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improv

Learn Improv From The Pros

Why Take Improv?

Improv classes aren’t just for aspiring comedians. Whether you’re perfecting your stand-up or improving your public speaking the benefits of improv can apply to anyone. The Second City offers a variety of improv classes from Improv for Actors to Improv Drop in classes for newbies, there’s a class for everyone.

Take an Why Take Improv? Class

Improv 1

Improv 1 introduces students to the fundamental concept of “Yes, And” in improvisation. Through group exercises and games, students will explore impulse & spontaneity, listening, being present in the moment, taking risks, finding agreement (making & accepting offers) and other basic building blocks of improvisation, all in a supportive environment that embraces the idea of trusting yourself and failing joyfully.

Improv 2

Improv 2 introduces students to the skills needed for character work, an element essential to dynamic improvised scenes. Students will explore creating characters through internal motivations like point of view, status, wants & intentions – as well as external ones like physicality and relationships to other characters. They will learn how to make choices in scenes that help define their character and clearly establish the “who”.

Introducing our Summer Weekday Special! Save almost 20% off the regular class price for weekday classes beginning before 5pm. Subject to availability, some exclusions apply. Cannot be combined with other offers. Conservatory, Musical Improv Conservatory, Improv for Actors, and Writing 5&6 classes not eligible for discounted pricing. Special pricing applied at checkout.

Improv 3

Improv 3 takes the character work from Improv 2 and places it in the context of other key elements of dynamic scenes: who/what/where, beginnings & middles, platforms, setting, intro to tilts/routine breaking, and heightening.

Improv 4

Improv 4 broadens the focus to include the audience in the experience. Where Improv 3 sets the table with the elements of basic scene structure, Improv 4 deepens this work – adding an emphasis on stakes, resolutions and clear scenic objectives for games. Incorporating audience suggestions and playing with an awareness of the audience are key elements of this level.

Improv 5

In this performance-oriented level, students will be introduced to hosting skills, game set-ups and techniques for more effectively integrating the audience into their shows. With a focus on advanced games & handles, this level will provide students with a strong basis for performing short form improvisation that marries substance & style, all in bite-size packages.

Improv 1A

Looking to start your improv journey but not ready to commit to a full term of classes? Improv 1A offers a fun and flexible way to dive into the basics of improvisation. In this 4-week course, you’ll explore essential skills like saying “Yes, And,” making offers, and active listening. You’ll also start building trust with your ensemble and discover the joy of spontaneity and creative risk-taking. Covering the first half of the full Improv 1 curriculum, this class is designed to give you a solid foundation while fitting into your schedule. By the end, you’ll feel confident in the basics of improv and ready for the next step.

What comes next? If you complete both Improv 1A and Improv 1B, you’ll have the prerequisite skills and vocabulary for Improv 2.

Improv for Anxiety Performance Ensemble

You’ve completed the Improv for Anxiety program, and now it’s time to take the next step! The 7-week IFAX Performance Ensemble is designed just for you to continue building on your improv skills.

In this warm, welcoming space, you’ll discover new improv games and revisit old favorites, all while working on your personal goals. The lessons are tailored to what excites and motivates you, and by the end of the term, you’ll have the chance to perform with your fellow ensemble members.

You’re welcome to join the IFAX Performance Ensemble as many times as you like. Every session offers new challenges, new instructors, and new ensemble members to collaborate with, helping you grow as an improviser.

Prerequisite: Completion of IFAX 5.

Improv-to-Sketch

Level-up your comedic game in this immersive week-long program designed to take your improvisational skills to new heights and transform them into side-splitting sketch comedy. Led by seasoned comedy veterans and instructors, this intensive is perfect for experienced improvisers looking to expand their comedic toolkit.

Throughout the week, dive into the heart of comedy creation through a series of collaborative exercises and improvisational workshops. Explore the fundamentals of scene work, character development, and comedic timing as you sharpen your instincts and embrace spontaneity.

Under the guidance of our expert instructors, you’ll learn how to mine improvisational gold and translate it into hilarious scripted sketches using the same process of re-improvisation that our resident talent uses to create Second City’s iconic sketch & improv shows. Through improvisation-based brainstorming sessions and structured scene work, you’ll discover how to generate comedic premises, develop memorable characters, and craft dialogue that leaves audiences in stitches.

This intensive isn’t just about honing your individual skills—it’s about the power of ensemble collaboration. Dive into the collaborative process of comedy creation where every laugh is earned together.

Prerequisite: at least one full year of training in scenic improvisation (Improv 1-5 or equivalent)

Please note this course may be canceled if it is does not meet minimum registration requirements. The Second City is not responsible for any additional costs such as travel or accommodations.

