Zapraszamy na warsztaty podczas (i przed rozpoczęciem!) Międzynarodowego Festiwalu Improwizacji Teatralnej JO!
Do wyboru macie dwunastogodzinne masterklasy oraz sześcio- i trzygodzinne tematy. Przygotowaliśmy mnogość zagadnień i trenerów, by wasze festiwalowe przeżycia były tak intensywne i zróżnicowane, jak zechcecie.
🟣 Bilety w sprzedaży od godz. 18:00 w niedzielę, 27 kwietnia. Pamiętajcie, że kupując karnet festiwalowy znajdziecie na nim (w pliku pdf) 10% kod rabatowy na wszystkie zakupy warsztatowe – polecamy zatem zacząć od karnetu!
🟣 Wszystkie oferowane kursy są prowadzone w języku angielskim, stąd poniższe opisy tematów również prezentujemy w tymże języku.
🟣 Jak rozumieć poziomy zaawansowania warsztatów:
Universal – warsztaty dotyczą umiejętności, która nie jest bezpośrednio powiązana z poziomem zaawansowania w impro – choć może niekoniecznie dla kompletnie początkujących
Beginner – dla zaczynających swoją przygodę z impro (lub chcących wrócić do podstawowych zagadnień!)
Intermediate – znasz już podstawy, umiesz grać sceny i masz za sobą trochę pracy, ale droga do profesjonalizmu jeszcze daleka
Advanced – czujesz się pewnie ze swoimi umiejętnościami grając przed publicznością i chcesz poznawać bardziej zniuansowane zagadnienia ucząc się zarówno od instruktora, jak i pozostałych członków grupy
Experienced – masz spore doświadczenie w improwizacji i chcesz szlifować swoje umiejętności wśród artystów, którzy raczej nie będą pytać o podstawy
🇬🇧 ENGLISH 🇬🇧
Once again we present you workshops program during (and before!) JO! Festival. Choose wisely from masterclasses, 6 and 3 hour options. There’s wide variety of subjects and teachers, so your JO! experience can be intensive and diverse. Remember that if you’re buying Festival Pass, you’ll be given a 10% discount code for all your workshops purchases – so probably better buy Pass first!
🟣 For our international customers – yup, prices are in Polish currency. As for now it translates to:
3 hours workshop – 220pln is about 51 euro
6 hours workshop – 400pln is about 93 euro
12 hours workshop – 700pln is about 163 euro
Remember that you can get everything 10% cheaper – with your Festival Pass.
🟣 How to read the difficulty levels:
Universal – workshop teaches you a skill not directly related to your improv level, though probably not for complete beginners
Beginner – you know a thing or two, but that’s it, you’re beginning your improv journey (or you want to remind yourself of the basics!)
Intermediate – you know your scenework and have worked for some time, yet it’s still a long road towards professional level
Advanced – you feel confident with your skills on stage and want to get more nuanced knowledge learning both from your teacher and from each other
Experienced – you are a skilled improviser who wants to hone their craft in a group of artists who probably won’t ask about the basics
🟣 WORKSHOP INFO (chronological order)
🟣 Chris Mead – Mockumentary Now!
12 hours masterclass
23-24 July, 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00
Price: 700pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: advanced
Spinal Tap, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, The Office, Parks & Rec
Mockumentaries are documentaries where the world and characters presented are exaggerated versions of reality.
Improv and mockumentaries have a long and storied history together. In fact, a free-wheeling improvisational style fits the tone of the form perfectly. Over the years, such improv luminaries as Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Amy Poehler and Steve Carell have all used their training to hilarious effect in mockumentary films and TV shows.
In this class, we’ll explore how to put them on stage. We’ll look at everything from the Christopher Guest cannon, through the US version of The Office and Parks & Recreation, to existing improv formats like The Documentary developed by Billy Merritt.
Atomic skills: Creating distinct and memorable characters, Interview-style monologues and asides, Relationships and subtext, Light-touch narrative, Voice over & narration
🟣 Ella Galt – All About You
12 hours masterclass
23-24 July, 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00
Price: 700pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: experienced
You’re a fully-formed improviser, with experience under your belt and your own unique style. You’ve figured out what works for you and where you fit into a scene but are looking for a push to take you to the next level. In this intensive course, we’ll use a mix of self-evaluation and specific individual feedback to examine unconscious onstage habits as well as better maximise the strengths you already have.
This course is about unlocking sides of yourself as an improviser you may not have previously had access to, offering new challenges and opportunities.
