Improv Genre Selection Box: Meet your teachers

This year we are excited to bring you not one but three holiday time intensives! Here we meet the teachers of the improv genre selection box. We find out about their class and what they are hoping to get from Santa!

So, who are the teachers of the improv musical selection box?

Jon Nguyen doing Scooby Doo/Buffy/Magical Capers

Chris Mead doing Infinite Universes

Jenny Rowe doing Ghost Stories

Juwel Haque doing High Fantasy (not appearing in this interview)

What is your favourite kind of chocolate in a selection box and why?

Jon: The swirly fancy looking one with a nut right in the middle

Chris: Any kind of caramel. I love them all. If you throw some sea salt in there, so much the better.

Jen: The milk chocolate one with the the liquid toffee centre – I would also accept a hazelnut.

What are you teaching for your improv genre and why did you choose it for the selection box?

Jon: Improvising a Scooby Doo story. Was there ever TV show with more of a formula? Playing the mystery Inc team, ghosts, villains in masks and a talking dog. All the ingredients for a wacky Improv show I think

Chris: Infinite Universes. I just love the idea that if infinite universe theory is true then there’s a universe out there where you’re a pirate but also one where you’re a sentient robot dog. Or a customer service rep for the world’s biggest water park. Improv allows us to explore the lives we might be living elsewhere.

Jen: I’m teaching improvised Ghost Stories because who doesn’t like a night of dark tales to creep them out?

Complete this sentence: Improv is like a box of chocolates…

Jon: It is layered, sometimes dark, generally sweet and even if you lose the diagram of what is in the box you find your way through it all after a few bites.

Chris: … sweet, addictive and filled with nuts.

Jen: Sometimes, you just need to be bold and make a decision in order to get to the good bit.

What is the biggest gift that doing improv online brings?

Jon: Mirth, Merriment and Magnificence of fellow human beings connected in the pursuit of fun.

Chris: More time on Zoom. What a lovely, intuitive bit of software.

Jen: Meeting so many brilliant people from all over the world.

If you could have one improv superpower for Christmas what would it be?

Jon: To bravely fail and allow my team mates to hlep me make it look deliberate.

Chris: Shooting tinsel from my eyes.

Jen: I regularly can’t think of a word I KNOW I know – this is in real life AND in improv-land. So I’d like the superpower of having ALL THE WORDS within my reach ALL OF THE TIME (especially in songs).

What are you most looking forward to this Christmas, improv or otherwise?

Jon: Some time to sit online with my friends and watch some movies and play games.

Chris: I have a tradition where I collate all the movies I’ve missed over the year (I’ll look at multiple internet “Best of” lists and cross-reference) and then marathon them during that wilderness week between Christmas and New Year. Not a huge amount released in 2020, of course, but still super enjoyable to catch up on hidden gems from world cinema.

Jen: Me and my husband having Christmas in our new house.

Our improv genre selection box runs from December 27th-Dec 3oth from 7pm til 9.30pm UK time. You can book here and also check out our other online improv selection boxes.