MIDI Production

## Ticketed Event - please register via Eventbrite! IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST EVER DROP IN WITH US, YOU ARE IN FOR A TREAT! - Free class :) However, you will have to reserve a ticket via EVENTBRITE [Ticket link ](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/improv-drop-ins-this-week-character-first-class-free-tickets-1988945037147?aff=oddtdtcreator) ## This week: CHARACTER ## In this session we explore **how to find a compelling character and make bold choices through simple exercises. It is easier than you think :)** ## Overview Improv drop-ins suitable for beginners. A fun and supportive space to help you boost your spontaneity, imagination, and collaboration. **New to improv or already tried some and want more?** Don’t worry — we have you covered. #### Our Drop-Ins Improv is the art of making things up on the spot and feel immensly proud of it as there is no judgement. Our workshops are designed to be gentle, fun and inclusive. Being on the spot can feel scary and overwhelming. We make sure that you feel supported and at ease at all times. Improv is an amazing tool to **boost your confidence and ability to connect to other humans**, it helps you be creative and let the inner judge go and sip a tea whilst you have fun discovering how freeing being sponteanous can be. Our weekly drop-in classes explore both general topics and specific areas of improv. Story-telling, emotional connection and creative collaboration are the key aspects we focus on, with exciting niche topics designed to stretch you in a safe and playful environment. **Stepping out of your comfort zone should feel fun and exciting** \- we make sure you feel supported and encouraged in the best way possible\, while connecting with others and creating a bit of magic together\. These classes are open to all, **our gentle approach specifically focuses on people who struggle feeling confident in social settings**, however, if you have done improv before, you will certainly find joy coming to our drop-ins. The first half of the lesson we will focus on group and exercises in pairs The second half will be more scene-based where you can showcase your unique self. No pressure to perform. You will be amazed how you will shine with little effort. The drop-ins run either Mondays or Tuesdays from **6:30pm–8:30pm** and are designed as stand-alone classes, so you don’t need to worry if you miss a week. #### What is improv, you ask? Improv is creating something in the moment — unplanned and unscripted. It’s about listening and building something together with others: the ultimate collaboration. Improv is also a great tool for enhancing creativity and for life in general. It encourages spontaneity and connection in a playful, non-judgemental way. #### Who We Are Karo and Avril have over **20 years of cumulative experience** within the improv community. They have performed together in a wide variety of shows and formats for many years, as well as teaching and facilitating workshops, classes, and training sessions. #### Avril Avril is an improviser and actress who has been performing improv for over 12 years. Her credits include *Upstairs Downton: The Improvised Period Drama*, *Carmen: The Improvised Film Noir*, *Moments In Time*, *Blend Off*, *ImprovShire*, and *The Improvised Play*. Avril is also a founder member of LadyProv, who run a regular night at Hoopla showcasing the talents of women and non-binary performers. She has led numerous improv workshops and loves teaching. Her interests include Stoppard, character work, the senses, disaster movies, and team building in the workplace, to name a few. She has a particular passion for narrative improv and enjoys exploring different theatre styles. Avril has also co-taught with Stephen Davidson at Impromiscuous. Outside of improv, Avril loves whisky and exploring how taste, environment, and food pairings influence creativity. She enjoys writing short stories and has written her own one-woman show combining stand-up, character, improv, and sketch. She can also be heard playing several characters in *Lusus*, a modern-day horror series on BBC Sounds. #### Karolina Karolina is an actor, improviser, and improv coach originally from Austria, who has been performing improv for over 12 years on stages across the UK and Europe. From short-form improv to fully improvised plays, she has explored a wide range of genres. She has performed with groups such as Scumbags (a Hoopla house team in the style of the Coen Brothers), *Carmen* (a gender-flipped Film Noir), *3 Worlds*, the short-form comedy group Improvable, and *Lost to Life*, where she improvises an entire play with Avril and the team in the style of different playwrights. Karolina has facilitated many classes over the years, including weekly drop-ins for people who feel shy, focused workshops for theatre companies, the Surrey Theatre Academy, corporate clients, and co-teaching with Impromiscuous. Human connection and empathy are central to her work. She enjoys exploring emotional authenticity, non-verbal communication, physicality, dramatic improv, and unusual characters.