🟣 Liam Webber – F@&king around & Finding out
6 hours intensive
25 July, 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00
Price: 400pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: intermediate
*Fucking Around and Finding Out, or How to Embrace your Improv Demon and not Ruin Everything Improv is, by it’s very nature, unpredictable. It is unscripted and (to a varying amount depending on the show) unplanned. The best shows I’ve ever seen embrace this in a truly magical way – at every turn, surprising and delighting audience and performer alike. These shows live in the improv goldilocks zone between control and chaos. The performers are connected and listening while their offers set sparks flying with mischief and imagination, sending the show twisting to a resolution that is satisfying but that nobody could have predicted before the audience took their seats.
The drawbacks of too much chaos are well documented – inconsistent shows, improvisers not listening and missing offers, a confused audience, and storylines that go nowhere. That said, in the noble pursuit of „consistently good” shows, we often swing too far the other way. Sitting in patterns of play we know will ~work~, driving shows through well-worn arcs and structures, maybe even finding ourselves resistant to offers that don’t look like what we „usually do”. We stop „improvising” in the absolute purest sense. With that we lose some of that spark that turns a good show into a great show, and a great show into something truly extraordinary. So..! Let’s play with improv’s cosmic balance.
Let’s embrace that chaos demon we all have inside us, take big risks, imbue our scenes with the absolute maximum amount of chaos they can hold, and see where we get to on the other side.
🟣 IMPORTANT INFORMATION—– DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS WITHOUT READING 🟣
*”Fuck** around and find out” is a common threat (often used jokingly) meaning „if you mess about there will be dire consequences”.
**I found out today that a common FALSE etymology for the word „Fuck” is „Fornication Under Consent from the King”. It is NOT TRUE but a commonly held misconception. That said I found it a very funny concept and thought you should know. It also implies the existence „fucq” for when the ruling monarch is female.
***This information was maybe not that important.
🟣 Feña Ortalli – Didaskalia
3 hours lick
25 July, 10:00-13:00
Price: 220pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: advanced
Didaskalia (stage direction): an instruction in the text of a play indicating the movement, position, or tone of an actor, or the sound effects and lighting. Have you ever wondered how you can incorporate these directions into your improvised scenes?
In this class we will work on the different types of didaskalia we can find in universal theatre and how to adapt this element to the improvised work.
🟣 Kiva Murphy – Let’s play… seriously
6 hours intensive
25 July, 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00
Price: 400pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: intermediate
We all talk about having fun on stage but what does that really mean? When you are genuinely having fun on stage, you are captivating to watch.
As children we play uninhibitedly and constantly invent new stories without fear of failure. By allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, and be ‘in the shit’ we release our inner child and delight our audience.
In this workshop we will use applied clowning and physical theatre techniques to bring pure joy into our improv. You will learn how to surprise yourself, and by removing the pressure to be funny you will truly be able to play… seriously.
Clowns don’t have a history and they experience everything for the first time and we want our audiences to have the same sense of wonder when they watch us perform, if we can achieve that sense of pure unadulterated play on stage then the sky is really the limit.
🟣 Ollie Rasini – Mythos! – Greek drama and epic poetry
6 hours intensive
25 July, 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00
Price: 400pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: advanced
The stories of mythical characters like Agamemnon and Oedipus, Heracles and Ajax, Helen and Medea, were adopted and reworked constantly by the tragic poets of Ancient Greece. These stories brought before their audience the great questions of human existence: freedom, justice, love, and death. „Thus, theater was born as drama, as action; and its direct lineage remains vibrant and vital among us, in the third millennium: Western theater, our theater.” (L.M. Segoloni)
In this brief period, we will draw inspiration from epic poetry and Greek drama to inform our stage presence. We will seek inspiration in these colossal, legendary figures, imbued with equally immense emotions and drives; they assert their individuality before their fellow humans and the gods themselves; they take up arms and challenge Fate. What physical form do these characters embody, what voices do they possess? How do they express their emotions? Our objective is to infuse our stage presence with renewed dignity and pride, mindful of the legacy we carry.
🟣 Diego Ingold – Lecoq colors in the impro
6 hours intensive
25 July, 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00
Price: 400pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: universal
We will work on changes of state and the creation of characters with primary and secondary colors based on Jacques Lecoq’s study of color, but now applied to impro. All the things we say are lies if we do not imply the body. It’s not what you say… it’s how you say it.
We will work to have the body available to carry out these changes of state; to show the audience the goals and needs of the characters. We know how to say where we are, we know how to say who we are, but we need to show the audience what we really seek and need as characters.
