Upcoming Classes:

In-Person: Creative Impulse and Narrative Intuition with Patti Stiles starts Thu Oct 03, 2024

Class Time/Dates: October 3 // Thursday 1:00-5:00pm

Schedule: 1 session

Prerequisite: F6 or equivalent experience. Please email [email protected] to confirm eligibility and get the access code.

Tuition: $96

As improvisers we are storytellers. Many improvisers learn a series of trained responses (say yes to everything) instead of developing their creative impulse and narrative intuition. Conditioned trained responses create predictable patterns and dull curiosity and perspective. The circle of possibilities shrink and awareness around whose story is it, what story is arriving and the possibilities in the circle get lost. Intuition is replaced with information, the unknown replaced with pattern and risk replaced with consistency. This class focuses on connection perception, possibilities, curiosity and exploration plus letting go of what we are supposed to do.

In-Person: Take That Risk! with Patti Stiles starts Thu Oct 03, 2024

Class Time/Dates: October 3 // Thursday 7:00-10:00pm

Schedule: 1 session

Prerequisite: None! Open to all adults 18 and older!

Tuition: $72

REGISTER HERE

This class is an active class with lots of exercises to have you leap into risk in a variety of different ways. It’s playful and challenging. Come ready to leap and leap and leap!

In-Person: Do Scenes, Get Notes with Patti Stiles starts Fri Oct 04, 2024

Class Time/Dates: October 4 // Friday 10:00-5:00pm

Schedule: 1 session

Prerequisite: F6 or equivalent experience. Please email [email protected] to confirm eligibility and get the access code.

Tuition: $144

Craving some outside perspective on your work? This class is focused on that. Just as the title says there will be scenes, there will be notes. Scenes will be a variety of games, topics, styles and player configuration. Notes will focus on narrative, character and improvisational technique.

In-Person: The Devil is in the Details Weekend Intensive with Tim Orr starts Fri Oct 18, 2024

Class Time/Dates: 6:00pm-10:00pm PST on Friday, 10:00am-5:00pm on Saturday and Sunday // October 18, 19, 20

Schedule: 3 sessions

Class size: 12 students maximum

Prerequisite: Foundation 3 or equivalent. Please email [email protected] to confirm eligibility and get the access code.

Tuition: $375

Sometimes I like to call improv “the process of continuously noticing”. So what can we notice in scenes and stories?

There are so many details, both big and small, everywhere around us when we improvise: the environment, objects, our characters, other people’s characters. When we take the time to look around and notice things in improv, what do we see? How we can use this information to define and propel our scenes? And what does that do to our improv in general, when we slow down and notice? There's a rich world of detail there for us in every scene, if we take the time to see it!

In this class, we’ll learn:

- how to SLOW DOWN, which makes all things possible in improvisation.

- how to SEE things in improv rather than think all the time. What can we see? The list is really infinite: what our characters are wearing, their bodies, other characters’ clothes and bodies, the places that we’re in (weather, day or night, etc.).

- how to use small details that we notice to propel us through scenes and stories, to give us richness and specificity in our storytelling.

- how to be more relaxed, present and confident as we improvise.

- how to work together to create great improvised scenes and stories.

In-Person: Hitchcock Weekend Intensive with Brian Lohmann starts Fri Oct 25, 2024

Starts on Friday, October 25

Please email [email protected] to confirm eligibility and get the access code.

Get ready to menace and be menaced! Building on the work the Online Hitchcock class explored (Mysterious characters. Suspense. Comic relief. Objects that menace,) we will expand our ingredients for the Hitchcock Homage Hot Pot. The average person caught up in an intrigue is still the basic broth, but we will also explore how environments create drama, what villains do to seem “normal,” and how staging builds tension. Join us for a frolic into fear that is inspired by Vertigo, North by Northwest, Spellbound, Notorious, Strangers on a Train, Shadow of a Doubt, Stage Fright and others. CAUTION: there will be screaming and mystery...and mysterious screaming.

In-Person: Dickens Weekend Intensive with Brian Lohmann starts Fri Nov 01, 2024

Class Time/Dates: November 1, 2, 3 // Friday 6:00-10:00pm, Saturday & Sunday 10:00am - 5:00pm PST

Schedule: 3 sessions

Class size: 16 students maximum

Prerequisite: Foundation 3 or equivalent. Please email [email protected] to confirm eligibility and get the access code.

Tuition: $375

Dive into the energy and humanity of the streets of London as seen through the eyes of master storyteller, Charles Dickens.

Well known for “A Christmas Carol,” Dickens mixes Melodrama, Romance, Comedy and Action into beautiful narratives. His character names like, Uriah Heep, Mr. Turveydrop, Lady Deadlock, Augustus Snodgrass, Sir Mulberry Hawk, Steerforth and Smike pack a whole person into a few words.

We’ll practice description and group narration, build stories using my "Protagonist, Punisher, Protector and Eccentrics" model and create a kaleidoscope of tricksters, villains, urchins, clowns, lovers and lawyers. A passionate advocate for social justice, Dickens invites improvisation with a strong moral point of view. This class will use the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Nicholas Nickleby as a guide to exuberant, theatrical storytelling.

