Online Organic Harold Improv Course

This Experienced course runs every Thursday for 6 weeks from 3rd September to 8th October, 7.30pm-9.30pm.

Experienced (18 months+) A class for skillful players, especially those who have finished improv training programmes at their school and are looking to widen their horizons. These classes will make the assumption that you are comfortable performing longform improvisation and will push you.

Intimidated by the cult of the ‘Harold’? Curious as to what the fuss is all about? Want to take a step into longform without losing the freewheeling fun? Or just looking for a way to brush up your longform skills? Why not spend six weeks on the organic Harold with Nursery founder Jules Munns?

The basis of much longform improvisation, the ‘Harold’ is a 20-30 minute improvisation format composed of scenes and ‘games’ created fresh each time it is played. With its distinctive three-part structure, it gives a sense of coherence and unity to a show, but it is also flexible enough to change with the team, the night and content. It is an excellent training tool and sandpit to expand and improve your improvisational instincts. Once you know it, you will start to see elements of it everywhere in TV and film.

In this Nursery/Maydays Organic Harold Course, you will learn the Harold not as a magic trick, or a problem to be solved, but as a set of skills that can be worked and improved. This course is ideal both for players new to longform improvisation and those wishing to revise and deepen their Harold abilities in an environment that is both supportive and challenging.

Syllabus includes:

Games and openings: how to unpack and build an idea as a group

Point of View and character: how to make clear characters and then send them to heaven or hell

Second and third ‘beats’: how to bring back characters, ideas and patterns

Themes: how to make a show that does more than just make people laugh

For one night only: how to make each show unique and different

This six-week course will introduce you to the classic structure of the Harold as well as a variety of other techniques drawn from freeform and narrative improvisation. You will have many opportunities to practise the form and leave not only an understanding of and delight in the Harold but also a greater sense of control and boldness in all your improv.

Although we are based in the UK, Nursery/Maydays online classes are open to players from all over the world, with non-native speakers and players from other improv styles very welcome.

Jules Munns performs with the Maydays and Impromptu Shakespeare, as well as being one-half of Ten Thousand Million Love Stories. He has performed and taught across the world, from Finland to Pakistan, Malawi to Canada. He creates improv blogs and podcasts and performs online for the Nursery.

Min 4 participants, max 12.