super short-form course
Whatttt???? Short-form in our advanced improv section?
That’s right! Because we believe short-form doesn’t just have to be something you do as a beginner and then leave behind; it’s an amazingly fun style in its own right that can be massively entertaining and richly rewarding for experienced improvisers to perform.
From our teacher: “I love everything about improv but what I love most of all is SPONTANTEITY, PLAY, CHARACTER AND GAMES!!! And this course has got LOADS of them!”
We’ll be encouraging 100% commitment on stage with lots of play and spontaneity. We’ll be improvising faster than our minds can keep up with, allowing ideas to fall out of our subconscious and turn them into comedy.
Characters will be conjured up immediately in the moment based on emotions and changes in the body, and raw immediate honesty will lead to fast and funny scenes and games.
We’ll be removing the blocks that stop spontaneity on the stage until we have a joyfully playful exciting team that can create hilarious scenes and games together as one.
Together we’ll learn how to make scenes and games funny. Yeah that’s right, unashamedly doing improv for comedy to make it funny for the audience.
You will be helped out of your comfort zone to challenge yourself, release your spontaneity and make an awesome sparky show.
There will be more feedback than the way we teach our level 1 & 2 courses. We’ll be looking at each game and then playing it again and again, looking at how we can make it better and funnier with gradual improvements. We’ll be honest about works on stage and what doesn’t and work together to make the best show we can.
This course is in our advanced level section so if you haven’t got any previous experience of performing improv comedy on stage it’s best to start with our Level 1 Beginners Improv Course and Level 2 improv courses first.
next available dates
Dates:
Every Wednesday for 8 weeks from Wednesday 4th June 2025, plus show on Wednesday 30th July 2025. BOOK
Every Tuesday for 8 weeks from Tuesday 14th January 2025, plus show on Saturday 8th March 2025. SOLD OUT
Time: 7pm – 9pm.
Teacher: Steve Roe.
Price: £235. Either payable all at once or with an initial payment of £100 followed by the remaining £135 once the course starts.
Venue: Theatre Delicatessen Studios, 107 Leadenhall Street, EC3A 4AF.
Tube: Bank, Liverpool Street, Fenchurch Street, Aldgate.
Ages: 18+
Only suitable for people with previous improv experience. If you haven’t got previous experience it’s best to start with at least our Level 1 and Level 2 improv classes first.
what's included
Each workshop consists will start with some fun warm-ups as always, to get you out of work mode and into the improv zone. But after that it will be a lot faster paced than our normal courses, with a variety of exercises to really stretch people and maximise improv time.
The second half of each worshop will be focussed on short-form games, and how to play them well to make a great show. We’ll be looking at classic games, uncovering some old games that haven’t been played for years, and developing some new games together to make short-form fresh and exciting.
You’ll be rehearsing with the same people regularly every week, so you progress each week, getting to know each other and building up a team with your fellow improvisers and the teacher.
We’ll be playing, playing, playing and playing some more and having a great laugh and an awesome time improvising!
Hoopla classes recommended by:
Games!
- Improvising classic short-form games and updating them to make them awesome.
- Uncovering some long-lost games not seen on the improv scene for years.
- Devising brand new games to help freshen up short-form.
Spontaneity!
- Letting out your subconscious without blocking it or thinking about it.
- Really going for it on stage.
- Being bold and taking risks.
- Going faster than you can keep up with.
- Allowing yourself to say things by accident and make those mistakes part of the game.
- Constant ongoing rolling emotional honesty as a way to be spontaneous while still being safe and supportive.
Technique!
- Simple scene structures to create a who/what/where quickly, escalate something funny and reincorporate to make a satisfying ending.
- The Circle of Expectation.
- Playing with being big and obvious from an audience suggestion.
- Telling self-contained adventurous stories in one scene.
Putting a Show Together!
- Rehearsals.
- How to gather and use audience suggestions.
- Selecting order of games.
- How to introduce games succinctly and confidently.
Making it Funny!
- Improv for comedy.
- Being immediately honest, truthful and real to generate fast exciting comedy.
- Cutting to the chase instead of waffling.
- Clowning applied to improv.
Character!
- Being emotional and letting yourself get caught up in emotions.
- Getting immediate characters based on how you are feeling right there and then.
- Getting big immediate characters based on picking up slight changes and feelings in the body.
- Physical characters.
- Emotions, reactions, being altered.
- Playing with status, voice and movement.
Commitment and Enthusiastic Support!
- How to look and be confident on stage.
- Scales of agreement and enthusiastic support on stage.
- Backing each other up.
- Putting energy into the game and show.
- How to save a game that’s crashing.
- Getting rid of the blocks that prevent team spontaneity.
Most of all it’s going to be loads of fun and lots of laughter every week!
teacher Steve Roe
Steve Roe is the Director and Co-founder of Hoopla and has been teaching improv for over 15 years.
Steve creates a friendly, fun & supportive atmosphere in workshops where people are free to play and be themselves.
Steve has experience of teaching beginners, experienced improvisers, stand ups, drama school students and professional actors.
He has also taught improv at East 15 Drama School, Imperial College London and Oxford University, and to various corporate clients including Google, Facebook, Comedy Central, Accenture, Apple, BBC and ITV.
In 2010 Steve founded the UK’s first ever improvised comedy club at The Miller in London Bridge, helping to create a vibrant community of performers and audience.
Hoopla’s Improv Comedy Club was recently recommended by Time Out, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian, The Evening Standard and The Londonist.
Steve has studied improv with Keith Johnstone, Charna Halpern from IO, Patti Styles from Improv Melbourne, Shawn Kinley from Loose Moose, The Annoyance, The Upright Citizens Brigade, Fooling with Jonathan Kay and Clown with Mick Barnfather.
Steve regularly hosts Hoopla’s nights at The Miller, as well as performing, producing and directing various groups across the London improv scene. Steve also produces and directs Hoopla’s house team programme.
He continues to support countless other shows that have popped up from Hoopla workshops and is influential in growing the UK’s improv scene.
faqs
What previous experience do I need?
You should have done our Level 1: Beginners Improv Course and Level 2: Performance Improv Course or similar amount of improv or acting somewhere else.
Do I need to have done your Level 3 Long-Form Course first?
No. You are welcome to hop straight into this course after our Level 1 and 2.
How often do you plan to do this course?
Limited to twice per year.
What if I can’t make every week?
As we’re forming a team over the course it’s best not to miss more than two sessions over the course. Please don’t book the course if you’re likely to miss more than two sessions.
What if I’m running late?
We’ll be starting each session at 7pm. Please don’t book this course if you are likely to be late on a regular basis.
What’s the class size?
Around 14 people on average.
Can I pay by instalments?
Yes. You can book and pay the £100 first instalment and pay the remaining £125 once the course starts.
How is this course different from your Level 2 course?
Different games. Higher pace of teaching. More challenging. Greater emphasis on spontaneity. More feedback from the teacher.