Synopsis:

Devised by improv friends during their stay in Beijing a decade ago, Wishing Well is an improvised long format where wishes are gathered, characters hold on or let go of them, and gifts are received or returned. 

Will the wishes be granted?  Will fate be kind? Will the universe of characters support and listen? Only improv scenes will tell. 

Let us explore characters and time jumps, triumphs and failures, monologues and scenes, while playing average and playing truth. We aim to share the basic structure of the format, facilitate relevant exercises, and play a couple of Wishing Well runs during the latter half of the workshop and share feedback as facilitators. 

Dive with us into the Wishing Well.

Important information:

Kindly note that the workshop venue is on the 2nd level and is not wheelchair-accessible.

Long-form experience is not required, but a plus.

About the Teachers - Ariel Diccion (Philippines) and Jeffrey Schwab (USA/Taiwan)

Ariel Diccion (SPIT Manila, Philippines)

Ariel performs with SPIT Manila and Beijing Improv (English Players and Bilingual Improv Group – BIG), premier improvisational theater troupes in their respective cities. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Performance Studies at the University of the Philippines. His research interests on ritual, drama, ìmprov theater, performance and the trickster archetype inform his work and play.

When improv onstage and graduate studies allow him, Ariel teaches with the Department of Filipino at Ateneo de Manila University. He was also a visiting faculty member at Peking University and at Beijing Foreign Studies University, engaging students to learn Philippine Language and Literature.

Jeffrey Schwab (Formosa Improv Group, Taiwan)

Cofounder of Formosa Improv Group (FIG) as well as Bilingual Improv Group (BIG-Beijing), Jeffrey Schwab has lived in Asia for 20 years and is currently based in Taipei, Taiwan where he spends his working hours as Chief Learning Officer in an IT company. 

Jeffrey continues to integrate bilingual improv within applied and community workshop settings and performs regularly in Taipei. With a strong experimental mindset, Jeffrey enjoys building collaborative bridges with unlikely partners and embraces the learning that accompanies life’s curious challenges, fantastic failures, and awkward amazement.