A little less conversation a little more music please: Song and Silence in Improv.

About this event

An online 5-week course - Level: intermediate.

Explore underscored scenes with no dialogue, scenes where song replaces the dialogue, and lots more with Rebecca MacMillan & Joe Samuel.

What is this course about?

Discover what happens when we take away the spoken dialogue in our improvisation but keep music in play. Characters can be shaped by, respond to and influence the background score - subtle changes in body language, gestures and facial expressions we can often miss will speak volumes. 

In this playful course we will be working with these elements in the context of silent movies/TV and movie scenes with no dialogue, and the joy of the sung-through musical (where everything is sung with no spoken words), but we will further explore the possibilities of improv and music without spoken dialogue, by experimenting with non-verbal song, song and sound effects created by off-screen participants, and sung-only dialogue scenes. 

Some of the work we do will be subtle and delicate, some intense and dramatic, but don’t worry, we will also be doing some silly and goofy things too - (silent melodramas anyone?)

What can I expect?

• Underscored screen genres: playing with silent or minimally verbal tropes and genres we are familiar with through film and tv, from the serious to the silly.
• Non-verbal song: singing our emotions without using words. Providing these for others’ scenes.
• Sung dialogue: having some fun with ‘sung through’ technique like in…’Cats’ (but possibly better!).
• Working the body and face: working those non-verbal communication muscles to maximum effect to create characters with points of view, and to make offers and build on them.
• Background noise: creating atmosphere and even narrative for scenes using background music and sounds.

Who is this course suitable for?

• Musical improvisers who want to broaden the experience and possibilities of improvised song within scenes and as accompaniment for non-dialogue scenes.
• Non-musical improvisers familiar and comfortable with basic scenework, who would like to try something different and give themselves new palettes - music and silence - to work with.
• It’s not imperative but we suggest you try out one of our Sunday music drop-ins before taking the class if you have never done musical improv before, just to familiarise yourself with some of the basics.

When: Thursdays for 5-weeks from 13th January to 10th February 2022, 6-8 pm UK Time

Where: Maydays ZOOM room

Cost: £150.00 general / £135.00 concession

Sales close 1 hour before the start of the course, if you miss the online sales, message us via our Facebook page to see if we have any places available.

Min. participants 8, Max. 14. If we have to cancel the event due to low numbers, we will do this with 24 hours notice and send a warning email 48hours prior to the start of the course.

BOOK NOW!

If we sell out before you’ve had a chance to book, do pop yourself on the waiting list in case we have any dropouts!

If financial hardships are an issue, we are happy to offer scholarships and payment plans please contact us directly to discuss at mayday@themaydays.co.uk

Rebecca MacMillan is a founding member of The Maydays, and also plays with Impromptu Shakespeare, The Adventures of the Improvised Sherlock Holmes and Steamed! The Improv Dickens Novel. She has been performing and teaching improvisation theatre in the UK and beyond for over 15 years. She loves teaching online music classes and courses, and has developed a range of practices for non-verbal and silent improv over the years - and this course combines the two! 

Joe Samuel is the Musical Director of The Maydays. He is a classically trained pianist and violinist and is one of only a handful of professional improviser musicians in the world. He has directed and played for a baffling array of improv troupes both in the UK and across Europe as well, as playing at iO in Chicago and being the musical director of Improv Festivals in Barcelona, Poland, Romania, Finland, The Netherlands, Dublin and of course at the Maydays own festival.