PRICE
$660 + GST (Payment Plans Available)
DAY
Wednesday Nights
DATE
10th of September - 29th of October
TIME
6:30pm - 9:30pm
This 8-week course is designed to empower actors with the core skills of improvisation: deep listening, truthful reacting, dynamic character-building, and trusting the moment. Participants will sharpen both their comedic and dramatic instincts, and learn to work with imaginary space and situations with intention and precision. Skills that translate powerfully to both stage and screen.
Nathalie Antonia and Andy McPhee on the set of “Dreamline”.
A sketch comedy written and directed by Nathalie Antonia.
In a time of ever-increasing self-tapes and on-camera auditions, these are exactly the tools that help actors stand out. Through a blend of scene work, games and exercises, actors will build confidence, spontaneity, and emotional presence, all while having a lot of fun. Whether you're just beginning your journey or are a seasoned performer, this class will push you out of your head and into the present, where the most honest, compelling and unexpected acting happens. Improv is also deeply playful and fun, and that’s where creativity thrives. In a space of laughter, risk, and curiosity, actors discover new instincts, bolder choices, and greater artistic freedom.
Improv class at “The Improv Station” in London, United Kingdom
You’ll learn to honour your impulses, speak from your truth, and create characters that feel real and compelling from the inside out. Improv helps strip away self-doubt and overthinking so you can fully inhabit the present. You’ll leave this class with a deeper trust in your voice, your choices, and your body as your most powerful instrument. Because in the end, you are the instrument, and when you trust that, you become the actor people can’t take their eyes off.
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.
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.
Week 1: Introduction to Improv & Core Principles
The session will begin with icebreakers, name games, and simple warm-up activities like Zip Zap Zop and One-Word Story to build trust and encourage group mind. Participants will explore the "Yes, And" philosophy, practice active listening, and learn to use their environment and objects to create dynamic, believable scenes.
Week 2: Agreement & Support
Building on the "Yes, And" principle, participants will engage in exercises focused on accepting offers, group storytelling, and support games to deepen collaboration. The session will also introduce concepts like status and emotional agreement, while encouraging personal breakthroughs through reflection and the intentional use of physical space to support character and emotional choices.
Week 3: Character & Emotion
This session focuses on character development through games like “Walk Like...” and “Emotion Party,” emotion scale exercises, and status swaps to explore strong emotional points of view. Participants will use objects and environment to influence character choices and physicality, followed by group reflection to deepen character discovery.
Week 4: Scene Work Basics
Participants will practice initiating clear, engaging scenes by focusing on the fundamentals of Who/What/Where, quickly establishing relationships, and raising stakes. Through short two-person scenes with feedback, they'll learn to use the environment to instantly convey mood and location, creating more immersive and grounded storytelling.
Week 5: Conflict, Tension & Game of the Scene
This session emphasizes recognizing unusual elements in a scene and exploring them through patterns, action-driven choices, and dynamic exercises like “New Choice” and “What Comes Next?” With side coaching and continued object work, participants will learn to heighten tension and support scene dynamics using their environment.
Week 6: Group Scenes & Ensemble Work
In this session, participants will explore multi-person scenes, learning to balance offers, avoid steamrolling, and support from the sidelines through techniques like tag outs, walk-ons, and edits. They'll also practice structured long-form games while using shared objects and environments to strengthen group dynamics and foster collaboration.
Week 7: Long Form & Format Exploration
This session introduces foundational long-form formats like Montage, Harold Lite, and Armando-style, with a focus on building interconnected scenes and practicing callbacks and reincorporation. Participants will rehearse showcase scenes while exploring how recurring objects and environments can shape and unify the long-form narrative.
Week 8: Showcase & Celebration
The final session includes warm-ups, energy-building exercises, and run-throughs with feedback leading into a performance. It concludes with class reflection, celebration, and final exercises that incorporate environment and object work to showcase each performer’s growth.
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. A graduate of the National Film & Television School and trained at UCB and Second City, Nathalie has performed and taught improv and sketch comedy all over the world.
She has written and improvised alongside some of the world’s funniest talent, and has created sketch shows and 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, and is currently developing original projects for television.
Known for her sharp comedic instincts, bold storytelling, and joyful teaching style, Nathalie brings humour, depth, and real-world experience to every room she steps into.
