Fundamentals of Musical Improv - Weekend Intensive
Do you love to sing? Do you love to make up stories? Do you love to joke around with friends? Take any or all of those budding interests to the next level with this musical improv intensive!
Prerequisites: none
Recommended: either improv 101 OR some music performance experience
In just two days, you’ll learn all the major concepts you need to successfully perform on a musical improv team: song structure, musicality, improv content, scene-into-song, and a narrative format (Fairy Tale).
Showcase Performance
You and your classmates will put on a showcase performance for friends and family to come cheer you on, Sunday evening after class, 7-8pm.
Schedule
Saturday July 20, 10am-5pm (with breaks)
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. morning class (3h)
1-2 p.m. lunch break (1h)
2-5 p.m. afternoon class (3h)
Sunday July 21, 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. (with breaks)
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. morning class (3h)
1-2 p.m. lunch lunch break (1h)
2-5 p.m. afternoon class (3h)
5-6 p.m. evening break (1h)
6-7 p.m. warmup for showcase (1h)
7-8 p.m. showcase performance (1h)
About your instructors:
Brian Young (he/him) and Casey Watts (he/him) have been teaching musical improv together for many years with the nonprofit Baltimore Musical Improv Meetup. They make improvised musicals together in the Baltimore-based musical improv group Bad Karaoke Experience (BKE). In a given show, you’ll see them both alternating between singing on stage and doing back-line instrumental accompaniment (Brian on piano, Casey on accordion). BKE has played in DC’s Improvapolooza, the New York City Musical Improv Festival, and the Baltimore Improv Festival (BIG).
Brian is also a member of other Baltimore improv teams, including A++ (an all-Asian-American comedy group), and Ready Set No (a D.A.R.E.-style school assembly satire duo). Brian and the cast of Belle! An Improvised Tennessee Williams Play created a series of unique one-act shows at the 2019 Charm City Fringe Festival with encores at BIG in early 2020. Brian holds a BA in Piano Performance from Bowie State University.
Casey is a long-time teacher, including: musical improv, dancing, web development, and technical skills. Casey can play Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance on at least 15 instruments — and he owns an instrument in every color of the rainbow. Imagine someone walking down the street singing, dancing and blowing bubbles – that’s Casey!
About Highwire Improv:
Highwire Improv is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization based in Baltimore, Maryland. Our mission is to steward a community of artists committed to growth, collaboration, joy, and justice — in Baltimore and around the world — through improvisational theater.
