I spend ages thinking about writing blogs and never write them. Sometimes the best time to write them is late at night and not think about them. Much like improv, don’t think about it just do it. So here goes a ramble… I’ve got to admit I’ve been confused about things. Recently as a company[…]
Hoopla is excited to announce that we are going to be organising a UK & Ireland Improv Festival!! We will be gathering the best groups in the UK & Ireland in one place, Hoopla Impro! From Friday 26th – Saturday 27th April 2019. The weekend will be a mix of headline acts and new groups from[…]
Hi everyone, We usually write these sort of blogs at the end of the year but we just thought why not now. We’re just in a natural break between teaching seasons and want to take the time to say thanks to everyone involved with Hoopla. If we miss you don’t worry you’ll be in the[…]
Hey there future long-formers! Upon finishing the level 2 and level 3 course and having done your first ever Hoopla improv shows (congratulations!) there’s a good chance you’re thinking about what comes next when you move onto the Long-form course. In brief, long-form gives a lot more freedom to an improviser and more possibilities for[…]
Hoopla teacher Phil Lunn shares his favourite warm up exercises for musical improvisers and how they are helpful. Diddly dum. The phrase is “Diddly dum diddly dum diddly diddly diddly dum”, and we pass it around the circle, one person saying a word at a time. Once that’s sorted, we walk around the room and pass[…]
We caught up with Susan Harrison to find out about her Character Course at Hoopla. Hi Susan, what can people expect to be doing on your course? The character course is a fun and energetic opportunity to improvise numerous characters and to explore the various routes in to characterisation. Students will be on their feet[…]
Hoopla Teacher Liam Brennan shares his favourite games for first time performers and why they are good to play. Story Director Story Director is a good shout for first-time performers as they can focus on the pure act of improvising. The performers simply have to listen to the ongoing story and take over when it’s their[…]
Fun Short Form Games for Beginners Have you learned some games at one of our improv classes, and want to explore more? Or perhaps you’ve seen some games played at one of our shows and you want to know how they work? Check out these five fun short form games from teacher Rhiannon Vivian! Oracle[…]
You know the score. You’re due on stage in about 20 minutes, but there’s a show already going on, cupboard at the back is full of people singing, and the bar downstairs is full. You and your team need a space to warm up, FAST! Bright idea, you go outside, oh no this is England,[…]
James Witt shares his favourite exercises from his beginners improv course. Shared Holiday Talking about a shared holiday in pairs and starting every new sentence with ‘Yes And’. This really gets the players on the same page in a fun and inventive low-pressure way. I find it a good bonding exercise too and often my[…]
Here are Hoopla teacher Rory Vieyra’s favourite improv warm-up games and what they help with. Mimic Everyone stands in a circle and someone says something. It can be a movie quote, song lyric or something from real life. The next person in the circle observes the person saying the quote and then mimics exactly what[…]
Rhiannon Vivian’s Top 5 Tips for Beginners So I think the best advice has to come from your own experience. Despite having done improv for ten years now, I still remember my first class as clear as day. With that in mind, here’s my top 5 tips for beginners that you can apply in any[…]