What we’re about
What is Long-form & Scenic Improv about?
The Improvazilla Long-form Improv Dojo is for actors who improvise, or would like to learn to improvise, and improvisors who like to act.
Improvisation is a key skill in auditions and in the rehearsal process of both scripted and devised theatre. These workshops allows you to work on your craft at any time of the year, in a variety of genres and through a variety of characters in a dedicated black box studio in the heart of Tokyo.
Regular student showcase shows allow for students to try out what they've learned in front of an audience. Please fill out the questionnaire when you join and then attend the Monday night workshops so we can meet you in person and evaluate your experience and skill level.
(NOTE: If you aren't an advanced actor or improviser, you should start with our Short-form Improv Dojo.
What Do We Do?
We focus on improvised plays, and finish each unit with a Showcase Show in a specific genres. We've worked on Jane Austen, Tennessee Williams, Film Noir, Dystopian/Black Mirror, Twilight Zone, and more. This work is based on the work that Impro Theatre in Los Angeles is doing.
Performing in the Showcase is predicated on participation in the previous three months of workshops. We'll be studying the difference between improvised plays and regular long-form, as well as specific genre work.
What Do We Focus On?
In the Long-form Improv Dojo we focus on narrative storytelling and diving into various genres, strong characters, object work, open scenes, and long form improv in various formats.
This is not Whose Line is it Anyway?-style improv, but rather theatrical, long-form improv for those interested in telling stories with memorable plots and characters.
*Note* Please use at least your REAL first name to help me with organizing the workshop and learning your name. And a real photo helps, too. Thanks!
Workshop Leader
The workshops are taught by Chris Wells, TCS Director and member of TCS since its founding in 1994:
Originally from the United States and a Tokyo resident since 1994, Chris Wells is a founding member of the Tokyo Comedy Store, where he directs the In The Moment improv program. He served for eight years as the Asian Region Representative for the International Theatresports Institute’s Board of Directors.
Improv has been a cornerstone of Chris’ life in Japan since high school, where he competed and excelled in impromptu and extemporaneous speaking. With a BA in Psychology, he is interested in the transformative aspects of improv in people’s lives, as well as simply putting on a good show. His Punching Up workshop, which he has taught all around the world, helps groups do improv with and about minorities and ethnic groups in a thoughtful, positive way. He founded his company, in the moment, ltd., in 1997 with his husband, Jun Imai, to spread improvisation in Japan.
He focuses on long-form storytelling and musical improv theatre in his Improvazilla Show, and has taught in multiple countries in the USA, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
He is a professional narrator heard around the globe on NHK World, in national museum audioguides such as the Kyoto National Museum and Hiroshima Peace Park Museum, across Japan, and JR West and Hokkaido bullet train platforms telling passengers when the next train departs in a soothing voice. You might have heard him on train platforms in Tokyo and elsewhere, as he's also the JR East announcer. :)
Chris' narration work
Chris' moderator work
Chris and Jun's international improv work