What Students Will Learn:

You've already played improv. Now get better at it.

Character Arsenal is an 8-week intensive designed for young performers who want to develop the character skills that can make an improv scene bigger, funnier, and more memorable.

You'll learn how to create a fully playable character in seconds—using voice, physicality, attitude, point of view, relationships, status, wants, and unexpected choices.

But we won't stop at creating characters in class.

You'll build your own Character Arsenal: a personal collection of characters, character types, voices, physicalities, attitudes, backstories, and comedic perspectives that you can draw from whenever you step on stage.

Over eight weeks, you'll learn to:

Create strong characters quickly from almost any suggestion.
Use voice, movement, physicality, and attitude to make characters instantly recognizable.
Give characters wants, fears, relationships, and points of view.
Build backstories that create opportunities for comedy.
Make bold character choices without sacrificing scene work.
Use characters to create game and comedic escalation.
Transform the same character into different situations.
Develop characters that are playable, not just funny ideas.
Build a personal rolodex of characters you can use in future performances.
Practice bringing these characters into actual improvised scenes.

The goal?

When you walk on stage and hear a suggestion, you shouldn't have to think:

"What character should I do?"

You should have options.

By the end of the class, you'll have a personal Character Arsenal filled with tools you can call on whenever you need them.

Designed for experienced young improvisers, but open to motivated beginners. Students who already perform improv will be able to immediately apply these techniques to their existing shows and ensembles. Students who are newer to improv will learn the same professional character-building tools while developing their foundational scene skills. 

Taught by Grant Garrison, a graduate of the Second City Chicago Conservatory and iO Theater's Improv Acting Program, with more than 20 years of experience performing and teaching improv and sketch comedy.

Questions? Email [email protected].