Synopsis:
‘Drivers’ is an improvised theatre show format exposing the desires that fuel human behaviour by allowing the audience to hear the internal stream-of-consciousness monologues. The usually unheard cacophony of the internal drivers of every person you pass on the street is the world explored in the show, and this is the workshop that will teach you the fascinating and unusual skill needed to perform it.
Learn how to give voice to the mess of tangents, repetitions, and unfiltered concepts possessing your mind and create an effect quite different to linear storytelling. Learn how to be one of the main characters in a show, by allowing the narrative to happen to you rather than working hard to force its creation. Learn to receive limitless inspirations for fresh and vibrant scenes start without needing to think them up.
This workshop is beyond creativity, allowing you to deliver an authentic, artistic, thought-provoking style of improvised long form that allows an audience to empathise with your characters and narrative by associating with their own experiences and probably needing to discuss them with you after the show.
The ‘Drivers’ show is scheduled to take place on Sunday, 29th September, at 4:00 pm at the same venue (Stamford Arts Centre Black Box).
Important information:
Workshop participants may be invited to perform in a related show.
There will be a mandatory additional 1-hour rehearsal for those intending to perform. The related show may feature a smaller cast. Please note that the instructor has the final say on who will be performing.
Requirement: Those enrolling should have at least a fundamental level of improv training with some prior experience in scene work, but this workshop is suitable for all levels beyond this.
About the Teacher - Nick Byrne (Australia)
Nick Byrne is Artistic Director and the creator of Improvention; Australia’s original and largest international festival and convention of unscripted theatre. He is also the Artistic Director of Impro ACT, the major improvisational theatre company in Australia’s capital, Canberra.
Nick works as an actor, director, producer, and musician, in all realms of theatre and film, and has been a delegate to the Australian Theatre Forum, but improvisation is his ruling passion. He has worked in 40 countries throughout Europe, Asia, and Australasia.
In 2023, he worked in Vietnam, Spain, Belgium, and Slovenia, and even went to Kyiv in Ukraine to donate some time to the theatre practitioners keeping their arts and hearts alive.
He teaches and directs all styles of the craft, and has done so for eighteen years, producing groundbreaking shows, “The Displaced” (refugee issues), “Crescendo” (a rock band with dramas), “Drivers” (about your internal monologues), “In Person 8” (improvised impersonations), and “Parallel” (three physical stories at once), and more recently, his popular vulnerable solo show, “Inspired”.
Nick tries to make the areas of improvisation that seem difficult, easier for performers, and reduce their worry so that they can play at their peak. He also conducts workplace sessions, helping Olympians deal with adversity, and United Nations Peacekeepers remain culturally aware. He likes to explore.
Nick is fascinated by people and always aims to meet as many as possible, at festivals and arranged workshop visits.