WORKSHOPS
The 2024 Miami Improv Festival features 7 incredible master class improv workshops taught by some of the best instructors in the industry. Workshop spots are selling fast and will sell out soon, for more information on workshops and to get your spot now go to WORKSHOPS!
Saturday, January 13
10:00 am
Fix It or Make It Worse
$100 - $120 SOLD OUT!!!
Instructor: Susan Messing
This class is pretty self-explanatory. Let’s break improv wide open, take rules out of the picture, and celebrate comedy again. If you’re in your head, this’ll rip it out. Perfect for people who have studied too much and learned too little.
Do Scenes Get Notes
$100 - $120 [BUY NOW]
Instructor: Joe Bill
Just like the title suggests, in this workshop you will do lots of scenes and get feedback and coaching both during and after the scenes you perform. I'll give both general feedback and personal feedback and include some psychological tips for being present and connected in 3 contexts of scenes, Comedic, Narrative and Truthful Relationship.
Saturday, January 13
2:00 pm
YOU + ME = MAGIC
$100 - $120 [BUY NOW]
Instructors: Tara DeFrancisco and Rance Rizzutto
The royal yes and is more than saying yes, it's agreement between actors and pure connection with characters, leaning into whatever magic is found between them for the 3-5 minutes we share. If we are missing connection with our partner, what has this all been for? This workshop will focus on two person scenework (and positive connection tactics that happen backstage) to set us up for trust and enrichment of the window of time we get each scene together onstage. We'll play within slowed-down scenes with side-coaching along the way - with an eye on what-to-do when we add larger team opportunities, team challenges, and magic moments that only live tonight.
Don't Step Over the Dead Body
$100 - $120 [BUY NOW]
Instructors: Susan Messing + John Lehr
Building on the bitch session that is Fix It or Make It Worse (it doesn't matter if you took that workshop or not), let's use our delicious specificity to blow this shit out of the water. Using first person monologues, we work with organic story structure and make some magic!
Sunday, January 14
10:00 am
Your Stories, Your Solo Show
$100 - $120 [BUY NOW]
*Includes a student performance on Sunday at 7:00 pm at MIF 2024!
Instructor: Joe Bill
In this workshop, I'll teach you storytelling techniques to use when you are delivering semi-scripted and improvised personal stories. I draw from years of experience teaching techniques for "Armando Monologues" AND training corporate people/non-actors storytelling techniques in Business and Leadership Contexts. Everyone will receive coaching and feedback and I'll also share the process I went through to write my Solo Show, Rough Cuts: Surviving Consciousness.
Duo Improv
$100 - $120 [BUY NOW]
*Includes a student performance on Sunday at 7:00 pm at MIF 2024!
Instructor: Stacey Hallal
In this workshop, you will learn the ins and outs of two-person play. You will practice identifying and playing grounded and absurd characters, take a deep dive into position play, and delve into dynamic contrast to keep scenes and duo shows energized. This workshop is open both to individuals and duos.
Sunday, January 14
2:00 pm
Building Character
$100 - $120 [BUY NOW]
Instructor: Stacey Hallal
Sometimes, despite our best intentions, we end up showing up on stage as ourselves. In this workshop, you will learn the tools to unleash the wide variety of characters locked inside of you! We will explore all aspects of character building from inspiration to creation to variation and beyond. Please dress to move in this workshop.
Instructor Bios
Susan Messing
Susan Messing, a NJ native and graduate of Northwestern University’s Theatre School, has been an improviser and comedian for thirty four years. She is an alumna of the iO Theatre, Second City’s Mainstage, and a founding member of Chicago’s infamous Annoyance Theatre. Susan created and has taught her curriculum at iO and iO West, The Annoyance Theatre, The Second City, and around the globe. Susan has been an adjunct instructor for Loyola University, DePaul University, The School at Steppenwolf, and currently teaches for The University of Chicago. Her standup act with her puppet, Jolly, was featured at the HBO/US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and NBC’s Late Fridays. Her most impressive bit movie role was as a bad stripper in a halo brace in Let’s Go to Prison! She performed at the iO with Blaine Swen in ‘Blessing’ with Norm Holly in ‘Molly,’ at The Annoyance in her critically acclaimed show, Messing with a Friend, and with The Boys at The Second City. She was in the lineup for the TBS/Just For Laughs festival all five years of its residence in Chicago. She presented ‘Braving the Unknown’ at TedXUofC in 2014. However, the world is currently burning, so right now she mostly teaches around the world from her basement.
- “Improviser of the Year” – Chicago Improv Festival
- “Best Improviser” – Chicago Reader
- “Funniest Woman in Chicago” – Chicago Magazine
John Lehr
John Lehr is one of the original Geico Cavemen from the wildly successful commercial campaign. He appeared in dozens of spots, including the first commercial as a caveman boom operator, the caveman in therapy with Talia Shire, the tennis spot with Billy Jean King, Superbowl spots with Phil Simms and many more. John also created and starred in three 1/2 hour comedy series: “QuickDraw” (Hulu) “10 Items” (TBS) “Jailbait" (Crackle).
John has appeared in numerous television series, including “Friends” and was a series regular on “Jesse,” (Warner Brothers/NBC). His feature film roles include “The Sweetest Thing,” and three Noah Baumbach films, “Kicking and Screaming,” “Mr. Jealousy,” and “Highball.” John’s hosting credits include “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” (ABC); and “Clash of the Commercials” (CBS) with co-host Heidi Klum.