In-Person: Boat Court Weekend Intensive with Dave Dennison starts Fri Nov 15, 2024

Class Date/Time: Friday 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM PST, Saturday and Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm // November 15, 16, 17

Prerequisite: F6 or Coach Approval. Please email [email protected] to confirm eligibility and get the access code.

Schedule: 3 sessions

Tuition: $375

Improvised Boat Court is an improv format developed at BATS Improv by Dave Dennison in 2020. It is based on a fictional show Boat Court which has been broadcast for over 25 years by multiple countries around the world. It takes place on the massive ship Boat Court which was created to bring justice to the open ocean. The ship is the largest man-made thing in the world. The show follows the largely separate worlds of the inhabitants of Boat Court. These worlds include:

1. The captain and crew who keep Boat Court functioning.

2. The judges, lawyers, and defendants of the courts.

3. The Interdiction Squad, who bring criminals to justice.

4. The Accounting Department.

5. The doctors, nurses, administrators and patients of Boat Court Hospital.

6. The IT Department.

Each show follows 4 story lines in these worlds. The story lines have long arcs. Improvising Boat Court requires starting in the middle of these narratives, by establishing back story and living in the emotional reality of the characters.

Improvised Boat Court gives players the opportunity to play in different genres (Adventure, Soap Opera, Police Procedural, Dramedy) in the same show. During the intensive we will focus on establishing character, relationship and backstory and finding variety in the worlds we create.

In-Person: Performance Games and Scenes Weekend Intensive with John Remak starts Fri Dec 06, 2024

Class Time/Dates: December 6, 7, 8 // Friday 6:00-10:00pm, Saturday & Sunday 10:00am - 5:00pm PST

Schedule: 3 sessions

Class size: 14 students maximum

Prerequisite: Foundation 2 or equivalent. Please email [email protected] to confirm eligibility and get the access code.

Tuition: $375

Perfect for those looking to sharpen their scene and game skills, this fast-paced and fun-filled class covers essential techniques every improviser needs. Explore classic and dynamic games including Alphabet Scene, Emotional Rollercoaster and New Choice. Expand your improv repertoire in a supportive environment. Plus, celebrate your newfound skills in a short but lively showcase for invited friends and family at the end of the class. Completion of F2 or equivalent experience is required to ensure everyone can hit the ground running.

In-Person: Time Machine Weekend Intensive with Dave Dennison starts Fri Dec 13, 2024

Class Time/Dates: 6:00pm-10:00pm on Friday, 10:00am-5:00pm on Saturday and Sunday // December 13, 14, 15

Schedule: 3 sessions

Class size: 12 students maximum

Prerequisite: F4 or equivalent experience. Please email [email protected] to confirm eligibility and get the access code.

Tuition: $375

Description:

Time is an underexplored facet of improv. Improvisers spend a great deal of effort talking, a lesser amount embodying the characters, an even lesser amount engaging the imagined location in which the scene takes place. How often do we make the passage of time seem real? When we order a drink, pour a glass of water, tie our shoes or open a letter, how long do these actions take and how much do we give them? Ironically, though a key principle of improv is being in the moment, we’re often detached from time. In my experience, when improvisers move at the same pace as actual humans, the scenes they do are surprising to the improvisers and engaging to the audience.

In the first part of this 3 day intensive, we will focus on scenework that honors the reality of time; slowing down and noticing what bubbles up when we are immersed in an imaginary world that moves at the same pace as reality. In the second part of the intensive we will look at multi-scene stories that are told out of sequence, and what is inferred when we consciously leave gaps in time for the audience to fill in. The intensive is open to all students who have completed Foundation 4 (or equivalent).

In-Person: Ensemble and Energy Weekend Intensive with Tim Orr starts Fri Dec 20, 2024

Class Time/Dates: 6:00pm-10:00pm PST on Friday, 10:00am-5:00pm on Saturday and Sunday // December 20, 21, 22

Schedule: 3 sessions

Class size: 12 students maximum

Prerequisite: F3 or equivalent experience. Please email [email protected] to confirm eligibility and get the access code.

Tuition: $375

What are the skills which allow a group of improvisers to perform at their highest level? How do we work, together, to make magic in the moment? In this class, we will take a look at the vital and dynamic role that “ensemble” (literally meaning “together” in French!) plays in improvisation.

What is our personal responsibility in terms of bringing fun and positive energy to any class, workout or performance? Are we open and able to both “bring the fun” when needed, and also to “have fun” when others are taking the lead? Leading and following simultaneously – the big ying/yang of improv!

In this workshop, we’ll work (and play) with the skills needed to both create, and be part of, a dynamic and stimulating improv ensemble!

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We have community standards, a conflict process, and a COVID prevention policy in place. Agreement/acceptance of these policies is required to participate in BATS classes. Please use the links above to access and read these policies, and check the boxes during registration to indicate your agreement/confirmation.

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BATS Improv Class Refund Policy

• If you cancel more than 96 hours (4 days) before a class begins, we will refund your tuition less a 15% processing fee.
• If you cancel within 96 hours (4 days) of your first class, or any time after your first class session, your tuition will be forfeit.

In the event that we cancel a class due to insufficient enrollment, we’ll refund your tuition in full.

Other BATS Classes: