The Mechanics of Trust: approaches to starting a scene

Everything you need for a great organic improvised comedy scene is there in the first few seconds. Practise and develop the skills to trust yourself and your own awareness, and become a great stage partner.

Lizzy Mace & Sophie Pumphrey are running a series of drop-in workshops with their special brand of organic improv training.

Think Less – Do Less – Be More

We’ll show you how to take apart the dynamics of relationship game to give you the power to create great comedy. We coach you to have confidence simply being on stage without stressing out behind over-complicated ideas. Fun, focus and physicality. Practical solutions, lots of stage time, personal feedback and a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

“The freedom and true fun of their approach is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done for myself on stage or off.” Workshop participant, 2017

Work on:

• good acting and stage presence
• using physicality and emotion to inspire the games in the scene
• simplifying things down to their essence so you can squeeze the most fun out of them,
• connecting to yourself so you can make electricity happen with your team on stage.
• telling the truth – being vulnerable and in being vulnerable – being wildly attractive
• creating imaginary worlds, massive, glorious, uplifting lies that make their own sense.

For a short introductory period, Charm&Strange will be at Theatre Deli 7pm – 9.30pm for 4 Thursdays:
June 28th
July 5th
July 12th
July 19th

Each session is £14
Book all four and get a special discount of £45

These workshops are perfect for people who have some improv, acting or performance experience and want to get deeper into listening and freeing themselves up to follow their impulses.

People love being coached by us:

“The teaching style that is being developed here is so useful … It really is a completely different approach to other teachers/places I have learnt.”

“It feels like being in an improv laboratory.”

“Sophie and Lizzy create a safe and immensely enjoyable and grounded space to explore who I really am as a performer (rather than who I think I should be). The more I work with them, the more I realize that all the moment calls for is who I already am and what I am feeling in the moment.”

Facilitated by Sophie Pumphrey and Lizzy Mace.

Lizzy trained in acting at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and studied improv and sketch writing at The Second City, Chicago. With well over a decade’s improv experience, she has performed at IMPRO Amsterdam, SWIMP: the Sweden International Improv Festival, ImproFestUK, the Shoreditch Improv Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, and most recently at the Adelaide Fringe 2018 with Awkwardly Quiet. Besides performing regularly with her other teams Somewhat Theatre and Big Now, Lizzy coaches organic improv team Charm&Strange with Sophie Pumphrey, and has facilitated workshops at SWIMP, in Dublin and around the UK.

Sophie directed and improvised her first play in primary school and in classically modest style, cast herself as the lead: a holy Roman emperor. The last twelve years of improvising comedy experience have seen her causing distress on stages across Britain, Sweden and Korea. She has studied acting at the Actors Temple, clown at LAMDA, and improv with Dave Razowsky among many others. She won the coveted Cavendish Cup in 2016 for improvising a stand up set as well as achieving in 1986 a 10m swimming badge. Besides performing regularly with her other teams Big Now, SWT and T-Minus, Sophie coaches organic improv team Charm&Strange with Lizzy Mace, and has facilitated workshops in Rimini, Dublin and around the UK.

Book your place here: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3461961

For updates, join the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1073465906164062/