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Intro to Improv


  • Location - TAFTA Melbourne 20 Haughton Road Oakleigh, VIC, 3166 Australia (map)

PRICE

$660 + GST (Payment Plans Available)

DAY

Monday Nights

DATE

2nd of February - 30th of March

TIME

6:30pm - 9:30pm

This 8-week course is designed to equip you with the essential foundations of improvisation: deep listening, truthful reacting, dynamic character creation, and the confidence to trust the moment. It’s fun, supportive, and the perfect space to play, connect with like-minded people, and shake off the stress of everyday life.

Throughout the course, you’ll sharpen both your comedic and dramatic instincts, and learn to use imaginary space with intention and precision; skills that translate to stage, screen, and real life. Improv helps you trust yourself, articulate your vision, show up with confidence, and feel more connected to the people around you. And yes, you will laugh, a lot. Just three hours of freedom and presence each week can unlock surprising shifts. You’ll step out of your comfort zone, and as we know, staying in that zone is what fuels stress and anxiety. This course is designed to break that cycle.

“You learn from someone who actually does what they teach every week. Nathalie brings real shows, real tricks, and real experience straight into the classroom.”

In an era of constant self-tapes and on-camera auditions, these are the tools that make actors stand out.

Through a blend of scene work, games, and targeted exercises, you’ll build confidence, spontaneity, and emotional presence, all while having a genuinely great time. Whether you’re just starting out or already experienced, this class will pull you out of your head and anchor you in the present moment, where the most compelling, honest, and surprising acting lives.

Improv is also deeply playful, and that’s where creativity flourishes. In an environment of laughter, risk, and curiosity, you’ll discover new instincts, bolder choices, and greater artistic freedom. You’ll learn to trust your impulses, speak from your truth, and create characters that feel grounded, real, and alive.

“Hands down the most fun and liberating experience I’ve had. I laughed, I improvised, and I left feeling like anything was possible.”

Ultimately, improv helps strip away self-doubt and overthinking so you can inhabit the present fully. You’ll leave this course with a stronger connection to your voice, your choices, and your body, your most powerful instrument. Because at the end of the day, you are the instrument. And when you trust that, you become the actor people can’t look away from.

An experience that will change how you see yourself and play in the world. This playful, game-changing course opens up new ways to think, act, and connect, sparking confidence, creativity, and curiosity. Step out, play, and discover new sides of yourself in a journey that rewires how you listen, respond, and show up, all with laughter. By the end, you’ll leave feeling braver, lighter, and more alive than ever, seeing what’s possible when you trust yourself and embrace the fun of the moment.

Why Improv is Crucial for Actors, especially now…

1. The Industry Demands Flexibility

○ Auditions (especially self-tapes and Zoom reads) often throw curveballs. Improv sharpens the ability to pivot quickly, make bold choices, and adapt to unexpected changes, skills that casting directors love.

2. Unscripted Content is Booming

○ With the rise of reality-based formats, sketch-comedy hybrids, and ad-lib-heavy roles, improvisation isn't just a bonus, it’s a job requirement. Directors increasingly look for actors who can think and create on their feet.

3. Improv Deepens Authenticity

○ Great acting is grounded in listening and reacting truthfully. Improv trains those muscles relentlessly, helping actors shed pre-planned choices in favor of real-time presence and emotional honesty.

4. Builds Resilience and Confidence

○ In an industry full of rejection and uncertainty, improv teaches actors how to embrace failure, stay playful, and bounce back stronger — all essential mindsets for a long, healthy career.

5. Fuels Creativity Between Gigs

○ Improv keeps your skills sharp, your ideas flowing, and your artistic energy alive when you're not on set or stage. It's also a community-driven practice — a way to stay inspired and connected.

6. Actors Are Storytellers - Improv Teaches Story from the Inside Out

○ Improv teaches not only how to perform, but how to build story and character structure intuitively — a vital asset for actors who also write, direct, or devise their own work.

Course Breakdown.

8-Week Intro to Improv Course A fun, supportive course designed to build confidence, creativity, and connection, onstage and off.

