Why is the Hoopla Improv Marathon the same week as Slapdash Improv Festival? Someone just asked, as they were concerned we had deliberately put it on at the same time as an act of competition which goes against the lovely relationship Hoopla and The Nursery have. I was originally just going to chat to them[…]
Some quick helpful tips on hosting an improv night. Someone just asked me about hosting an improv shows and if I had any tips, I thought the following might be helpful! Being yourself, but what self? Sometimes good hosting is as simple as being yourself. But which self? We are lots of different people so[…]
There are more Hoopla teachers than ever performing at Edinburgh this summer in a variety of AMAZING shows! We wish them a healthy happy sunny Edinburgh! If you’d like to check them out here are all the links to their shows: Max Dickins: The Committee and The Man on the Moor. Katy Schutte: Schutte the[…]
Here’s a super quick guide to improv for people who have just started an improv course or are about to. Have fun Improv is for fun. It’s playing games, making up scenes and stories, and being other people and playing with each other. Hopefully some of these things below help remove some fears and help[…]
How to give feedback when teaching improv This is about how I give feedback when teaching improv. I’m not saying it’s the right way, just my preferred way at Hoopla. Much of this is weirdly influenced by swimming coaching. I learnt to swim front crawl properly a couple of years ago and the teacher (Dan[…]
I want to let go. I like spontaneous improv. I value spontaneity in improv above everything else. I don’t care so much about the structure of a show, or format, or how clean or messy it is. I just like seeing people being spontaneous on stage and surprising themselves. I feel like any audience, no[…]
This blog isn’t going to talk about politics or dead celebrities. Not that those things haven’t been sad this year, it’s just that this is an impro blog and I’m an impro savant. Weirdly 2016 has actually been a really good year for improv, which means I have turned into this idiot in a daily[…]
Hoopla Beginners Improv Exercises – Part 2. This is part 2 of our write up of Beginners Improv Exercises from our recent courses. For part 1 please click here. Setting the Environment (things we say at start of class) We have an atmosphere of safety, trust and support. You are not by yourself, we’re playing[…]
Some quick random tips for performing improv I had a great time performing in Story Kitchen’s TheatreSports at our Comedy Club on Saturday, and the show seemed to go down well with the audience. We’ve been rehearsing lots with Story Kitchen and it all seems to be coming together, so I thought I’d select some random[…]
Beginners Improv Exercises – Part 1 This is part 1 of our write up of Beginners Improv Exercises from our recent courses. For part 2 please click here. I’m teaching lots of Beginners Improv Courses with Edgar at the moment and really enjoying them. A couple of the groups asked for a write up of[…]
Things I’m looking forward to about this season I taught the first beginners improv workshop of the season last night and it was so much fun it reminded me why I’m doing this in the first place. I love teaching beginners, it’s so exhilarating watching people do improv for the first time. I love the[…]
Europe we love you. Europe we are you. Message of love for our international impro friends.
Blog Jun 24, 2016
Hello Europe, I run an improv company in London (Hoopla Impro). I don’t really understand politics and I don’t understand fully what’s happening in our country at the moment. Usually I ban politics chats from Hoopla, even during general elections, but today I really want to send a message out to our international improv friends.[…]