six.