LGBTQIA+ Community Improv Jam

LGBTQIA+ Community Improv Jams

The Second City Training Center’s goal is to provide a safe environment for LGBTQ+ students across the larger improv community to come together and play freely. This event is free; no experience is required and participants do not have to be enrolled in a Second City class to participate. We do ask that those planning to attend register in advance for the event.

The LGBTQIA+ Jam is for people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual and all of the other identities not encompassed in the short acronym only and the jam will be hosted by a LGBTQIA+ faculty member.

Musical Improv Fundamentals (Accelerated)

This seven-week Musical Improv course combines our Level 1 and 2 Fundamentals classes into one term. Topics explored and practiced are melody building, rhyming, and improvising both simple and complex song structures; creating memorable solo and group songs from solid scenic choices; and working as a group to play both music improv games and long form pieces. There is no pre-requisite for the class.

Skills Weekends

Do you struggle with group scenes? Do you find every scene with more than 2 people just devolves into chaos with as many games as there are people talking over each other? Then, this workshop is for you! Join Second City alum Alex Bellisle for this two-day workshop where we will focus on various types of group scenes and how to attack them with actionable steps. Don’t let group scenes intimidate you anymore. Sign up, today!

Suggested Prerequisite: completion of Improv 5 or equivalent experience

Improv for Anxiety 5

Improv for Anxiety 5 is the culmination of all skills learned in Levels 1-4. The skills learned in this class help students succeed in future improv classes and performance, should they choose to pursue them.

Level 5 is all about performance. Students take everything they have learned in earlier levels of the program and use those skills to put together a fully improvised, 45-minute show for friends and family. They learn multiple aspects of improv performance, including communicating with an audience, engaging in a rehearsal process, and introducing, running and executing their own show.

Students revisit improvised performance games they learned in levels 1-4, as well as learn brand new games. The focus in Level 5 is on performing those games for an audience. Students also learn how to introduce games and call the end of them. With instructor guidance and feedback, students engage in a rehearsal process for a show they eventually run themselves.

Improv for Anxiety Level 5 meets once a week for three hours over a seven week term. There is a 45-minute performance for an audience at the end of the term.

Improv for Anxiety 4

Improv for Anxiety 4 reinforces the skills needed for strong scene work.

Students explore advanced-level scene work. They focus on synthesizing all the elements that go into strong, well-rounded, dynamic scenes: character, emotion, ensemble, environment, relationship, status, transformation, and more. Students also continue to learn how to improvise group scenes, and receive an introduction to scene styles and genres.

Students dive deeper into scene work, performing exercises that focus on the individual elements that make up successful scenes. Through repetition, observation, and feedback from the instructor, students become comfortable with creating scenes with strong characters, relationships, and a clear beginning, middle, and end. Students also learn several performance improv games, eventually gaining the skills to introduce, run, and perform several games.

Improv for Anxiety 4 meets once a week for three hours over a seven week term. There is a demonstration for an audience at the end of the term.

Improv for Anxiety 3

This innovative class uses ensemble-based improv to help people with social anxiety disorder overcome fear and avoidance associated with work, school, and family life. Improv for Anxiety 3 continues to encourage mindfulness and “being present in the moment” while gently taking students deeper into the improv skill set used to create dynamic, spontaneous scenes.

Improv for Anxiety 2

This innovative class uses ensemble-based improv to help people with social anxiety disorder overcome fear and avoidance associated with work, school, and family life. Building on the “Yes, And” foundation of level 1, Improv for Anxiety 2 continues to gently navigate key triggers for social anxiety – this time with an added focus on the improv skills used in character creation. In a safe and nurturing environment, participants will be introduced to creating characters through internal motivations like point of view, status, wants & intentions – as well as external ones like physicality and relationships to other characters. They will learn how to make choices in scenes that help define their character and clearly establish the “who”.

Improv for Anxiety 1

A 7 week intro to the Art of Improvisation and how it can offer tools to deal with your social anxiety.

This innovative class uses ensemble-based improv to help people with social anxiety disorder overcome fear and avoidance associated with work, school, and family life. A Second City Training Centre instructor will lead the class through a series of improv exercises that are specifically chosen to help students focus on the present and step outside of their comfort zones. In a safe and nurturing environment, participants will be introduced to a number of tools they can use to manage feelings of stress and anxiety.

Longform Weekends

Learn a new form or dive deeper into one you already know and love. This is a workshop for experienced improvisers who are looking to take their longform knowledge to the next level. Students will come together to immerse themselves in a single format and then showcase their skills in a public performance on one of our studio stages.

Throughout this workshop, participants will become a part of a new ensemble; review grounded scene work, and learn new editing techniques; learn the ins and outs of a longform format, and perform it the very next day.