Please join us for an evening of all things Umbraco - the latest news, community chat, and a talk or two! For 2026, we will be running both in-person and virtual meetups, alternating every month. For those who can't join in person, virtual attendance is available too, so you can join us no matter where you are! This month, we have **Owain Jones** talking about building friendly content editing experiences and **Markus Johansson** talking about building packages for Umbraco. **Owain Jones - Unlocking the Full Potential of Umbraco: Building Friendly Content Editor Experiences** Umbraco is often called "The Friendly CMS", and it absolutely can be when we, as developers, make the most of what it offers. In this talk, I’ll show how we can utilise Umbraco’s built-in features and community packages to build intuitive, efficient, and friendly experiences for content editors. **Markus Johansson - Extending Umbraco like a Swede** In this talk, Markus will share his learnings from over 15 years of extending Umbraco. We’ll get a brief overview of the possibilities introduced with the new backoffice “Bellissima”. He’ll also give us tips and tricks that is useful both when extending Umbraco for a specific project or publishing a package for the Umbraco Marketplace. There will also be food, drinks and some friendly socialising. What's not to like? 😄 Whether you are an Umbraco novice or a seasoned developer, this is your chance to meet like-minded people to talk about our favourite friendly CMS! No matter what your role is there will be something to learn and your chance to meet other members of the Umbraco community from Kent and the surrounding areas. Venue The meetup will be at Dragon Coworking in Rochester (7-8 New Road Avenue, St George's Hotel, Rochester, ME4 6BB), a short walk from Chatham train station and with free on-site parking. If you wish to use the car park, please access via Gundulph Road, Rochester, ME4 4ED. You can then use the steps between buildings to access the entrance. If the car park is full there is on road parking available, but please check the parking restrictions. On arrival, please make your way to St George's Hotel reception (where you access Dragon Coworking) and one of the organisers will come and collect you. **Please note: Do not bring bananas, nuts or pineapple into the coworking space as there are members with allergies.**

**The Night Before Current Summit** ​Welcome to **The Night Before Current Summit**, hosted by Aiven. ​We’re kicking things off the evening before Day 1 of Current Summit with a relaxed gathering of friends and community—the perfect way to beat the crowds, connect with peers, and hear the latest insights from the industry before the main event begins. **Drinks are on us!** ​**⚡ On the Agenda** ​We have a round of casual **lightning talks** featuring standout Aiven customers and industry legends: * ​\*\*[Stanislav Kozlovski](https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislavkozlovski/?utm_source=luma):\*\* Known as “the Kafka guy,” Stanislav is an Apache Kafka committer and software engineer. Currently, he is consulting for companies and writing **“2 Minute Streaming”** \- a newsletter with over 7\,000 subscribers focused on real\-time event streaming and data engineering\. Across social media\, he has over 50k followers reading his insights on the space\. * ​\*\*[Nahidul Kibria](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nahidupa/?utm_source=luma):\*\* Engineering Lead at **HelloFresh**, sharing insights on scaling real-time data for the world's leading meal-kit provider. * ​\*\*[Mark Davidson](https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidsonmark/?utm_source=luma):\*\* Principal Architect at **Funding Circle**, the UK's largest SME lending platform, discussing the architecture powering the future of business finance. ​**🤝 Meet Your Hosts** ​The event is hosted by **Aiven** and supported by **OSO** & **Conduktor**. * ​**Aiven:** Aiven provides the managed open-source data platform that developers love, helping you scale Apache Kafka, PostgreSQL, and more without the operational headache. * ​**Conduktor:** The all-in-one interface for Apache Kafka, making data streaming accessible, secure, and governed. * ​**OSO:** The Apache Kafka experts helping teams unlock real-time data and drive meaningful innovation. ​ **🎟️ Join Us** ​Space capacity is limited. Apply now to secure your spot!

**BOOK HERE**: https://sportas.co.uk/games/46002 **Game Description:** Come and play in a Mid-Intermediate & Above volleyball session in Canada Water 😎 PLEASE ONLY sign up to this session if you’re a Mid-Intermediate player or above! We have the right to cancel & refund you if we don’t think you meet this ability. You will be notified of this. We need to maintain the quality of the games and rallies - this is nothing personal at all. **Directions:** 🚶‍♂️10 minute walk from Canada Water tube station The entrance is via a car park and in the blue building. Please ask reception for help if needed. **Rules** \- 3 teams of 6 \- Games up to 15 points \- Max 2 games in a row \- Be positive and encouraging to all players 🧡

**Bookable via our website ➡️** https://www.thegoodlifecentre.co.uk/events/intro-to-woodwork-flip-lid-dovetail-box-5-afternoons-2/ ⋆⋆⋆ An absorbing course for confident beginners and an enjoyable learning experience for anyone with a little woodworking experience. Using a fusion of hardwood and softwood, this five-week course will teach you the fundamentals of woodwork and give you an opportunity to use classic hand tools; brass-backed tenon saws, sharp wood chisels and delicately honed vintage wood planes. This well-proportioned flip-lidded box is constructed of European redwood using a single dovetail joint at each corner and the fitted hardwood lid is attached to the base by a handmade ‘dowel’ peg hinge. The project will familiarise learners with many classic woodwork techniques and is taught with patience and enthusiasm by Andy Nicholl, who has devised this informative and challenging project. You will take home a treasure to treasure- and we hope it will enthuse you to learn how to make many handmade woodwork projects in the years to come. If your keyboard-weary hands have been needing the skill to fulfil and satisfy a yearning desire to create something you can hold, come and join us in our well-equipped and inspiring workshops and discover the wonderful world of woodwork. **Key skills:** * Measuring marking and cutting dovetail joints to make an accurate framed box. * Planing and shaping a hardwood lid to fit the softwood frame base. * Making and fitting a hardwood dowel joint to attach the frame base to the lid.

