Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre Will Offer Improv Comedy Workshop for Teens and Adults

Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre, professional Theatre in Residence at the Oakes Center in Summit, will offer an Intro to Improv Workshop on January 6 and an Open Level Improv class for adults and teens beginning January 19.

Improv expert Lulu French (Maplewood) will teach both the introductory workshop and the class. The Intro to Improv Workshop, which will be held on Sunday, January 6 from 7-9:00 pm, is designed to allow students to sample the craft of improv before signing up for a full session. Instructor Lulu French will guide you through the basic principles of improv in a fun, accessible way. Students will collaborate with their classmates to free their imagination and create instant characters, scenes and worlds.

The six-week Improv Comedy for Teens and Adults class, open to both students who have taken the Level 1 class and to beginners, runs from January 19 through February 23 on Saturdays from 12:00 - 2:00 pm at the Oakes Center in Summit. Enrollment is also open for the Spring and Summer Improv sessions at Dreamcatcher.

These classes delve deep into the craft of improv with more complex games as the weeks progress. The Improv Class is great for new improvisers, and also for actors who want to add another dimension to their skills. For those who come with a foundation of improv skills, Dave will introduce games that require keeping many balls in the air at once. The environment is supportive and responsive to the needs of students with any level of experience. Improv is a valuable skill for countless situations such as public speaking, auditions and job interviews as well.

Lulu French first took improv classes at Gotham City Improv two decades ago and has been improvising ever since. In addition to being a graduate of GCI, she has also studied improv under Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh, and Matt Besser, various Second City alumni such as Todd Stashwick (12 Monkeys), and improv masters Michael Gellman, Dave Razowsky, and Aretha Sills. She has appeared in numerous improv performances in NYC improv theaters such as Gotham City Improv, the Magnet Theater, and Upright Citizens Brigade, as well as with Dreamcatcher's own Multiple Personality Disorder. Lulu has been teaching improv since 2000 and has recently opened her own business, Rocket Improv.

The cost for the workshop is $35, and the cost for the class (six weeks) is $210. At Oakes, parking is available in the lot behind the theatre on Ashwood Avenue and at the Summit Recreation Center on Morris Avenue. The facility is wheelchair accessible. To register for the class or for information on any of Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre's programs, please visit www.dreamcatcherrep.org or contact Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre at The Oakes Center, 120 Morris Avenue, Summit, NJ 07901, 908-514-9654.

Dreamcatcher was founded in 1994, and is a non-profit professional ensemble of actors who build community with the audience by sharing contemporary, life-affirming stories that challenge, energize and entertain. We seek to expose theatregoers to ideas and lives like and unlike their own, to awaken their imaginations and create empathy for others. The company focuses on deepening the experience of our patrons by supplementing the performances with personal contact through receptions, talkbacks, and interactive programs.

Dreamcatcher's core company of professional local actors performs contemporary work that entertains and challenges, and has at its heart a belief in the essential goodness of people. The company's activities include mainstage productions, improvisational comedy and cabarets, new play readings and a variety of educational and senior outreach programs.

Dreamcatcher's programs are funded by the New Jersey State council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Dramatist Guild Fund, The Summit Area Public Foundation, and many other corporations, foundations and individuals. Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre is a senior member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

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