Cambridge Summer Improv Drop-ins

Beautiful long summer - sun, sea, ice-lollies - and lots of people taking holidays! Which means it can be difficult to commit to a whole 8-week course...so we're running a weekly drop-in.

A new focus every week, ranging from working with character, acting skills, slow burn scenes, genre, fun formats, finding games, producing/hosting, scene work clinic...there's a lot out there to play with! Come to learn something new, practise your skills, or just meet a new group of people.

All levels are welcome. We'll work as if you already know the basics, but if you don't, we'll support you to be able to play the exercises alongside more experienced folk.

Classes are limited to 14. Sign up in advance (very much encouraged) or turn up on the door (with cash), though bear in mind if there are more than 14 people, there may not be space for you that day. Initially, trialling through July, we'll run through August if there is demand.

About the teacher:

Carla Keen (she/they) s a professional theatre-maker and performer whose artistic practice is based in play and spontaneity. She has trained extensively in improv with teachers from Second City (David Razowski, Susan Messing), iO (Jason Schotts), as well as improbable (Lee Simpson), and Hoopla (Katy Schutte). Carla has played with various ensembles in London (The Improvised Play, Open Roads,) and is the artistic director of The Ministry of Unplanned Occurrences.

Carla has an MA in Advanced Theatre Practice from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and more recently, has trained with a number of internationally-renown clown teachers such as Deanna Fleysher, Eric Davis (Red Bastard), Lucy Hopkins, and Dre Spisto.

Carla's mission is to bring the idea of playing well to socially-engaged, community, and world-changing projects, and her classes are joyful and highly interactive. Carla is a registered Equity member with Personal Liability Insurance, has an enhanced DBS, and has undergone extensive adult safe-guarding training. Carla also ensures that students work to an agreed code of conduct.

About the pricing:

Cost is a sliding scale between £30 and £10 per session. The price is a balance between wanting the class to be accessible to as many as possible, while recognising the training and skill of the teacher/facilitator, in addition to the time to produce classes. There is a guide below which might help.

Pay more if you:

- own the home you live in, or your rent is un-subsidised by the government

- have the ability to travel recreationally once in a while

- can afford to treat yourself to the occasional splurge

- are temporarily scarce, but have a relatively high degree of earning power

- have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money

- have access to family money and resources in times of need

- have the choice to work part time, or not to work because you are financially supported

- would like to subsidise the place of someone on a lower income

Pay less if you:

- are food or housing insecure

- are supporting yourself or your family on a low wage

- have more difficulty finding employment or earning higher income due to level of education, racial privilege, disability, gender, class background, etc

- are eligible for, or claim benefits- are unemployed or earning a low income and do not have generational wealth, the support of family or partner, or savings to fall back on

I understand that all of these things intersect each of us in nuanced ways, but please pay what you feel is right for you, no questions asked. :)

(Pricing structure adapted and used with permission from Dre Spisto)