Improv & Comedy Classes

PWYC Improv Workshop & Jam - Single Session
Improv builds confidence, teaches storytelling, improves listening and collaboration, and allows you to be present in the moment. Taking an improv class is like supercharging your creative brain! A 90 minute workshop portion will be followed by a 30 minute improv jam, exploring improv games for a fun and immersive approach to collaborative comedy.
All skill levels welcome! Pay What You Can!
- Thursday July 9, 7-9pm
- Thursday Aug 6, 7-9pm
- Thursday Sep 10, 7-9pm
- Thursday Oct 8, 7-9pm
- Tickets & Info for All Dates Here.

Physical Comedy - Series
Dive into the wide world of physicality in this four week improv workshop series. A playful, collaborative exploration of how to connect to your body and supercharge your physical choices in improv. Over the course of 10 hours we'll look physical approaches to character, storytelling, group-mind, and mime/object work. Techniques from clown, physical theatre, and movement/dance will be adapted for use in improv comedy.
- Tuesdays, Sep 8-29. Tickets & Info Here.

Musical Improv w/ Second City’s David Tosh - Single Session
Former Second City Musical Director David Tosh leads a class for the Pinch Improv community! In this workshop, participants will find a comfortable space to develop the skills and courage to perform musical improv with confidence and energy. Improv skills are required- musical skills are not, just a willingness to try! Your teacher Tosh brings experience and enthusiasm to encourage even the tiniest bud of musical improv! We will work on supporting scene partners musically, singing on topic (and off), safe use of rhyme, emotional melody, physicality and song structure. Bring an open mind to trying something new, your ability to work with others, and a willingness to push beyond your comfort zone through improvised music & song!
- Thursday Oct 1, 7-9:30. Tickets & Info Here.

Improv Fundamentals - Series
Dive headfirst into the world of Yes And in this four session, introductory workshop series! Over 10 hours this class will explore listening, storytelling, character, humour, cooperation, and presence. No experience necessary: perfect for beginners!
- Tuesdays, Oct 6 -27. Tickets & Info Here.

CROWDWORK w/ Emme Kay Kennedy | Comedy & Public Speaking Workshop - Single Session
Everyone gets stage fright, at least at first, but it can be a whole different ball of wax to stand in front of people and not melt down. Whether you're working on public speaking, stand-up comedy, hosting events, clowning, or just being the life of the party, training your body to be relaxed and open and your ears and mind to be sharp and speedy takes a little bit of leg work we do here in this CROWDWORK workshop. You'll take turns being performer and being audience, you'll take big swings at making people laugh, learn how to ask the audience questions, even how to do nothing on stage and still hold the room. Taught by Emme Kay Kennedy, local stand-up comedian, events hostess, & workshop facilitator. She has an MFA in Devised Performance from the Pig Iron School in Philadelphia and a Masters of Science in Organizational Leadership.
- Thursday Oct 15, 7-9:30. Tickets & Info Here.

BEEHIVE Musical Improv Jam Show w/ Second City's David Tosh
Former Second City Musical Director David Tosh leads a musical jam for the Pinch Improv community! Bring your open mind, come up on stage (one at a time, in duos, trios, or all at once), get suggestions from the audience, and improvise fun and funny music improv songs! Pop-rock-electro music director David Tosh will improvise with you, and provide live instrumentation (beats, synth, guitar, harmonica, trumpet). A fun community gathering place to jam some music improv short form (and some long form in the second half!)
- Saturday Oct 17, 7:30-10:00. Tickets & Info Here.

Longform Performance Ensemble - Series
Eight weeks of improv workshops with an ensemble of hilarious, creative folks, directed by Ben Gorodetsky. Develop your trust, listening, storytelling, comedic timing and group mind through a total of 21 hours of workshops. The series culminates on the ninth week with a student showcase to celebrate off your fresh improv skills in front of a real live audience! Enrolment capped at 8 participants for a more focused ensemble experience!
- Thursdays, Oct 22 - Dec 17. Tickets & Info Here.

——— PAST CLASSES———

Advance Improv Lab: New Format Ensemble - Series
A brand new class, where you’ll spend eight weeks inventing a new improv format! A total of 20 hours of workshops dedicated to building ensemble, trust, and comedic chemistry through the crafting a never-before-seen longform improv structure. The series culminates on the ninth week with a student showcase to unveil your new creation in front of a live audience of friends and family! Enrolment is capped at 8 participants for maximum stage time and ensemble cohesion!
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Improv Games - Series
Explore the hilarious world of improv games in this 4 week series. Over the course of 10 hours these workshops will cover a whole whack of short-form games, as seen on TV’s Whose Line: Party Quirks, Half-Life, Genre Coaster, Speak in One Voice, Should'a'Said, Switch-Change, Word at a Time Story and much more! If you've got a favourite you'd like to play, let's make it happen!
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

