Course Overview

At The Pretend Company, we believe improv can be heartfelt and hilarious in equal measure, that it can be theatrical without being self-serious or overly pretentious, and that it can tell stories in a way no other medium can.

This course will take performers with a minimum of 1-to-2 years experience under their belt and cast them in an ensemble of 10-to-12 like-minded artists. That ensemble will be led by all three Pretend Company directors through 5 days of training aimed at instilling the attitudes and techniques needed to become a professional improviser. This can be broken down into four major topics - Connection, Stagecraft, Artistic Voice, and The Show.

Access to this course will be by application only (more info below).

The intensive will be based in London at Theatre Deli (nearest tube is Bank).

Who is this Course for?

This course was designed by Ali, Chris, and Liam to bridge the gap for improvisers who want to create more theatrical work and for actors who want to take on the challenge of improvising theatre. More specifically it’s for:

Improvisers who…

• Have been improvising a few years or more.
• Have finished the core curriculum at another school.
• Want to explore performing more theatrically.
• Want to explore creating long-form work.
• Are looking for that next step to add polish and professionalism to their work.
• Want to work intensively with the same group of people over a 6 month period.
• Want lots of individualised feedback and notes.
• Want to work with Pretend but aren’t in London regularly enough to take our weekly courses

Actors who…

• Want to be more present and reactive in their scripted performances.
• Want to experiment with improvisation as a part of their practice.