Important News: Updated: 3/27/2007Site updated! Shiny new info for the 2007 Conference! Check it out! Note: This website is updated periodically as we get more information. So bookmark now, or check back often. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or comments. See you in April! Welcome to the official site of the The 7th Annual Oberlin College Improv Conference (OCIC 2007). This year, we've put together an amazing line-up of performers and instructors all geared up to wow you with their good looks and flashy make-em-ups. Seriously, this conference packs so much punch, you should wear a mouth guard. Featuring performances by:And workshops with:
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Workshops:The following workshops are offered on Saturday, April 21st.Available time slots: 11am to 1pm, 2pm to 4pm, 4:15pm to 6:15pm. Multimedia - Fuzzy GerdesIn this mind-blowing workshop we will explore the power and possibilities of video and other media in improv. Fuzzy will wave his hands around a lot and talk about things like "freedoms and constraints" but we'll also be picking up cameras and trying things out. Moving from Short Form to Long Form - Sean CusickYou're already a great short form improvisor (really, you are) and you're interested in exploring Chicago-style longform. This workshop will leverage your skills to quickly move you into longer, more scenic improv. Learn the ideas behind scene work, relationshops, patterns, exploring themes and bringing the show together. Musical Improv - I Eat PandasAn intensive session where participants will be able to learn the basics of improvised singing from I EAT PANDAS, as well as improve on already possessed musical improv skills (if applicable). Topics to be covered include: recognizing and initiating verse/chorus and tagline songs, infusing songs with character and emotion, and ending songs with style! Although prior singing experience is helpful, it is not required. Participants must be comfortable singing in front of others. Prior (non-singing) improvisational experience, however, is a must, as this workshop will use those skills to enhance the improv singer that lies hidden in all of us! Building Tension in Scenework - Chris TrewSay less, mean more! Use the whole buffalo! Austin's "Most Fearless Improviser" uses tried and true techniques to introduce tension building concepts to your scene work. Relying heavily on patience, Chris runs improvisers through a series of exercises designed to ease the performers into grounded, tension building scenes. Women in Improv - Tami NelsonExplore what it means to be a female improviser in a largely male cast. This workshop is geared to confront those perceived challenges and then dispel them. Women in improv will take a playful and lighthearted look at gender roles in the mixed ensemble. The workshop will cover status, character choices, taboos and rocking the stage like a lady. Making Your Strength Stronger - Arthur SimoneRather than trying to develop skill sets that an improviser lacks, this workshop deals with discovering and heightening each individual performer's inherent strengths. Find that special voice, make it louder! Get Out of Your Head - Michael JastrochThis workshop will center on focus and listening exercises to help you become more engaged in the moment, physical and mental exercises to unlock the wealth of ideas trapped inside your brain and some good old fashioned scene work. Students will throw out any baggage they have about screwing up and relearning how to play. Semi-Improv Performance Intensive - Graeme HindeNote: this workshop takes up two workshop slots. In this four-hour intensive workshop we will use improvisation to create a brand new show, which we will unveil in front of an audience later the same evening. We will develop a premise, create a full cast of characters, and formulate plot conventions using improv techniques I've been pioneering for the past seven years. The result will be a show that combines the free-spirited charm of improvisation with the emotional depth of great writing. Students who take this workshop can expect to achieve a better understanding of how to harness their improvisation for use in written or other theatrical work. In addition it will strengthen characterization, agreement, and editing skills. This workshop is intended for intermediate to advanced improvisers and actors.
