What did Impact Factory get up to today?

Improvisation Skills

Today at Impact Factory, a dozen or so of us took part in an exclusive exploratory IMPRO workshop in our large training suite run by our Improvisation specialists Graham Bennett and Christopher Heimann.

It was great fun and we were all getting physically and actively involved in just a handful of the theatre games and exercises from Graham's and Christopher's extensive toolkits. Practical discussions between, coupled with feedback from the group facilitated a great forum to share ideas and new experiences of improvisation.

Graham Bennett's Improvisation background

Graham is a professional theatre director and has worked with Globe Education at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, where he has given workshops and talks about how the communication dynamic works in the Globe Theatre. Graham is also an Improviser – by inclination and in practise. Graham says "I used to improvise for a paying audience, as a performer. Then I ran my own improvisation classes. Now I'm doing it for a paying audience - as a trainer. I am an advocate of 'keeping it fresh', keeping oneself on one's toes and the audience awake."

Christopher Heimann's Improvisation background

Chris also works as a theatre director and writer. His work has included the stage plays "100" and "Food" both of which won the prestigious Fringe First award at the Edinburgh Festival and toured extensively in the UK and internationally. He has directed productions at leading British theatres including the Young Vic Theatre and Soho Theatre in London, and the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.

Chris teaches improvisation at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London where he is also a member of the audition panel, a testing and sensitive job needing all his excellent people skills.