workshop details

The Deconstruction: 10 AM - 1 PM

Created by The Family, and under the direction of Del Close himself, The Deconstruction is the single most important long form ever created as it contains every single possible permutation of scene approach and thematic development.

An understanding of The Deconstruction is essential for the artistic, intellectual and technical development of an improviser. Quite simply, an improviser’s understanding of the “work” will never be the same after being exposed to “Decon”; whether you perform short form, improvised Shakespeare or are merely a writer looking to improve your understanding of character and structure, learning these skills will radically improve your understanding of improvisation and raise your level of play. (NOTE from the instructor: Miles Stroth is my mentor and taught me The Deconstruction personally.)

When young improvisers graduate from a program, they normally ask themselves, “What now?” Most of them figure that out. Until they want to start directing improv themselves and they ask the exact same question. There are fewer avenues to take when answering that question. The Directing Improv Workshop will train up and coming improvisers who wish to move into directing but have very few practical ideas of how to go about it. This workshop will tackle:

• how to de-construct a scene mathematically

• how to approach a scene from the inside out

• how to demonstrate the lesson to the student by performing their position in the scene without embarrassing the student

• how to utilize one’s personal performing history to troubleshoot the scene at hand

• how to choose the proper curriculum for the appropriate team

• how to utilize social media tools to construct a proper rehearsal schedule

• the difference between teaching and coaching

• how to protect yourself from being taken advantage of and what are your “rights” as a coach

Brian James O’Connell is a working actor, writer, director, filmmaker and teacher in Los Angeles. He taught as part of the Core Faculty at The Pack Theater and at iOWest for over a decade before pursuing his own independent, bespoke & curated student training ALL IMPROV. He is the Co-Founder of The Pack Theater, LA Weekly’s BEST OF LA Pick for “Best Theater Company” two years in a row, a Founding Board Member for Camp Improv Utopia & a current board member for Highwire Improv in Baltimore, MD.

Brian is the Creator and Executive Producer of Big Yellow Taxi, the Executive Producer and Founder of Long Hard Tuesdays, the Executive Producer and Founder of The Lady Invitational and Executive Producer of Genre Night! at The Pack Theater. Brian is a graduate of the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts (David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jody Hill, Anthony Mackie, Peter Hedges, Mary-Louise Parker, Craig Zobel, Terrence Mann, Chris Parnell, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Jeff Nichols) and moved to Los Angeles in 2000 to follow his dreams of a career in filmmaking. BOC (as his friends call him) is part of the comedy collective Dr. God, who recently completed their first feature film project BLOODSUCKING BASTARDS, starring Fran Kranz, Pedro Pascal, Joey Kern, Joel Murray, and Emma Fitzpatrick, which O'Connell directed (his third feature as a director) as well as co-writing the script with Dr. God. The film was the Opening Night Premiere at Slamdance in 2015 and is available now on DVD and On-Demand after it's theatrical run.

A regular performer, coach and teacher in Los Angeles, Brian derives most of his approach to improv from The Deconstruction, the form created by iO’s legendary team, The Family (Miles Stroth, Neil Flynn, Ian Roberts, Matt Besser, Adam McKay, Ali Faranahkian.). With his internationally touring improv duo Billyhawk and iOWest’s legendary improv group Dr. God, Brian has performed and taught in festivals in Denver, Dublin, Phoenix, Toronto, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Austin, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Mexico City, Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Krakow, Poland. Well-respected as one of Los Angeles's premier improvisers, Brian is famous for his encyclopedic knowledge of minutiae and his insane recall ability and memory.

BOC is a board member for the non-profit Camp Improv Utopia, the premiere improv, acting and training retreat in the country and served as the Director of Camp Outreach for the first 8 years.

Check out www.facebook.com/Improv1to1/ for Brian's signature 1-on-1 improv coaching.