Next up in Copenhagen

PURE IMPRO!

Improvisation as pure as it gets. Self-sustained. Not waiting for anything or anyone.

The challenge: we have four hours to build from the ground up a state of play without restraint: full characters, big imagination, choices made out loud and stood by.

The name of the game is full commitment – to a sense of character, an impulse, a frankly bad idea – and not taking it back. Most improvisers stay safe, reasonable, and (let’s face it) predictable. This is where the wild pigs fly.

What we work on

• getting into a state of full attention
• maintaining the body as source of play
• standing by choices we didn’t know we were making
• playing what occurs to us without holding back

For performers who want to stop playing it safe.
Open to those who have done Substance, or who have stage experience.
Bring a sense of humour.

SUBSTANCE

Next date to be determined

Play from what’s already there – before any idea.

You never start from nothing. Before you invent anything, there is already space, movement, posture, rhythm, a state of emotion. Substance is the work of seeing and feeling what’s present, and playing from that, instead of reaching for an idea.

Most improvisers play from the head: decide, then execute. These four hours train the opposite reflex: use your body first, act before the idea arrives. Playing becomes clearer, steadier, more your own.

What we work on

• perceiving precisely what’s already there
• letting the body organise action before the mind decides
• staying with what’s happening instead of filling the silence
• playing from real experience, not invention

For performers whose playing leans too hard on ideas.
Open to all – no previous experience required.
Patience needed.