Sign Up for My Upcoming Class
All Upcoming Classes
- January 21, 2025
- January 30, 2025
- Teaching - Creative Writing Workshop at Little Fox Coffee & BooksTeaching - Creative Writing Workshop at Little Fox Coffee & BooksTime: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Need a little spark to help your writing? Join us to find out how improv can fight off writer's block in a supportive environment. Hanover resident Brian Shea, a writer and improv comedian, will lead participants through exercises and games that can help generate ideas, explore new creative pathways and just generally make you laugh. No comedy or performing experience is required. You don't even need to be a writer - just come out to get your creative juices flowing. Brian Shea (he/him) has tried to write stories for as long as he can remember. A recovering journalist, he now uses words and pictures to explain academic research. He also performs and produces improv comedy in Lancaster and Baltimore. You can read his writing on his blog - https://open.substack.com/pub/brianshea 125 Broadway
Hanover, PA 17331
- Teaching - Creative Writing Workshop at Little Fox Coffee & BooksTeaching - Creative Writing Workshop at Little Fox Coffee & BooksTime: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
- March 10, 2025
- Teaching - Pretty Flower Advanced Elective at Lancaster Improv PlayersTeaching - Pretty Flower Advanced Elective at Lancaster Improv PlayersTime: 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Embrace the organized chaos of The Pretty Flower format in this four-week class. Start with a grounded source scene before turning up the energy with tags, jumps and cuts to explore every possibility outside that world. We will explore characters, heightening and support on the way to putting together an explosively fun set. This class requires students to have completed LIP's Improv 201 or Artistic Director approval! Students must be 18 or older for this class! This Class will run Mondays from 7pm-9:30pm on the following dates: 3/10, 3/17, 3/24, and 3/31. This class has a class show on Saturday 4/5 at 5pm! Ticket sale ends at noon on Saturday 3/8! 16 South Prince Street Lancaster, PA 17603
- Teaching - Pretty Flower Advanced Elective at Lancaster Improv PlayersTeaching - Pretty Flower Advanced Elective at Lancaster Improv PlayersTime: 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
I am available to coach your improv team or teach a workshop or class. I have taught with Snacktown Improv, Highwire Improv and Lancaster Improv Players and am excited for the opportunity to work with you! I also have experience working with teens and can build custom curriculums for youth and teens.
Contact me for rates or more information about any of my offerings.
Photo by Kate Nyx
Coaching
I can coach anywhere within an hour or so of Baltimore as well as online via Zoom. I am comfortable coaching most long-form forms as well as short form. I can also help teams focus on specific skills for short periods of coaching.
Workshops
I teach several skill-based workshops as well as 2-3 hour introductions to formats. Descriptions for some workshop options are below. This is not an exhaustive list.
Be Two-Riffic: The history of comedy is filled with famous duos – Laurel and Hardy, Cheech and Chong, Statler and Waldorf. Now you have your chance to build your comedy duo resume with a workshop designed to help improvisers with the skills needed to perform as part of a duo. Exercises will focus on building relationships on stage, finding agreement and mining emotional reactions for solid scenes between two performers. We will also cover possible formats for budding duos.
Follow the Fun: Do you find yourself trying to make the “right” move in an improv scene? Sometimes, you just need to make the fun choice and trust your scene partner to come along. Examine how we can get out of our heads and see how many fun possibilities occur in regular scenework. Unlock the potential for unexpected- and sometimes silly – moves to make your scenes richer. (Also available as a four-week class.)
Improvised Teen Movie: Will the jock pick the smart girl as his prom date? Can the kids save the spring musical? And what is up with that one teacher? Learn the answers to these questions while learning a fun narrative-based format that focuses on all the fun (and none of the toxicity) of teen movies. We’ll go over musical montages, kooky characters and the way to tie together a story in a 30-45 minute set.
Tell, Don’t Show: Ever start a scene and realize 4-5 lines in that you’re not sure what you and your scene partner are talking about? Specifics can turbocharge a scene, and this workshop will arm you with the skills to bring strong details to a scene through a series of fun and fast-paced exercises.
Where’s the Beef?: Have you ever found yourself in a scene with so many tangents that you have lost track of the unusual thing? This workshop will focus on exercises to help you stay on track and avoid falling into the trap of finding new things to explore before fully playing the original game. Explore strategies to make your scenes richer and stronger in the moment by focusing on one idea that drives the comedy.
Classes
Follow the Fun: Do you find yourself trying to make the “right” move in an improv scene? Sometimes, you just need to make the fun choice and trust your scene partner to come along. This four-week skill module will examine how we can get out of our heads and see how many fun possibilities occur in regular scenework. Unlock the potential for unexpected- and sometimes silly – moves to make your scenes richer. (Also available as a workshop.)
Game Clinic: Finding yourself in a rut? This four-week skill module will go back to the basics to unlock the game knowledge you already have in order to get you back on track. Get that confidence back by homing in on the core skills needed to make your scenes clear and funny. (Game-based workshop also available.)
Harold: Provided in 6 or 8-week sessions, this class will guide students into the classic improv format. We will break down the structure to better understand how to fearlessly tackle the Harold. Curriculum can be aimed at new or advanced Harold performers.
Improvised Movie: CUT TO, AN IMPROV COMEDY CLASS! Available as a 4, 6 or 8-week class, we will break down the technical aspects of this classic form while also focusing on character and genre choices.
Monoscene: Provided in 4, 6 or 8-week sessions, this class will introduce the monoscene and arm participants with the skills to take on this challenging form. Learn how to sustain your scenes while also creating memorable characters. Curriculum can include form variations such as LaRonde Monoscene and Road Trip.
Pretty Flower/Spokane: Provided in 4, 6 or 8-week sessions, this class gives performers the skills to execute this fast-paced, gamey format. From making your base scene strong enough to stand on its own to exploring tags in in a way that leverages the skills of individual performers.