Stage to Play with Michael J Gellman

For centuries, Improvisation has been a theatre created by actors for actors.

Participants in Stage to Play are invited to join Michael J Gellman in a weekend Masters Workshop Intensive to play, explore and transform as we discover methods for creating and performing our own stories and myths. The ensemble will create the play idea, develop it through improvisation and present the finished project Sunday night. We will focus on the very practical tools and techniques used to explore as an ensemble and discover:

  • Playing and being truly present in the moment
  • Trusting ourselves and our characters in rehearsal and performance
  • Getting out of our own way
  • Re-discovering the JOY in performance
  • Our potential for creating unique characters with emotional and physical truth
  • Freedom to react and make discoveries in performance and script development
  • Methods of exploring and heightening for story creation
  • The 6 magic bullets for better dialogue in any improvisation
  • Ideas for creating original scripts and how to approach devised theatre projects and theatre from literary source

Exciting and inspired performance comes from the courage to work outside of our comfort zones. Come – Lets find the play inside the play.

About the Instructor

Michael J Gellman is Co-Artistic Director of Process Theatre and a former cast member of the Second City – Chicago mainstage and Resident Director for Second City in Canada and the USA for over 25 years including a stint as Artistic Director of the Second City Toronto. He is a Senior Faculty and founding member of the Second City Training Center where he was a Program Head and Director of the NYC training Center, Founding Faculty at ImprovOlympic with Del Close, and Adjunct Faculty Columbia College in the Film Directing and Comedy Studies Departments. Other credits include co-founder and company member of Rendition Theatre, Artistic Associate - Organic Theatre, founder and Artistic Director of Theatre Works and Windy City Workshop and Co-Artistic Director of Wavelength.

He has taught and designed classes and workshops in directing, acting and improvisation since 1976 at such notable institutions as: Actors Centre London, The Nursery Theatre, AND-NYC, The Audition Centre, Victory Gardens Training Centre, Act One Conservatory and Loyola Law School as well as master workshops for hundreds of Universities, festivals, theatre companies and improv groups around the world. He is credited with originating the term “Long Form” Improvisation and his book - Process: An Improvisers Journey (Northwestern University Press) co-authored with Mary Scruggs is a summary of his workshops on improvisational training. Michael Continues to act, direct and teach in Toronto and around the world.

Characters & Their Voices with Cooper Shaw

Let your characters’ voices shine through! In this workshop, performers will learn tricks to develop strong characters in an instant, connecting physicality & emotional life with vocal choices. We will explore character status, breathing techniques and various vocal resonators, empowering the performer with greater knowledge of their instrument all in service of creating fully-realized characters.

About the Instructor

Cooper is currently on faculty at The Second City Hollywood in Los Angeles, California where she teaches Dialects & Character Voices, Acting, Character Development, and On-Camera Acting. With an MFA in Acting from The Actor’s Studio Drama School in New York City, and an Improv background from The Second City in Chicago, Cooper’s unique approach has put her in high demand worldwide as a Private Acting, Dialect & Performance Coach. An award-winning actor in her own right, her acting and writing credits span theatre, film, television, commercials and voice-overs. She is thrilled to be sharing this workshop with such a vibrant performance community for this inaugural year of Scripted Brussels 2020.