Fundamentals of Improv: Level 2

Fundamentals of Improv: Level 2 is a six-class adult training series led by Highwire Improv. Participants will build the core skills needed to create improv comedy as an ensemble, make confident and playful choices, collaborate in real time, and prepare for a professional-style student showcase. The course emphasizes community, openness, creativity, and making art together.

The series concludes with a full student showcase, giving the class an opportunity to perform what they have developed together. All class supplies are provided.

When: The event page lists Wednesday, October 28. It separately describes the class series as running on Wednesdays from October 29 through December 9, with a showcase on December 16.

Showtimes: Classes run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The page lists the October 28 event time as 6:30 p.m.

Venue: Creativity Center, Classroom One, 3137 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, MD 21224.

Tickets: General admission is $249. Creative Alliance members pay $225. Each registration covers all six classes and the showcase; the member discount is applied in the shopping cart and covers the service fees.

Prerequisite: Improv Level 1 or equivalent training.

Age range: Adults.

Class content: Students will practice the foundational skills required to host and perform a professional improv showcase. Highwire Improv instructors guide participants in making silly choices, exploring comedy, creating characters and scenes, and building a cohesive ensemble.

Instructors: Keith Estrella and Sam Van Sant lead the course. Estrella began studying improv in 2017 at the Harrisburg Improv Theater and has since performed, taught, and coached in Pennsylvania and the Baltimore area, as well as online and at the Edinburgh International Improv Festival. He performs with Baltimore Improv Group’s Snake Oil and with independent teams including A++, Brad’s Dad, and Tabletop Live!

Van Sant began studying improv in 2010 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in theatre with an acting focus. She has trained with Baltimore Improv Group and performed at theaters throughout the East Coast. Her current groups include Babeprov, Sandcats, Girl Talk, and Dreamweaver. Her approach focuses on discovering what performers can build together through creativity and openness, with particular interest in honest characters and story-driven improv.

Run time: Six classes over six weeks, with each class lasting two hours, followed by a showcase.

Materials: All supplies are provided.

About Highwire Improv: Highwire describes improv as a community creating art in real time. Its “Community First” approach centers performers, Baltimore residents, and the wider improv community, while responding to exclusionary or competitive tendencies the organization has observed in improv, theater, and everyday life.