Stacey Hallal
Stacey Hallal founded the Curious Comedy Theater in Portland, Oregon in 2008 where she serves as Managing/Artistic Director as well as a regular performer, writer, director and teacher. As Artistic Director, Stacey has created the Curious training center curriculum, trains and supports the teaching staff, oversees the scheduling, production and creative direction of over a hundred shows per year and has the honor of curating the annual All Jane Comedy Festival.
Stacey has been devoted to comedy in Portland and Chicago for over fifteen years and has appeared and taught at more than 100 comedy festivals across the United States and Canada. While in Chicago, Stacey completed the iO, Annoyance, and Second City training centers. She went on to complete the prestigious Directing Program at Second City where she also taught improv and comedy writing as a member of the Second City Training Center Faculty. Stacey Assistant Directed the smash hit Second City Main Stage production, Between Barack and A Hard Place. Stacey also uses improv to help major companies better understand and communicate their brand stories with Character, LLC, a Portland-based company she helped start up in 2001.
Joe Bill
Joe Bill is widely regarded as one of the best teachers of Scenic and Comedic Improvisation in America today. He currently teaches, performs and is the Senior Facilitator & Designer of Corporate Training at iO Chicago. He is also on the faculty at The Second City Training Center where he teaches intensives in Duo Improvisation and Improvisation for Actors. He is one of the founding members of Annoyance Theater Chicago where, for 12 years, he performed in and/or directed more than 60 different shows. Joe first learned Improvisation and in 1977 studied and worked with Del Close from 1985 through the mid 90’s.
Joe tours internationally with innovative Long Form shows including SCRAM! with Jill Bernard (Huge Improv Theater – Mpls.) and the NY Times acclaimed BASSPROV with Mark Sutton (Annoyance Theater/The Second City).
Joe headlines with Chicago Improv Goddess Susan Messing in Messing With a Friend, with Lee White (CRUMBS – Winnipeg/Berlin) in their show PARADIGM, with International Improv Legend Patti Stiles (AD – Impro Melbourne) and their show Our Play, with Georgie Caldwell (The P.I.T. NYC/iO Chicago) in the (Sutton-Hallal) show In Every Life and with David Razowsky (Host A.D.D. Comedy Podcast) in Razowsky & Bill.
Joe performs in The Del Tones, The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience and Musical Armando at iO Chicago. He has played as a guest in The Scene and Chica GO-GO at The PIT in NYC, with Let’s Have A Ball and ASSSSCAT 3000 at UCB Theater in NYC & L.A and with Kornfeld & Andrews at Magnet Theater in NYC.
He has performed, directed, taught and served as an Artistic Adviser for a number of Improvisation/Comedy Theaters & Festivals all over North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa and at every major Improv Festival in The United States.
Tara DeFrancisco
Tara DeFrancisco believes in the power of connection & collaboration of improvisation on a cellular level. She is a veteran performer of 6000+ shows on multiple world-renowned stages, including The Second City, ComedySportz, and iO Chicago (on beloved house team Chaos Theory, The DelTones, Armando, HERE). Tara is internationally known for her performances in “HERE the (improvised) Musical” – a two person improvisational show called “Nothing Short of Genius” from NPR; HERE is continuously touring and has been brought to 24 countries and 80+ cities worldwide to headline. One of the best things she’s ever made is The Improv Retreat, an event gathering hundreds of US/international improvisers each year for a sleepaway conference with teachers from multiple cities to celebrate their craft, brainstormed and founded in 2012, now many years running. Additionally – She is the Co-Founder, Artistic Director, instructor & mainstage performer for revered and beloved The Nest Theatre (CBus, OH), a leading performance & educational community in Ohio, producing 25 mainstage shows year-round, a space with active COE & "no-paperwork" scholarships for those underamplified in the arts (LGBTIQ, BIPOC, persons with disabilities, vets, and those over 65). She is an esteemed educator who has created curriculum for theatres all over the world, including all four mentioned above. She is so pleased to be a Guest Professor to the Ohio University School of Performance (Athens), as well as an Adjunct Professor of Acting for Animation at Columbus College of Art & Design. As an artist, you may also hear her in voiceovers (Sirius, Rocky Rococo, Crocs, 7 Little Johnstons), in commercials or industrials (Sheetz, Dish TV, Vegas.com, US Cellular, Sears, SunTrust), in movies (The Life + Times of An Unhappily Married Man), on Internet Game Show (One Hot Dollar), and here and there in television (ABC Family, L
OGO TV). She believes in that the tenets of improvisation & vulnerability of comedy are transformational and life-changing, and hopes she gets to share the joy it has brought her with you.
Rance Rizzutto
Rance Rizzutto has been professionally improvising since 1999 on stages all around the world. Starting in Portland, OR with ComedySportz, Rance soon found his calling as a mainstage performer at two theatres in Chicago after the big move, then sustained multiple tours with Second City Theatricals aboard Norweigian Cruise Lines. In Chicago, he most connected with iO Theatre where he became an adored performer and host featured on such beloved teams Chaos Theory, The Deltones – and later, lauded two-person touring duo, “HERE, the (improvised) Musical” which tours globally as invited headliners at festivals, schools, and performing arts centers. Incredible host, teammate, and curriculum designer, his improv and prior work experience have enabled him to help businesses grow utilizing improvisation principles for their communication and team unity needs. He is the Co-Founder, Training Center Director, instructor & mainstage performer at revered The Nest Theatre in CBus, OH. In addition to his hosting hundreds of live industrials, you can catch him on an internet game show (One Hot Dollar), and you may have seen Rance in television commercials for Hewlitt Packard or Sears or hear his voice in animated commercials for Sears as well (as a bear, in case you’re wondering). His life has completely transformed due to enrichment from improvisation, and finds great passion in the potential energy and fun in the comedic arts he is fortunate to have as a career.