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OCIC 2007 - Schedule of Events:Friday April 20thSaturday April 21st
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Ticket Info:Each all-access conference package includes:Ticket costs:All-access conference weekend packageObies: $40 if puchased BEFORE April 1, $50 if purchased AFTER April 1 Non-Obies: $45 if puchased BEFORE April 1, $55 if purchased AFTER April 1 Individual event pricing $15 One professional workshop $5 The Big Show $3 OCIC Party $3 Pizza & Panels
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Professionals' Bios:Fuzzy Gerdes has been improvising since 1990, which means his improv is nearly old enough to graduate from high school. He's trained with Chicago's Annoyance and iO Theaters and taken workshops with improv luminaries such as Keith Johnstone and Del Close. He acts, directs, and produces improvised theater and film all over Chicago. For the last five years he's been a driving force behind the Chicago production of The Neutrino Project - the innovative film/theater hybrid created by New York's Neutrino ensemble. He also maintains the popular New Improv Page . Far too much information about his life and work can be found at fuzzyco.comSean Cusick Sean Cusick is a performer, teacher and director living in Chicago. He is a company member and teacher at the Annoyance Theater, and an instructor at the Second City's Training Center where he teaches both improv and sketch writing. He performs with the Annoyance and with the Second City's touring "EdCo" production, as well as seemingly every other venue in Chicago. Thanks for being curious enough to read this. I Eat Pandas does what it takes Andrew Lloyd Webber YEARS to do... crap out a musical from start to finish. Based in New York, the trio creates instant, spontaneous, sparkly musicals before your very eyes, complete with dancing, singing and dramatic glances. Created in 2004 as part of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre's annual 3-on-3 competition, the first time performing together they took 2nd place and ended their show with a standing ovation. Performers Glennis McMurray, Travis Ploeger and Eliza Skinner have performed all over New York and surrounding states, and in 2005 they were nominated for an Emerging Comics of New York award for Best Musical Act. They have won many challenges on the UCB stage during Cage Match and were invited to perform in the Chicago and Providence Improv Festivals and New York's own Del Close Marathon. Coldtowne formed in March of 2005 from members of two Comedy Conservatory student teams in New Orleans, Louisiana. For several months, they performed weekly at one of the Crescent City's premier theater venues, Le Chat Noir, becoming key players in the city's budding comedy improvisation scene. After Hurricane Katrina, five of ColdTowne's eight members fled to Austin, Texas, living together, begging for food together, and building a group mind that borders on codependence. Performing at Austin's Out of Bound Improv Festival, Coldtowne established their new existence as relentless and adaptable performers, come hell or high water. Since then, Coldtowne has performed long-form improv regularly at Austin's Hideout Theater, won "Best Improv Group" in the Austin Chronicle Readers Poll, and opened their own theater and training center. In addition to their training at New Orleans' Comedy Conservatory, residents of ColdTowne have trained and performed with Improv Olympic West and Chicago Second City, the Annoyance Theatre, The Upright Citizens Brigade, and as regular members of New Orleans' charter ComedySportz team. Miscellaneous ColdTowne performance venues have included the inaugural Southern Improv Festival, Harrah's Casino, iO West, iO Chicago, ComedySportz Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, and Dallas, Louisiana State University, the Dirty South Improv Festival, Austin's Frontera Fest, The Phoenix, Chicago, and Toronto Improv Festivals as well as Dallas' West End Comedy Theater, the Del Close Marathon in New York City and Austin's Out of Bounds Improv Festival and Miniature Golf Tournament. Graeme Hinde has been performing and directing improvisation since 1999. He can currently be seen performing with The Party!, a scattered band of ragged miscreants and emotional cripples who at one point all lived Chicago, and with Wilder, a glossy New York City dream team. He trained at iO Chicago, where he performed from 2002 - 2005 before moving to New York. Past credits include Sidework (director) at The Big Little Theater in New York, Happy To Be Here (director) at the Underground Lounge in Chicago, and The Snow Queen (The Devil) at the Piven Theater Director's Workshop in Chicago. In Oberlin, among dozens of improv related credits, Graeme directed Sunshine Scouts (Fall '01 - Spring '02), and created and directed Last Exit in New Jersey (Spring '01 - Spring '02), a semi-improvised episodic teen drama that sparked a sensation.
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If you have any questions, or need more info, please contact Ian Axness. |