Building Character: a crash course on Improv and Puppetry.

Improvisation and Puppetry are two of the oldest forms of storytelling. The roots of which are based on colorful characters, relatable scenes, and physical movement. By studying the core ideals of each art form you can expand your own abilities as a performer. This workshop aims to provide you – the performer – with a specific set of techniques that will help you develop more robust characters, create more compelling scenes, and perform improv with puppetry in a powerful, confident manner. After more than a decade of performing around the country these are the same techniques that Underhanded Improv focuses on in every single show and has found to be effective in front of audiences. In the first half of the workshop Peter will lead you through some short intensive scene work, help you discover ways to quickly snap into character, and offer some personal feedback on how you play. In the second half Sam Locke focuses on the operation of hand puppets as tools for characters in improvisation and methods for creating powerful scenes via Puppetry. He'll also cover methods for bringing the puppet to life using movement, posture, and your voice.