Musical Improv 4C: Improvised Musical Harold

Imagine being able to improvise a musical murder mystery, fantasy adventure, or coming of age story; or perhaps an improvised musical inspired by Cats, Les Mis or Cabaret—all rooted in the same foundational form. That’s the versatility of the Musical Harold.

In this class, you’ll learn the ins and outs of the most adaptable form in musical improv–one you can lay on almost any genre or source material to create your own unique improvised musical show.

Unlike the more rigid structure of a classic Broadway hero’s journey, we’ll explore the freedom of a less narrative-focused show. Students will learn various group games (songs), how to establish characters in the first beat and expand on them in later beats, and how to tie a show together thematically.

This class builds on the song forms we learned in Musical Improv 1 and 2, as well as the scenic skills we started developing in Musical Improv 3. By the end of this class, students will be able to improvise a complete semi-narrative musical utilizing the time-tested Harold format, then apply that format to a genre or source material of their choosing.

Students will leave this class with several new skills including:

How to improvise an opening number that sets the show up for success;
How to flesh out characters and fill out the world in the first beat;
How to establish strong group games (songs) throughout the show;
How to advance story without getting bogged down with plot;
How to intermix characters in a satisfying way in the second and third beats;
How to use theme to bring narrative cohesion in the closing number.

This class culminates with a performance of a complete improvised Musical Harold, using a genre or source material lay on chosen by the class.

The Instructor: Jed Levine

Jed is an All Out Comedy instructor and mainstage cast member with over a decade of experience as a musical improviser, coach and teacher. You can find him performing improvised musicals twice a month with the team he co-created and coaches, Knockoff Broadway. He also coaches several independent musical improv teams and the All Out Comedy musical improv house team RiOt: An Improvised Rock Opera.

Jed is a graduate of the Second City Musical Improv Conservatory in Chicago and is an alumni of the critically-acclaimed musical improv company Baby Wants Candy. In the Bay Area, Jed has been a guest player for improvised musicals at BATS Improv and teaches musical improv at Leela in San Francisco where he coaches the musical improv P.I.E. team. Jed is the founder of Bay Area Musical Improv, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to creating opportunities for local musical improvisers, and a co-founder of the Bay Area Musical Improv Festival.

Requirements:

Completion of at least three levels of musical improv classes and at least four levels of regular improv classes (or equivalent performance experience).

If you haven’t completed Musical Improv 3 at All Out Comedy and are interested in this course, you’ll need to send us an email to be considered—Do not register for this class unless you’ve received approval.

Dates: Tuesdays, 7:00pm-9:30pm, March 10-April 28 (20 Hours)

Location: All Out Comedy Theater, 2550 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610

Registration: $379

Wellness: If you have symptoms of feeling sick the day of class, please stay home and contact your teacher.

All students will receive a student ID card during their session. This gives students access to watch as many shows for free while taking classes.

Contact the host of Musical Improv 4C: Improvised Musical Harold