Week 1: Foundations & Trust

Settle in, meet the group, and learn the core principles of improv: “Yes, And,” active listening, ensemble support, and simple environment work.

Week 2: Yes And, Intelligence, Environment

Deepen agreement, support your partner, and play truthfully. Strengthen your Who/What/Where, expand environment work, and learn to trust your instincts.

Week 3: Object Work & Starting Scenes

Turn suggestions into grounded, dynamic scenes. Build clear worlds, make specific physical choices, and start scenes with confidence.

Week 4: Scene Work Fundamentals

Learn structure, clarity, and relationship. Practise clean initiations, raising stakes, and grounding scenes with environment and emotion.

Week 5: Characters

Discover characters through bold choices, commitment, and play. Explore the early building blocks of the game of the scene without overthinking.

Week 6: Monologues & Ensemble Play

Use monologues for inspiration, practise group scenes, and learn to share space, support from the sidelines, and collaborate fluidly as an ensemble.

Week 7: Scenes, Scenes, Scenes

Bring all your skills together. Run lots of scenes, try simple long-form structures, explore callbacks and patterns, and build trust within your ensemble.

Week 8: Showcase & Celebration

Optional performance for friends and family, warm-ups, reflections, and celebrating how far you’ve come, in presence, connection, and play.

Meet Nathalie:

Nathalie Antonia is an award-winning writer and improviser with a career spanning the UK, Australia, and the U.S. She has written for Have I Got News for You, The News Quiz, and BBC Radio 4’s The Skewer — winner of both the BBC Comedy Award and an ARIA Award — and has worked extensively in BBC writers’ rooms, developing sketches, crafting jokes, and creating original comedy content.

Trained in improvisation at UCB and Second City and a graduate of the National Film & Television School, Nathalie has performed alongside some of Britain’s finest comedy talent in sold-out shows across London, Edinburgh, and beyond. She has toured the UK teaching improv and run workshops for brands and organisations including L’Oréal, The Body Shop, Slumberjay, the NHS, refugees’ programs, and the Menopause Society. She has collaborated on sketch shows and produced award-winning short films in Los Angeles.

Now based in Melbourne, she runs the hit improv show No Scripts Given, featuring an all-star cast each week and performing to consistently sold-out audiences since May.

She is also developing original projects for television. She has developed a highly specific syllabus that blends everything she has learned with techniques and insights she believes aren’t taught anywhere else — a unique approach that helps people find their voice, take risks, and play with confidence.

  • Week 1: Monday, 2nd of Feb, 6:30pm - 9:30pm

    Week 2: Monday, 9th of Feb, 6:30pm - 9:30pm

    Week 3: Monday, 16th of Feb, 6:30pm - 9:30pm

    Week 4: Monday, 23rd of Feb, 6:30pm - 9:30pm

    Week 5:‍ ‍Monday, 2nd of Mar, 6:30pm - 9:30pm

    Week Break due to public holiday

    Week 6: Monday, 16th of Mar, 6:30pm - 9:30pm

    Week 7: Monday, 23rd of Mar, 6:30pm - 9:30pm

    Week 8: Monday, 30th of Mar, 6:30pm - 9:30pm

BOOK NOW!

Testimonials:

“Nathalie doesn’t teach you things you will forget, she teaches you tangible skills, ones that’ll improve your life/career the moment you leave the course”.

“It’ll be one of the most transformative things you ever do for yourself. You simply MUST do this course, it will change how you see and do everything, in the best way.”

“You always know Nathalie’s got your back. She pushes you, supports you, and makes you feel safe enough to experiment and grow.”

“Nathalie has this amazing way of making you feel completely safe while also encouraging you to take risks. I left every class feeling braver.”

“This course was such a laugh every week, but the best part? I started taking risks in my life I never would have before, from speaking up at work to trying new things.”

“I had zero experience with improv, and this course blew my mind. I laughed until my cheeks hurt and finally felt free to trust my instincts.”

UPCOMING SHORT COURSES

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Previous
January 6

Playing with Genres with Simone Buchanan

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Next
February 2

Term 1: ACT 1 Groundwork