Kevin McDonald Comedy/Acting Class

“Calling all improv actors: here’s a rare chance to study comedy with one of the founding members of Kids in the Hall. Kevin McDonald’s fun, intensive, weekend-long workshop brings a group of funny people to the Steve Allen Theater in order to teach them how to use improv and performance as writing tools. McDonald promises to “focus on how to write comedy sketches through improvising scenes, so it will be a performing class where the students will also learn to write.” Space is extremely limited, so sign up now, and don’t forget your laptops.”

Kevin McDonald of the Kids in the Hall will give a two day, seven hour workshop with twenty to thirty actors where he will focus on and teach about writing comedy sketches through performing and improvisation. Students will learn how to write comedy through performing and learn how to use improv as a writing tool while even sitting at your laptop.

Improv games will be played at the beginning, to warm-up the actors and also to sharpen their storytelling skills through performing. For example, one of the games will be “Word at a Time.” This is a game where 4 or 5 actors are on-stage, telling a story that they are making up as they go along – but they can only speak one word at a time.

The games will advance from there until they are just doing improvised scenes in groups of 4 or 5. Then at one point, each group will do an improvised scene that they will take away and “write” on its feet. Kevin will go from group to group, helping and guiding them with the scenes. Then each group will present the sketch they are working on.

The groups will give notes to each other then go away and work on their scenes and present them again. The workshop will end with the groups, going away and actually writing the scenes on laptops or on paper. Then the now fully written scenes will be performed one last time to everyone.

With this workshop, Kevin hopes to improve the participants’ acting and writing skills. And help them to learn how both skills, working in unison, can help create great scenes and comedy.

The classes are on SAT. MARCH 31st and SUN. APRIL 1st from 10AM to 5PM every day with an hour off for lunch. Sign-up is $300.00 per student. There are limited spots available so sign-up ASAP!