November 1
Oh, the Places You'll Go! Loving the Setting of Your Scene with Julia Pistell
When you learned about the parts of a story in seventh grade, plot was the cool one. Character was deep. Resolution made you cry. Climax made you blush. But what about plain, boring old SETTING? Where we choose to set our scenes can give us every single thing we need to know. We're all a product of our environment- so let's pick a great one. Bonus: no one will utter the words "non geographic location" today.
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November 8
Improv in this Economy with Daniel Davidson
We'll consider the carbon footprint of our improv ideas by mining everything created at the top of a scene before inventing more stuff we don't need and don't have room for!
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November 15
The Living Room Opener with Nate Gagnon
Everyone loves to hang around and tell stories! Learn to expand on your natural communication skills while pulling premises from your opener so you can hop straight into the most exciting parts of your scenes.
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November 29
Thank You, Santa! Get Good at Gift-Getting with Dan Russell
Are you sick of the offers you get from your scene partners being no better than a flaming bag of dog doo on your porch? Even worse -- are they giving you nothing at all? Have you considered maybe this is your fault? There are gifts to be had in every scene if you're open to recognizing them, appreciating them, and doing your share of the nurturing work of turning a perfect fine half-idea into a nice shiny whole idea. Learning to accept is the final stage.
Class Day and Time: Wednesdays from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Workshop Dates:
November 1, 2023
November 8, 2023
November 15, 2023
-- NO WORKSHOP ON 11/22 --
November 29, 2023
Prerequisites: Having taken an improv course covering the basics like Intro to Improv or Improv 101 is recommended. This workshop should not be your first formal improv instruction.
About the Instructors
Julia Pistell has performed in hundreds of improv shows across the country. A founding member of Sea Tea Improv, she was a member of both undefeated CT Cage Match teams, as well as the undefeated Upright Citizens Brigade Indie Cage Match championships. She is in the Advanced Study program at the Upright Citizens Brigade and has studied under Will Hines, Shannon O'Neill, Chelsea Clarke, Ryan Karels, Erik Tanouye, and more. She has also studied unusual improvisational forms with Hot Cocoa Productions such as Campfire, Disaster Movie, and Spoken; is a co-creator of the parody show "Sex and the Sea Tea"; and assistant directed Knuckle Sandwich Production's "Disney Reality Show." Julia's improvisational technique focuses on finding character philosophies and combining narrative styles with games. She has taught improv through Sea Tea Improv and the Hartford Stage to adults and teens alike since 2010. She and Summar Elguindy brought eight all-star teens to Chicago in 2014 to perform improv, sketch, and stand-up comedy.
Daniel Davidson joined Sea Tea Improv in 2013 and began teaching for the company in 2014. His improv background includes completing training programs at BATS Improv in San Francisco and The Second City Conservatory in Los Angeles, as well as numerous workshops at iO West and UCB NY. Daniel regularly teaches all of Sea Tea’s foundation classes, and has developed and taught performance-level classes including Improvised Tennessee Williams. He has lead improv-based workshops for Hartford public schoolers, UConn graduate students, and business people in suits. He created the long running Sea Tea Comedy Theater shows Serial Monogamist and Improvised Dubbed Movie, has performed in improv festivals across the U.S., and heard about improv performed by legends including Del Close, Robin Williams, and Miles Davis. Daniel believes good improv starts with listening and taking the time to pick up an improvised cup. He lives in New Haven with his beautiful off-brand Roomba.
Nate Gagnon is a comedian, instructor, and producer at Sea Tea Comedy Theater where he has served as Associate Artistic Director since 2018. You can find him performing with Knucklepuck, The Sketch Collective, and hosting the monthly experimental comedy night, “Show Lab”. Nate has written, produced, and performed in original works at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, as well as the Hartford Fringe Festival where in 2022 his show MOWFs was selected as Best of Fringe. When he's not on stage, Nate works in informal education, teaching STEM to all ages by crafting exciting and playful experiences.
Dan Russell is one of the founding members of Sea Tea Improv. He completed the Upright Citizens Brigade's long-form improv program and was accepted into their Advanced Study Improv program, studying under Shannon O'Neill, Neil Casey, Gavin Speiller, Kevin Hines, Anthony Atamanuik, and Lydia Hensler. Dan has also taken workshops and master classes with Matt Besser, Will Hines, Ali Farahnakian, and Kevin Mullaney, among others. Dan has performed in hundreds of improv comedy shows in and around Connecticut since 2008, as well as performances in New York, Providence, Portland, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. In November 2014 and again in June 2017, Dan co-starred as Bud Davenport in Sea Tea Improv's production of GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL! In June 2019, Dan performed with Sea Tea Improv in two shows at the Del Close Marathon in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Sea Tea Improv Touring Company and is a member of two Sea Tea Comedy Theater house teams: Part-Time Lifeguards and Director's Cut.
All Sea Tea Improv courses and workshops are subject to our education policies: Education Policies