How do we say “I love you” at the same time that we show hatred with our bodies to communicate that it is a lie? How do we get angry on stage in a believable way? We can talk about any topic without spending time telling each other what we feel for the rest of the characters, if we solve it physically.
🟣 Ella Galt – Master of Ceremonies
3 hours lick
25 July, 14:00-17:00
Price: 220pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: universal
You’re the first person the audience sees when they take their seats. You make them feel welcome, prime their hearts and imaginations and start to generate on-stage energy for the actors to step into. The audience finds you delightful, funny or endearing, they trust you, and sit comfortably knowing they are going to be taken care of. This is the natural state of the emcee!
In this workshop we’ll hone your authentic onstage persona with personalised feedback and equip you with the skills you need to be the most present presenter you can be. From taking suggestions and dealing with the audience to stagecraft, you’ll leave this workshop ready to command any stage and welcome any audience.
🟣 Jacintha Damström – Acrobatics in Improv
6 hours intensive
26 July, 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00
Price: 400pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: universal
”How can I combine a cartwheel in an improv scene without that it would look ridiculous? And how can I improve my physical skills for becoming more versitile on the stage?”
Using the body in the most extreme way can be risky, but with some simple techniques, it can be safe – even in improv! Jacintha will show you different techniques of how to strengthen your body and how to interact with other improvisers in a safe way through the world of acrobatics.
We will focus on both solo and group workouts, stretching, and (of course) on some scenes!
No acrobatic skills are needed from before, just an eagerness to challenge your own body is required for this workshop.
🟣 Feña Ortalli – It ends bad
6 hours intensive
26 July, 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00
Price: 400pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: intermediate
Who doesn’t enjoy a good tragedy?
In this workshop we’re going to analyze the basic structure of a tragedy, the key elements of its narrative, the main characteristics of the tragic hero, and the role of the chorus.
From Oedipus to Walter White.
🟣 Diego Ingold – Better well accompanied
6 hours intensive
26 July, 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00
Price: 400pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: universal
ALL of us will be ALL THE TIME on the scene. Zero bench time, zero option to tell us anything, zero time to watch scenes instead of making them.
In impro we usually leave the space empty… can we fill it? Can we be objects, landscapes, a storm… and still give the focus to the protagonists of a story? What resources of a Greek choir can we keep using today? How do we stop the chaos and calm down all together?
We will work on the choir, drawing spaces with the body, and we will find different ways besides giving and stealing focus, the schools of fish, the group invocations, the collective brain… in short, listening 2.0
🟣 Janne Lesonen – Sitcom Archetypes
6 hours intensive
26 July, 10:00-13:00, 14:00-17:00
Price: 400pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: advanced
Ever notice how every great sitcom has a cast of distinct, unforgettable characters? That’s no accident! Sitcoms thrive on strong archetypes—the lovable goofball, the over-the-top diva, the clueless optimist, the scheming cynic… and more!
In this workshop, we’ll break down eight essential sitcom archetypes and explore how they interact, clash, and create comedy gold. Through fun exercises and scene work, you’ll learn how to embody these archetypes, recognize them in your scene partner, and heighten the dynamics for maximum laughs.
By the end, you’ll have a whole new character toolkit—perfect for sitcom-style improv and beyond!
🟣 Kiva Murphy – Push your limits
3 hours intensive
26 July, 14:00-17:00
Price: 220pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: intermediate
The entire workshop will run like a huge ‘new choice’ exercise. At the start we will warm up and get into the headset of not being precious about our ideas, learning to set things up and then accept when they are taken away from us.
In the world of devised theatre we call it ‘killing our babies’ accepting that we create beautiful things but that they can be rudely taken away from us at any time. In the second half of the workshop I will hand over the reins to your classmates so at any point you might be asked to change your decision, take a new route or indeed imagine something new entirely at a moments notice.
The course will be challenging, but by learning to hear no and recover from it we hone our skills of truly being in the moment.
🟣 Jacintha Damström – Beathing through Improv
3 hours lick
27 July, 10:00-13:00
Price: 220pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: intermediate
A workshop where players explore a new zone of intimacy through various breathing techniques. By synchronizing breath and improv, we will deepen our connection with our scene partners, heighten awareness, and cultivate presence in the moment.
Through guided exercises, we will practice letting go of habitual patterns, embracing spontaneity, and discovering new layers of expression in improvisation.
🟣 Jutta Tilvis – Character in a Cup
3 hours lick
27 July, 10:00-13:00
Price: 220pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: beginner
AKA What your mimed coffee cup says about your character
The way a character interacts with objects can reveal a lot about their personality and background, not just their current state of mind. Objects also remind us of memories and can be used to create a shared history between two characters.
This 3-hour workshop is about reacting to what you already have in a scene (the established mimed objects) as a way of discovering more information about your character! You don’t need to invent – you only need to “yes and”.
Let’s say there is an empty stage and you have to start the scene alone. Maybe you enter with a smile, maybe you enter in a hurry, great! But – what’s next? If you feel that mumbling a monologue half aloud to your lonesome feels awkward, this workshop will teach you a way of starting that scene without one – after this workshop you are actually set for a 5min solo scene!
🟣 Janne Lesonen – Speed Dating Your Scene Partner
3 hours lick
27 July, 10:00-13:00
Price: 220pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: intermediate
Ever struggle to connect with your scene partner? Unsure what to say or do next? You’re not alone!
Luckily, the world of dating holds some surprising answers—listening, curiosity, asking questions (both big and small, with or without hidden agendas)… all while keeping things fun and playful.
In this workshop, we’ll use these principles to strengthen our improvisational relationships, leading to richer, more engaging scenes—and maybe even some bonus skills for real-life dating, too!
🟣 Stefan Andersson – Dialogues That Matter
3 hours lick
27 July, 10:00-13:00
Price: 220pln, 10% off for Festival Pass owners (promo code on Festival Pass pdf file)
Difficulty level: beginner
This workshop will focus on dialogues and on creating the ones that will inspire your scene partner and get your audience emotionally invested. Some interactions live on in the memory long after the story has reached its end and those are the ones we are looking for. Apart from working on the skills that make dialogues great, students will also get some very practical, hands on, tools from this workshop. These are great for turning a struggling scene that isn’t going anywhere into a highly engaging one for both your scene partner and your audience.
In this workshop we will explore, work on and play with concepts like:
– The role of the compliment.
– Metaphors and why they are so useful.
– Remaining out of reach.
– Details and the specific magic in them.
– The power of not answering.
– Words and emotions.
… And much more.
🟣 TEACHER BIOS 🟣
🟣 Jacintha Damström
Jacintha Damström, who has been performing as a circus artist since 1996, started with improv in 2012. In 2016 she was invited to perform in the wordless Decibel!-show with the French comedians Morgan Mansouri and Frédéric Pont, with whom she integrated acrobatics into improv besides mime and comedy. Since then she has been invited to perform and to teach in improv festivals around the world, both as a solo player and in groups. In 2022 she became one of the leading members of the professional improvisation group “Stjärnfall” in Helsinki.
Besides improv, Jacintha works also as a classical musician, physical actress, and clown.
Jacintha has been teaching in the following festivals: Now Improv fest, Beijing China (2024) Singapore international festival (2024) Robin Hood international improv festival (2024) Amsterdam international improv festival (2018, 2020,2022, 2023,2024) Canberra international improv festival (2023) WISE festival, France (2021) Dog and fi sh festival, Austria (2019) Bengaluru improv festival, India (2019) Subito!- festival, France (2017, 2018) St Petersburg international improv festival (2018)
🟣 Ella Galt
Ella is an Australian actress and improviser who has been studying, performing and teaching theatre for over 17 years. She earned a B.A. in Theatre Studies at Monash University, Melbourne and her performance experience ranges from improvised and musical theatre to voice, theatre in education, and dance. Since joining BIG in 2012 she has trained with some of the most renowned improv teachers and coaches in the world and has studied, performed, taught, and directed in improv schools and festivals around Europe. Ella co-designed the unique tiered curriculum at BIG to train committed, joyful and well-rounded improvisers.
She teaches students of all levels in weekly classes, emboldening beginners and experienced improvisers alike to produce rich, vibrant and committed improv. Her improvisation style centres around bold, emotional play and uses the full extent of her theatrical background, implicating the body and voice to create scenes and shows that are dynamic and filled with joyful imagination and play. Her teaching style is energetic and supportive, and aims to unleash the unique potential of every improviser and scene.
🟣 Janne Lesonen
Janne Lesonen is a veteran of the English improv community in Tampere, Finland. He’s an actor, music lover, and a master of bringing good vibes, performing across Europe with his energetic team, Doris Likes Everything. His improv journey began in 2010, and he started teaching in 2018. Since then, he has taught extensively in Finland and at a couple of international festivals. On stage, he’s a fearless and playful performer who follows the fun. Off stage, he’s an excellent customer service master, occasionally found behind the counter of a local record store. A meme-sharing connoisseur, he also enjoys acting in funny commercials, playing PlayStation 5, adoring cats and dogs, rediscovering his record collection, reading weird stuff, and hanging out with cool friends.
🟣 Chris Mead
Chris Mead is an improviser, writer and creator. He lives in the Surrey Hills with his wife, Laura and his Cavapoo dog-pal, Radio.
He believes passionately that improv can make us better artists and more empathetic human beings. Chris has collaborated with improv schools, festivals and performers worldwide – choosing projects that aim to share the joy and craft of the art form. He is a head teacher at Hoopla Impro, the biggest Improv school in the UK, as well as offering numerous indie classes under his own name.
Chris performs with legendary sci-fi improv team, Project2 and experimental theatrical collective, Duologues.
Chris studied theatre at the prestigious Royal Holloway college and continues to explore improv with every school, theatre and practitioner he can find.
🟣 Kiva Murphy
Kiva Murphy is an Irish/French actress, entrepreneur, facilitator, and coach who has been based in Barcelona for the past 11 years. With over 20 years of experience as a full-time performer, she has founded multiple creative companies across different countries, from theatre companies to entertainment agencies and training programs.
Trained in theatre, clowning, and physical comedy—including at the prestigious Jacques Lecoq school in Paris—Kiva has worked with some of the world’s leading improvisation and performance experts. As co-director of Barcelona Improv Group (BIG), she has helped build one of the city’s most dynamic training schools, coaching hundreds of professionals, teams, and aspiring performers.
A sought-after MC, presenter, and coach, Kiva applies the principles of improvisation to help people unlock their full potential on stage. She trains speakers and professionals to enhance their gestures, vocal and breathing techniques, and, most importantly, to let go of rigid structures and embrace the moment. Whether leading workshops, coaching executives, or commanding a stage, Kiva brings energy, expertise, and a deep understanding of human connection through joy, fun and a little bit of improv magic!
🟣 Feña Ortalli
Feña Ortalli began his acting career in 2001. In 2006 he created Global Impro, an impro troupe dedicated to national and international collaboration and exchange.
He’s currently based in Madrid where he performs and teaches regularly. He also participates in several international festivals and tours with his shows an workshops all over the world. His show King’s Whim (with Diego Ingold) has been selected by some of the most renowned international impro festivals. He’s the founder and director of Status Impro Magazine (2011); and the author of the books Impro: Dynamics of the Unexpected (2018), and Impro: Dynamics of the Unexpected II (2024). Since 2001 he worked in over 70 cities worldwide.
🟣 Ollie Rasini
Ollie (Olivia) Rasini is an Italian-American improviser and trained actress who loves movement. She is a member of Teatro a Molla improv company in Bologna and teaches theatre workshops aimed at adults, young adults, people with disabilities, and social workers. She also teaches workshops about the works of William Shakespeare with Teatro delle Due and performs regularly in original-language Shakespeare productions and other scripted theatre.
🟣 Jutta Tilvis
Jutta co-founded her first improv group back in 2013, and ever since, improvisation has been an ever-growing part of her life! Today she is an in-house actor at Snorkkeli – an improv company based in Tampere. She is also a member of the improv group Doris Likes Everything. Jutta performs on stage regularly both in Tampere and at festivals around Europe, the most recent of which were Sofia Improv Festival 2023, Trondheim International Impro Festival 2022 and Improfestival Karlsruhe 2022. Her hobbies include riding her bike, playing dungeons and dragons, climbing things, and napping with her cats that are named after different types of Finnish fireplaces.
🟣 Liam Webber
Liam is a British improviser and theatre-maker known for his joyful and mischievous style of play. Liam has performed all over the world from New York to Copenhagen to Wellington and beyond, is co-founder and director of the Robin Hood International Improv Festival in Nottingham, and two-and-a-half years in Sydney where he worked with Improv Theatre Sydney as their shows and festival director.
As an improviser he has been influenced by a wide variety of schools of thought. A graduate of iO Chicago’s intensive programme, he’s worked with improvisers from all over the world, to Olivier award winning actors, to Gaulier clowns.
In 2022, he was a cast member on UK national radio show Dead British – an improvised history comedy show, and his masked theatre show CRONE (★★★★ – Everything Theatre) got him shortlisted for the BBC New Comedy Award. On stage and in the classroom, Liam prioritises joy, connection, and creating just the right amount of chaos.
“Extraordinary Performer… Excitingly Peculiar” – The Scotsman
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