Saturday 10am-1pm with Frank Caeti
The Complete Scene (Class Size: 14 Students)
The foundation of great improvisation is scenes with strong relationships. In this workshop, Frank will provide a simple structure to help participants learn how to create a complete improvised scene with a beginning, middle and end. The focus will be on improvising two-person scenes utilizing emotion, character, and point of view to discover funny and wonderful relationships. (Previous improv training is recommended for this class)
Frank Caeti is an alumnus of The Second City Chicago where his credits include: National Touring Company, two resident company stages (Chicago e.t.c. & Las Vegas), Reverie (a nonverbal sketch comedy show), and Twist Your Dickens at the Kirk Douglas Theater. He was a series regular on the FOX’s long running sketch show MADtv. Other tv credits include: Key and Peele, Reno 911, NCIS, The Jay Leno Show, and over forty commercials. His regional theater credits include: La Jolla Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, and Laguna Playhouse. Frank is one half of the acclaimed duo, FrankenMatt with former Saturday Night Live writer Matt Craig. He regularly performs in LA at UCB, iO West, and Second City Hollywood.
Saturday 2pm-5pm with Susan Messing
Group Pretty (Class Size Unlimited)
Improvisation is an active art, not a bunch of people standing around arguing with each other. This workshop is designed to make your team look visually stunning. Stage Picture, Flying Safety, and elements of Story Theatre and Symmetry will have you off the back wall and make you and your friends look awesome.
Susan Messing, a NJ native and graduate of Northwestern University’s Theatre School, has been an improviser and comedian for over twenty-five years. She is an alumna of the iO Theatre, Second City’s Mainstage, and a founding member of Chicago’s infamous Annoyance Theatre. Susan created and has taught her curriculum at iO and iO West, The Annoyance Theatre, The Second City, and around the country. Susan is an adjunct instructor for DePaul University, The University of Chicago, and The School at Steppenwolf. Her standup act with her puppet, Jolly, was featured at the HBO/US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and NBC’s Late Fridays. Her most impressive bit movie role was as a bad stripper in a halo brace in Let’s Go to Prison! You can see her every Thursday night in her critically acclaimed show, Messing with a Friend, now in its seventh year at The Annoyance Theatre. She has been delighted to participate in the Just For Laughs Festival every year since its Chicago debut.