Terje's Info
Artistic director of Impro Neuf, Norway’s largest and most inclusive improv community. We have several workshops and two shows per week in Oslo, both in Norwegian and English.Founder of the Oslo Impro Festival, Tøyen Impro and MindMeld (applied impro)
I’ve been teaching and performing in Norway and abroad for the last four years. I also coach a team.
Bachelor’s in Drama and theater communication (drama pedagogy) and IT. Have studied clowning, mask work and storytelling.
I’ve been teaching improv in Norway and abroad for the last four years. Since January 2017 I've been teaching weekend intensives for Tøyen Impro levels 1-3, as well as building the curriculum. I've also studied clowning, mask work and storytelling.
Currently I'm running MindMeld, a company doing Applied Improv for corporate or organizational teams who wants to get better at collaboration, communication and creativity. My teaching education comes from my Bachelors of Drama and theater communication (drama pedagogy), as well as teaching a lot at Impro Neuf, various organizations, festivals, and my most challenging experience so far, a week-long improv course at a summer camp for young adults with mental health issues. I also coach improv teams in Oslo.
My main training curriculum:
All available levels here in Oslo
The Loose Moose International Summer School in Calgary (10 days)
The iO Theater Summer Intensive in Chicago (5 weeks)
The iO Theater Summer Intensive Advanced (2 weeks)
The Annoyance Theater Intensive in Chicago (1 week) x 2
The Annoyance Theater Intensive part 2
Three summers of Ten Days with Keith Johnstone in beautiful Denmark (30 days)
Actor brain vs. Writer brain with Will Hines (5 days)
Thinking big and small at the same time with Steve Waltien (5 days)
It's hard to describe one's own teaching style, but my main focus is always to create a safe environment for the group by building trust. When trust have been established the participants are able to explore, celebrate failure and learn (especially when it comes to beginners). I teach both longform and shortform. The focus of a workshop or course could be anything from basic techniques and skills to character, format and groupmind. I do my best to adapt my teachings to the needs and wishes of the group as well doing my best to take care of the individual.
Maybe it's easier to describe what kind of teacher I'm not: I'm not going to yell at anyone. I'm not
going to call anyone stupid. I will insist that everyone take care of their partner. I will not tolerate
inappropriate behavior.
Depending on the goal of the workshop I like to mix it up a bit during a workshop, meaning: to avoid extended sitting or standing I try to add in some more physical stuff, to keep up the energy and focus of the group.
For more info: http://https://www.toyenimpro.no/terje
"The support / encouragement from the teacher's side. I find it important, as improv itself is quite out 'of the comfort zone[' kind of activity, the encouraging attitude of the teacher really helped me to get more out of the workshop." - anonymous
"Very good in giving tips, simple and practical examples about what can be a good way to have a nice time on stage with our partners" - anonymous
"Terje is a very good improv teacher, and he has a very good skill to adapt content to the participants' interests and levels" - anonymous
