Beginning Musical Improv Workshop

BEGINNING MUSICAL IMPROV
Saturday 9/13 @ 10AM-12PM
Capacity: 15 students

1. Warming up and why it’s important; the care and use of your voice
2. Building vocal confidence: exploring melody, rhythm, discovering your natural voice, ways to help if you’re not a great singer
3. Finding your own way of approaching a musical accompaniment, and your own take on the subject matter
4. Music improv as a natural extension of scenic work: exploring character, location, story, etc. to create rich and interesting songs
5. Ensemble singing: Listening, watching, taking turns, coming to a chorus, intro to harmony singing
6. Homework you can do on your own and with a group

ABOUT INSTRUCTORS:
Rick and Laura met in Chicago, driving in a crowded van with the touring company of “The Second City”. Laura broke all her dating rules by going out with an actor (worse yet, an improviser), but since then they have gotten married, had two kids, and moved to L.A., where they continue to perform, write and teach, both separately and together.

Rick & Laura lead music improv workshops at colleges, festivals and theaters around the country. They especially like helping people discover that song improv is really fun and accessible.

They also play together in the band, “The Sweet Potatoes”, performing their own unique blend of country, folk and homespun Americana, loaded with sweet vocal harmonies.

Laura is best known as the improvisational pianist on the hit TV show, “Whose Line is it Anyway”, which is back in production on the CW Network after a 10 year hiatus, with Aisha Tyler as the new host.

Laura was also on the “Drew Carey Show” live episodes, and has toured the country with “Drew Carey and the Improv All Stars”. She has sat in and played with tons of improv groups in Chicago and L.A., including The Groundlings, Improv Olympic, ComedySportz, Theatresports, Improv Institute, Opening Night: The Improvised Musical!, and Totally Looped.

While at “The Second City” Laura wrote music for the Jeff Award winning E.T.C. revue, “Channel This!” She also composed original musicals with the “Annoyance Theater” and “Theater-A-Go-Go”, including “Patty, Patty, Bang! Bang!” which won an L.A. Weekly award for Best New Musical.

Laura has written music for several indie films, including “Slice of Pie”, a written by and starring her husband. She also scored an award winning documentary about the holocaust, “Swimming in Auschwitz”, and romantic comedies, “Anatomy of a Breakup” and “Look at Me”.

Rick Hall was a founding member of Chicago’s “Improv Institute”. After touring with “The Second City”, he opened two main stage shows, “John Paul Sartre & Ringo” and “Catch 27”. Rick continues to use his improv skills as a host/presenter at meetings and corporate events, to help him handle whatever gets thrown at him.

Rick also loves writing and telling stories. His one man show, “Pigboy”, focused on stories about growing up on a farm in Central Illinois. It was chosen for the “HBO Comedy Arts Festival” in Aspen, and enjoyed successful runs in L.A., Chicago, and across the midwest. Rick has recorded a cd of several of his stories and turned one of them, “Slice of Pie”, into a short film, which has enjoyed a successful run of the film festival circuit, winning numerous awards.

Rick has used his background on improv-based TV shows “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and as a series regular on “The Factory”. He’s been on many other films and television shows as well, including “Saving Grace”, “24”, “The Middle”, “According to Jim”, and “Seinfeld”. He has also been seen in commercials for AT&T, Kohls, Claritin, Jimmy Dean Sausage, Volkswagen and many more.