GET THE DOUBT OUT w/ Braeden Etienne - Single Session Creativity Workshop
With Spring in the air, it's time to melt those dirty icy doubts and bloom into a budding creative powerhouse. Whether you're a self-described non-creative (spoiler: these don't really exist), or a bonafide artist feeling stuck lacking, this three-hour workshop is designed to get you out of your head and into making new things. Instructor Braeden Etienne will serve up a charcuterie of their favourite improv, poetry, and creative exercises in an afternoon designed to bust down the doubts getting in the way of your creativity.  
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Spontaneous Storytelling - Series
Tap into play, listening, trust, and story structures in this two week, 6 hour class. Learn to trust yourself and your partners so you can create in the moment together. This class will emphasize autobiography as a resource for improvisation, looking at your own stories as a goldmine for comedy!
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Stand Up Comedy - Series
Try your hand at writing and performing original jokes, stories and shticks! Local comedy legend Renee Groux leads this 5 week series, capped off with a student showcase!
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Musical Improv - Single Session
Time to sing!Join instructors Rob Lewin & Karen Derrah for a 3 hour workshop on musical improv. Learn the basics of song structure, phrasing and musicality, and then apply it to your shortform improv. By the end of this class, you'll be ready to take your shower voice to the stage!
No musical experience necessary. Some improv experience recommended.
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Pinch Jam
No workshop, just an opportunity to play! Come improvise with a creative group of hilarious people.
All skill levels welcome. A double-feature with the Pinch Student Showcase.
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Longform Performance Ensemble - Series
Eight weeks of improv workshops with an ensemble of hilarious, creative folks, directed by Ben Gorodetsky. Develop your trust, listening, storytelling, comedic timing and group mind through a total of 21 hours of workshops. The series culminates on the ninth week with a student showcase to celebrate off your fresh improv skills in front of a real live audience! Enrolment capped at 8 participants for a more focused ensemble experience!
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

STYLE & GENRE - Single Session
Explore the wide and wonderful world of improvised style & genre! In this one-off, 3 hour workshop we'll look at physical, verbal and narrative strategies to emulate specific styles through improvisation on stage. This class will help you connect the genres of film, television, and books you know and love, to the improv comedy we create in the moment.
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

CHARACTERS - Single Session
Explore the bold world of character-forward improv! In this 3-hour workshop we will look at psychological, emotional, physical, and vocal approaches to playing complex, interesting characters on stage. This class will help you extend your range and open up new choices in spontaneity that rely less on doing and more on being.
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

MAKING IT MATTER - Single Session
Believe in the moment, no matter how absurd! This one-off course teaches a holistic approach to improvised scene work, focusing on: organic exploration, emotional stakes, heightening, commitment and connection. Enrich your improv, hone your communication skills, and learn how to find that fun anywhere. With instructor Cas Knihnisky.
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

TRUTH IN FICTION - Single Session
You have a unique POV and a lifetime of real life stories! This workshop one-off, 3 hour workshop will help you tap into the people, places and experiences that have shaped you, and turn them into a resource for hilarious and specific improv choices on stage. Your autobiography is your superpower, so let's use truth as inspiration for our collaborative fictions!
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Performance Class: Scared Scriptless!
Scared Scriptless is Guelph's monthly, semi-scripted improv-theatre collaboration. Actors learn real scenes from real plays and perform them live with improvisers who have never seen the script! Join the show's co-creators Rob Lewin & Emma Currie for a five-week class covering the basics of the format, including initiating with a strong choice, supporting your own moves, and finding room for mischief. The class concludes with a student showcase where the class will perform the format they've been working on!
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Sketch Comedy Writing
This 4-week course with Rob Lewin will provide you with the fundamentals of generating comedic premises and fleshing them out into full sketches. Each week you'll write sketches at home, read them in class, and receive notes on the structure and content. By the end of the series you'll be the proud author of your very own polished, original, sketch comedy script!
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Improv Games - Single Session
Explore the hilarious world of improv games in this one-off workshop with Hayley Kellett. Over the course of 2.5 hours this class will cover a whole whack of short-form games, as seen on TV’s Whose Line: Half-Life, Genre Coaster, Speak in One Voice, Should'a'Said, Switch-Change, Word at a Time Story and much more! If you've got a favourite you'd like to play, let's make it happen!
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Puppet-Prov
Explore the art of puppetry and improv with instructor Kez Vicario-Robinson in this three week series! Learn puppetry techniques and skills, and develop your unique puppet's movement and voice through improv exercises. Then grow your puppet's storytelling power, through playful collaboration with other improvisers and their puppets!
All experience levels welcome, puppets will be provided (or bring your own!)
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

STATUS
Come pull apart and reassemble the techniques of improvisational status! In this one-off, 3 hour workshop we'll look at the shifting dynamics of power on stage, and how it can be used for story, comedy, and mischief! This class will help you break habitual choices, sensitize your listening to shifts in status, and change the way you look at story and character in improv.
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Spontaneous Storytelling
Tap into play, listening, trust, and story structures in this four week class. Learn to trust yourself and your partners so you can create in the moment together. This class will emphasize autobiography as a resource for improvisation, looking at your own stories as a goldmine for comedy!
- Dates TBD. Email if interested.

Custom Group Classes
Classes designed for your group needs are available. Check out corporate & business offerings here.
For community or arts groups, please email if interested.

Photo #1 by Billy Wong
Photo #2 by Mat Simpson