October’s Form: The Bevy
The Bevy longform relies on the rapid adoption and amplification of other team members’ ideas and initiations, characterized by an almost immediate, full-body commitment from the entire group. The Bevy is played thematically and uses only physical transformations for editing scenes over sweep edits (See iO’s Whimsey Lohan).

Bevy was originally created in 2002 by Carrie Barret, Jennifer Cargill, Claire Clairmont, Kate Hawley, Holly Laurent (SC Mainstage alumnus), Nikki Lindgren (SC e.t.c. alumnus), Erica May, Lisa Nagatomo and Shannon Winpenny. David was a classmate of these amazing women and graduated with all of them in 2001 from iO. The group formed as they wanted to create a smart and beautiful long form piece that just happened to contain all women.

David Montgomery is a faculty member at The Second City and has performed, produced and directed improv for over 20 years. He saw every Bevy show over their 3 years together except for their performance in The LA Comedy Festival.

Prerequisites: Strongly recommended for current Conservatory students and graduates as well as improvisers with a minimum of one full year of formal improv training and performance experience. Please email studentsuccess@secondcity.com for approval.

Notes! Notes! Notes!

A space for experienced improvisers to work through a high volume of improvised scenes with a focus on individual feedback and scenic exercises specifically designed to take each player’s performance to the next level.

Recommended pre-requisite: Improv 5 or equivalent experience

Improv for Actors 2

Like the first level, Improv for Actors 2 helps trained and post-grad actors who are interested in further exploring improvisation and learn how to be a better actor. However, IFA-2 also empowers these actors with the tools for advancement in the improv community. Completion of Improv for Actors 2 fulfills the prerequisites for the Second City Conservatory auditions.

In Improv for Actors 2, students build improvisational skills while creating characters. They discover how those characters and their points of view affect a scene.

Students work on 2-person and 3-person scenes. They learn how to develop the intricacies of scenic structure including the various initiations, beats, and endings. This class culminates in personal feedback and audition prep for the Second City Conservatory Program.

Improv for Actors 1

In today’s entertainment industry, improv and the ability to work without a script has become an essential tool not only for rehearsal, but for performance on screen and stage, as well as auditioning. Improv for Actors 1 is for people interested in how to be a better actor. IFA-1 is geared toward both working and post-grad actors who are looking to expand their craft with skills of improvisation. It’s also a great option for people with a theater degree or background in the dramatic arts to have fun with new people in a new environment.

IFA-1 covers the fundamental elements of scene work, creating environment, and scenic transformation. Students acquire skills that can be applied to scripted and non-scripted work. Students become more improvisational in written moments and more confident when they improvise.

Students work on building ensemble, object work, and the essence of a good improvisational scene. Using games, exercises, and other play, students explore relationships, character motivation, and heightening techniques to create compelling scenes and characters purely out of improv.

Improv for Actors 1 is for students with a theater degree, currently enrolled in a full-length collegiate theater program, or have the equivalent amount of professional training and/or experience. Students must submit an acting résumé for consideration to be placed in IFA-1. Please submit a résumé through our online application.

Musical Improv Drop-In

Is there a song in your heart that you would love to explore? Join us for a taste of musical improv! Learn improv skills and games through a musical lens while meeting new people in a fun and supportive environment. No experience is necessary to participate in this playful 90 minute drop-in class.

Improv Drop-In

Thinking about trying improv? Our in-person drop-in classes are the perfect non-committal taste. No prior experience is necessary for these fun, relaxed introductions to some of the skills of improvised comedy. Meet new people, learn games & exercises and share 90-minutes of laughs each time you join us.

Homemade Improv Jam (Virtual)

The Homemade Jam is a fun, welcoming and encouraging improv jam for students of the Second City Community held on the first and third Friday of every month. It’s founded in Second City’s “Yes And, Creativity & Respect” philosophy and is led by Second City improv instructors Janet Davidson & Brie Watson. It’s a place to learn and grow from the comfort of home.

Musical Improv Jam (Virtual)

Join Darcy Kendall for our virtual musical improv jam! Play, sing, meet new people… all from the comfort of your home. (No prior singing/music experience necessary.)

Longform Fundamentals

Improv is often separated into two broad categories: longform and shortform. While the single greatest distinction between them is time/duration, there are specific skills and techniques that can help an improviser sustain the audience’s interest and investment in a longer unscripted performance. This class is a space for intermediate improvisers to learn those fundamentals, be introduced to the vocabulary of longform improv and begin to experiment with formats.

Course topics include:

How and when to edit
Developing ensemble group-mind
Deriving inspiration from audience suggestions
Introduction to simple formats
Supporting from the backline/wings

Recommended pre-requisite: Improv 4 or equivalent experience

See some of our improv performances in action!

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