Background on Hoopla
Hoopla aim to make impro open and accessible to everyone.
Hoopla provide a fun, friendly, encouraging, trusting, safe and supportive environment where people can enjoy learning, performing and watching improv.
We believe that everyone from all backgrounds can enjoy improv. We aim to provide the best training, resources, shows and community that we can to support all improvisers and audiences.
We aim to provide a environment to people of all ages, genders, ethnic backgrounds, physical abilities, cultural views, sexual orientations, religions and nationalities, and are currently working to encourage greater diversity and accessibility in the improv scene.
To help this we also ask our students and teachers to follow the guidelines below
This helps us to create a spontaneous and supportive environment for improv.
- Support each other, on stage and off stage.
- Work together as a team.
- Listen to your scene partner.
- Collaborate with your scene partner, unless it is unsafe or demeaning to do so.
- Respect physical boundaries and don’t do anything physically dangerous to yourself or your scene partner.
- Respect sexual boundaries, on and off stage.
- Improvise from a place of fun, love, kindness and respect for your fellow improvisers and audience.
- Safety, trust and support is always more important than the temporary existence of an improv scene. So if in doubt, stop the scene, and you won’t be made to feel bad for doing so.
- Difficult subject matter in scenes is to be treated with full emotional intelligence, and your teacher is there to help you with this.
- Help us to create an environment free from harassment of any kind, on and off stage.
- Please refrain from alcohol or drug use before workshops and shows.
We ask our students, teachers and performers to respect this at all times.
It also helps us to run a fun workshop if you can turn up on time and not use mobile phones in workshops.
If you are concerned about anything
If you have a concern or complaint, or are worried about the behaviour of a fellow improviser, teacher, director or audience member, please talk to your teacher or contact one of the following diversity officers:
Steve Roe, [email protected]
Company Director, Hoopla Impro.
Angela Pollard, [email protected]
Producer, Hoopla Impro.
Jessie Rutland, [email protected]
Training Manager, Hoopla Impro.
Your concerns will be listened to and follow up actions agreed and carried out where appropriate. All concerns will be addressed in the strictest confidence between you and your diversity officer only, and will not be communicated to anyone else in Hoopla without your permission.
Talking to us helps us to continue to provide a safe and supportive space.
Other Links
>> Code of Conduct Policy for Performers.
>> Code of Conduct Policy for Teachers.
>> Teaching Difficult Scenes Guide.
>> Diversity and Accessibility Policy.
This document is open to feedback
Our Code of Conduct & Diversity Policies come from recent consultation with various improvisers, performers, students and diversity officers.
We also received advice and information from other theatre companies, organisation and unions.
We are now at the stage of receiving public feedback, and we’d appreciate your thoughts. If there is anything you would like to add or change please contact us.