You're browsing Improv Classes in Washington, DC

Improv For All workshops are high-fun, low-stress classes designed to show you how improvisers create spontaneous, off-the-cuff theater. Our enthusiastic and friendly instructors work to make sure everyone is able to participate in a playful and trusting atmosphere.

Learn the basic principles of improv and how to apply them to your work! Imagine you’re backstage at the theater, with a packed audience looking forward to a great show.  But there’s one catch: you don’t know your lines, and neither does anyone else.  Now go out there and put on a show, a show that’s never been seen before, and that...

Improv for all: whether you’re a nonprofit employee, a corporate lawyer, a software engineer or a high school English teacher, you’ve got something to gain from taking Foundations of Improv. Meet people, gain poise, build your confidence and unleash your creativity by learning the fundamental concepts of improvisation. It’s the most fun you’ll...

Develop fully realized characters of all shapes and sizes. Discover how attitude, physicality and objectives can provide a filter for your characters to interact with the world. In improv, there’s nothing preventing you from changing age, gender or personality from one scene to the next. Learn how to embody a diverse array of characters that are...

Create rich scenes featuring dynamic characters. Experience firsthand how rooting scenes in agreement permits discovery and complexity beyond merely setting up a premise or a conflict. You’ve learned how to listen, how to ‘yes and,’ and embody a variety of characters. Now it’s time to really dig in to working in an ensemble. Put all the pieces...

Encounter the mother of all longform improvisation styles: The Harold. Through this form's classic structure, you'll apply your scenework knowledge with increasing artistry and complexity. Work every muscle of your improv body through an exploration of the ultimate longform format. Find games to carry through to second and third beats. Learn how to...

Makes scenes feel easy and makes all your partners look great. Be the improviser everyone wants to play with. Do you want to be the improviser everyone wants to perform with? Who makes scenes feel easy and makes all your partners look great? Contrary to what we might think, the best improvisers are not the loudest or flashiest players. Instead, they...

Sometimes you can say something with a facial expression or an interesting physical choice before you begin to speak. Do we need to rely on saying funny things for comedy? Perhaps the thing that cuts through all the noise is silence and committed physical work. In this workshop, we will approach improvisation through physicality- using it to build...

Dive deep into the mother of all formats. Take your Harold skills to the next level. We all know the Harold: opening, three beats, group games. This class seeks to help participants develop a deeper understanding of the format, perform better scenes within each section of the format, and learn how to maximize playtime. Focus areas include really...

Learn how to create amazing improv scenes out of thin air! All it takes is a some creativity and a lot of teamwork. After learning the language of improv in Foundations, now you can begin to put together killer scenes. Lay a solid foundation for your scenework by learning to initiate scenes with purpose, recognize games and patterns, and heighten...

A fun and fast-paced introduction to what acting is all about, with plenty of practice in improvisation, scene study and theatre games.  For anyone who's ever wanted to give acting a try—or those who haven't done it since that one time in high school. Students also learn the basics of auditioning and the business of acting. This class is designed...

A one-day quick intro to some acting fundamentals.

Make scenes easier by playing the truth of the moment. What's happening right in front of you is all you need. Scenes feel easy when we respond without thinking so hard. The moment we pause to ask ourselves, “what would this character say?”, is the moment things start to feel more challenging. We are often working hard in an improv scene to understand...

An intensive course devoted to acting for film and television. The class will include audition techniques, the role of commercial spokesperson, specifics of industrial film work, and techniques for approaching film and television scripts. All class work will be filmed as it might be on a real set and then critiqued.

Early on in improv you practice getting the words out by having conversations on stage. Once you get the hang of that then you want to make those conversations entertaining; but that’s when scene start to feel like work. Your first idea for the scene maybe didn’t get a big reaction, so you try another idea. Then a third idea. You and your scene...