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For The Improvised Shakespeare Company to create brand new plays on the spot, its members must be masters of spontaneous group work. This presentation will explore the main principles of group improvisation. Attendees will observe and be invited to participate in a variety of exercises that emphasize the importance of active listening, support, working as a team, confidence, and creativity. After an introduction to the nature of improvisation, join ISC ensemble members as they present a crash course Elizabethan dialogue and show you how to create your own Elizabethan prose right on the spot. Stay for a Q&A with ensemble members. 

About The Improvised Shakespeare Company
The Improvised Shakespeare Company was founded in Chicago in 2005. In 2006 it began an open run at the iO Theater where its hit show, Improvised Shakespeare Chicago, still performs today. The ISC performs regularly at The Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles and continues to entertain audiences around the globe. The ISC has been featured at The Kennedy Center, Bonnaroo, San Francisco Sketchfest, the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, The Just For Laughs festival in Montreal, and Outside Lands in San Francisco. They are featured regularly in NYC at Theatre 80 St Marks and the 92nd St Y and recently completed a run at the Soho Theatre in London where they were presented by Sir Patrick Stewart. The ISC was named Chicago’s best improv group by both the Chicago Reader and the Chicago Examiner and has received numerous awards in LA (Best of LA-LA Weekly), New York (New York Nightlife Awards), and Chicago (The Chicago Improv Foundation).

About Joey Bland ’00
Joey Bland is a Los Angeles based writer/performer who hails from Virginia, where he attended William & Mary. He spent many years in Chicago where he performed with ComedySportz, the iO Theater, and The Second City. For two years, Joey traveled the world with The Second City Touring Company, and in 2009, he played the title role in The Second City’s hit, original musical, Rod Blagojevich, Superstar. Television credits include “Teachers” (TV Land) and “Forever” (Amazon Prime). Joey is also a two-time Jeopardy champion.

About Brendan Dowling ’98
Brendan Dowling is an actor and writer whose recent credits include writing for and appearing in Showtime’s “Work in Progress.” Stage credits include Baby Wants Candy, The Second City National Touring Company, and The Second City Denver’s How I Lost My Denverginity. Film credits include “It’s All Good” and the award-winning short, “Curtains.” Follow along at @berndandooling

About Greg Hess ’03
Greg Hess is a Los Angeles based actor and writer. Stage credits include Cook County Social Club (UCB), the Second City national touring company, the School at Steppenwolf. Film/TV credits include: “Yesterday” (Dir. Danny Boyle), “Playing House” (USA), “Adam Ruins Everything” (Tru), “Key & Peele” (Comedy Central), “Tacoma FD” (Tru), “LA to Vegas” (Fox), and “Food the Source of Life” (Adult Swim) which he created. He has developed original pilots with Showtime, Comedy Central, Pop and Warner Bros. Greg’s writing has appeared in the New Yorker Magazine Shouts & Murmurs, Points in Case, and The American Bystander. He is the co-host of the hit podcast MEGA, an improvised satire set inside a mega church. @heygreghess 

About Martin Wilson ’02
Martin Wilson has trained and performed extensively at the iO Theater, ComedySportz, and is a long-time ensemble member of The Improvised Shakespeare Company. He can be heard occasionally on the hit comedy podcast “Hello From the Magic Tavern,” and works by day as the Director of Creative Production for the Office of Global Marketing and Communications at Northwestern University. He is a resident of Wilmette, IL, a native of Washington D.C., an avid reader, a baseball enthusiast, a husband, a dad to two high-energy girls, and a proud alum of William & Mary..