Lockdown 2 Update

Classes

Any real-life classes (with one exception who we are emailing separately) that were due to run on Monday 2nd, Tuesday 3rd or Wednesday 4th November we will still be doing these in-real-life at the normal venues at the normal time.

For any real-life classes happening from this Thursday 5th November up until this Christmas we are now converting to online.

We’re gradually emailing each course today to let them know, and before the first online workshop we’ll be emailing each course the login for zoom for each week.

The classes will take place with the same teacher, the same team, and happen at the same date and time as originally planned.

Real-life classes from January onwards (already up on the website) we are planning to do in-real-life as planned, lockdown situation permitting.

We also have a new season of online specific classes up on website starting over November and December to help people keep having fun over lockdown.

Why are they running online instead of being postponed?

At the first lockdown back in March we decided to postpone real-life courses instead of moving them online, because we thought that lockdown would be under a month. However, the 1st lockdown was much longer than we expected and it meant courses were postponed for over half a year and some even postponed until next year, with groups losing momentum and not everyone making it back to the rescheduled dates. During the 1st lockdown we, and a lot of our students, really missed the courses and we actually wished we had just kept things going online as it turned out to be really fun.

This time around the 2nd lockdown is meant to officially finish in early December but there is no way of us knowing if this is true or what the situation will be like after that. Also this time around we have built up over 7 months of experience of teaching online improv so know what we are doing and know how to make it fun. We also believe running our courses online during this will give people a fun thing to do during lockdown, keep the team together and stay sociable!

Online improv is really fun, really sociable, and much better than getting stuck with nothing to do during lockdown!

Is online improv any good?

Yes! It works surprisingly well and is really fun, in fact our online classes have been recommended this year by The Guardian, The Evening Standard, The Londonist, BBC Radio 4 and more.

We’ve been running them every day of the week for over 7 months now and have built up a really good system and training for our teachers.

“The Zoom medium works surprisingly well. Our teacher, is chipper, instructive, inventive and uses zoom features to great effect.” – The Evening Standard
“Take an improv class with Hoopla to improve your creativity and help you break out of a rut. It also gives you the chance to meet new people.” – The Guardian
“Always wanted to have a crack at improv comedy? With Hoopla running online now’s the time.” – The Londonist

How does it work?

We run it over zoom. Before the first online workshop we’ll send you a link and password for the zoom sessions for each week. You just need a laptop (or phone or ipad if you don’t have a laptop) with internet access, mic and camera. The built in camera and microphone work fine, you don’t need special equipment. At the start of the first online session the teacher will talk you through how online improv works and explain all the features. It takes about 20 minutes to get used to but after that it feels just as much fun as a normal course.

What if I don’t have internet access or suitable tech?

Let us know on email ([email protected]) and you’ll be able to use your remaining workshops as credit for anything in the new year.

Can I wait until real-life things are back?

Yes. Let us know on email ([email protected]) and you’ll be able to use the remaining workshops as credit for anything in the new year at any point.

When will your real-life courses be back?

We don’t know, as it depends on the lockdown and tier situation. On the information currently available we are planning for real-life courses to be back from early January, and they are already on the website. If however lockdown was extended then these courses would also be converted to online, rather than be postponed. So anything you see on the website for January/February is definitely going ahead on the dates and times as planned.

If lockdown ended and London was in a Medium or High tier we would do January courses in-real-life, as we had already planned for this and already had all safety measures in place for this. We had already been successfully running real-life courses since September (and for 16 years before that) so know how to run improv safely while keeping things fun.

If lockdown ended and London was in a Very High tier we may have to finish real-life courses online, it would depend on decisions on a local level and us further assessing things closer to the time.

Whatever happens, real-life or online depending on lockdown situation, all January and February courses are going ahead on the dates and times on the website. We aren’t postponing courses again.

Shows

All shows for November we are now rescheduling for January, with the same groups and the same times.

Angela our Producer is currently messaging all the groups booked in to reschedule, and also messaging anyone who had booked tickets. Tickets will be automatically rescheduled to the different dates, and if people can’t make the new dates they can be refunded.

Shows for December we have left in our schedule and will be putting up on the website this week. They will be going ahead in-real-life if lockdown ends on December 2nd as planned.