Level: Intermediate – All experience levels welcome, but some prior improv or acting experience recommended
Instructor: Beth Hailey
Duration: 8 weeks + Showcase
Where: CSz Richmond Training Center
When: Wednesdays at 7pm
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Characters and Storytelling
Unlock the full power of your imagination and emotional range in Characters and Storytelling with Beth Hailey — an immersive improv class focused on bringing unforgettable characters to life and building compelling narratives on stage.
Whether you’re looking to deepen your scene work, develop dynamic personas, or tell richer stories in your improv, this course is designed to elevate your performance and expand your creative toolkit. With Beth’s signature mix of playfulness, precision, and deep character empathy, you’ll explore how to craft unique individuals with rich emotional lives — and then place them in stories that matter.
Over 8 weeks, you’ll learn how to:
Build fully-realized characters from physicality, voice, point of view, and emotional truth
Discover the heart of a scene and how your character fits into the larger story
Use character wants and flaws to drive narrative momentum
Explore archetypes, genre conventions, and grounded world-building
Create dynamic relationships between characters that spark natural conflict, comedy, and transformation
Heighten character behavior while staying emotionally honest and connected
Move beyond “wacky” personas to create characters that surprise, delight, and resonate
Each class features a mix of warmups, scene reps, side coaching, and targeted exercises to strengthen your instincts and help you take bold character risks that still serve the scene. You'll learn how to anchor even the most outrageous characters in truth — and how to let story emerge from relationships, stakes, and choices.
Expect a supportive and laughter-filled space where you’re encouraged to stretch, stumble, and surprise yourself. The class culminates in a live showcase performance where you’ll get to share your favorite characters and stories with a real audience!
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Who should take this class [Intermediate]
This class is open to improvisers of all experience levels, from eager beginners to seasoned performers. However, because we’ll be diving into more nuanced work around character development and narrative structure, students will get the most out of the class if they’ve had some prior experience with improv, acting, or storytelling. If you’re comfortable being on your feet, playing in scenes, and saying “yes, and,” you’ll be right at home — and ready to stretch into deeper, more character-driven work. We do recommend that you take our Intro to Improv class if you have no previous improv experience. Feel free to email
ZWR1Y2F0aW9uIHwgY3N6cnZhICEgY29t if you would like to ask any questions before signing up!
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About Your Instructor:
Beth Hailey is a seasoned improviser, director, and character coach known for her emotionally rich performances and deeply grounded scene work. With years of experience on stage and in the classroom, Beth has a gift for helping perfromers discover new facets of themselves and bring unforgettable characters to life. Whether she’s helping a student unlock a moment of vulnerability or showing a whole class how to elevate a narrative arc, Beth creates a classroom that is both deeply human and wildly fun.
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