**BOOK HERE**: https://sportas.co.uk/games/45782 **Game Description:** Come and play in a mid-inter ability volleyball games session on a Wednesday evening in King's Cross 🏐 ❗️Please be considerate & only sign up to this game if you’re a MID-INTERMEDIATE player or above. If we think you are a beginner/lower-intermediate player we will cancel and refund you from the game❗️ **Directions:** 🚶‍♂️7 minute walk from Euston or King's Cross station 🚿Showers, toilets and changing rooms available **Rules** \- 3 teams of 6 \- Games up to 15 points \- Max 2 games in a row Please be positive and encouraging towards all players 🧡

🗓 Every Monday! ⏰ 8:30pm (1 hour) 💃🏻 All levels 📍Location: Pineapple Dance studios, 7 Langley St, London WC2H 9JA YOU MUST BOOK IN ADVANCE ( CLASSES ARE NOT FREE ) ➡️Book here: https://www.pineapple.uk.com/pages/timetable Let out your inner belly dance goddess in Leilah’s fun and uplifting classes! Learn the ancient art of belly dance from posture to mesmerising shimmies and figures 8’s. Every week we will go through a new choreography as well as learning new exciting moves. We will often cover different styles of belly dance in each class, such as oriental, shaabi, Moroccan and more. Classes are for all levels! Don’t worry if you don’t get all the moves the first time, the more classes you attend the more moves you will start to understand. Belly dance is a celebration of the body, the curves, and the isolations so enjoy the journey! #hipsDontLie

**The Future of Advanced Media Production in the UK** *Ideas. Innovation. Honest Conversation.* The UK has long punched above its weight in media production. But the sector is at an inflection point — and the decisions made now, about technology, talent, investment, and collaboration, will shape the next decade. This Meetup is a space to face that moment together. We're creating a space to do something the industry rarely makes time for: slow down, zoom out, and think collectively about where we're headed and how we get there well. **What we'll explore together:** * **Ideas & Trends** — What does the near future of advanced media production actually look like? What shifts in technology, audience behaviour, and production practice are quietly becoming impossible to ignore? * **Companies, Products & Innovations to Watch** — Who's doing something genuinely new? We'll spotlight examples of UK companies, tools, and initiatives that are pushing the boundaries of what advanced media production can be — and open the floor for attendees to share their own. * **Challenges & Risks** — Growth, talent pipelines, funding, infrastructure, the pace of technological change — the sector is navigating real headwinds. This is a candid space to name them, not gloss over them. * **Learning from Each Other** — The most valuable thing in this room will be the people in it. We'll create break-out rooms for you to mingle and to share about your work, your hopes for the sector, and where collaboration — the kind that actually happens — might be possible. **Who this is for:** If you work in, build for, invest in, or think continuously about the future of media production in the UK — this is your room. Whether you come with answers, questions, or simply curiosity, you'll find people worth talking to. *No panels. No pitches. Just good conversation with people who give a damn about where this sector is going.*

**📣**AI didn’t just change how we build products, it exposed the cracks in how we design, ship, and make decisions. **This meetup brings together three perspectives on the real challenges of AI products:** getting users to use them effectively, managing unpredictability and trust, and rethinking product strategy when execution is no longer the constraint. Together, these talks shift the focus from technology to judgment, design, and product thinking. \#\# Agenda: **18:00** \- Gather & Mingle\. **18:30** \- Opening remarks\. **18:40** -"**Shipping AI features isn’t enough**" by Ellie Jacobs, Product Director LTX @ Lightricks **19:00** - **"Shipping Products That Are Almost Right"** by Meital Kochawi Levin, Senior Product Manager @ Bringg **19:20** - **"Product Strategy in the AI Era"** by Hadas Sheinfeld, VP Product @ ProductX.biz **19:40** \- Networking & Mingle Time **20:00**\- Close 🗣️First talk by **Elli Jacobs** **"Shipping AI features isn’t enough"** Users often fail to get value from AI-based features, because they don’t use them “correctly.” This talk explores the hidden gap between capability and usage, and how product teams can design experiences that guide users toward better outcomes without adding friction or requiring education. It’s about turning AI from something impressive into something reliably useful. 🗣️ Second talk by **Meital Kochawi Levin** **"Shipping Products That Are Almost Right"** Long before LLMs, non-deterministic systems forced teams to grapple with unpredictability, trust, and imperfect outcomes. This talk distills hard-earned lessons into a practical framework for building and managing such products—defining where accuracy matters, designing for failure, and turning users into active contributors to improvement. It offers a grounded approach to making “unreliable” systems feel dependable. 🗣️ Third talk by **Hadas Sheinfeld** **"Product Strategy in the AI Era"** AI hasn’t changed the essence of product strategy, but it has removed many of the constraints that once shaped it. As execution becomes easier, the real challenge shifts to prioritization, judgment, and building long-term advantage. This talk redefines how to think about strategy in a world where speed is no longer a differentiator, and exposes the gap between teams that truly have a strategy and those that never did. \#\# Audience: * CPO * VPs * Head of Product * Product Director * Product Pros 👉 Join us for an insightful and inspiring meetup packed with practical takeaways. \* The number of seats is limited , so do hurry up and book yours. \*\* Prior to the meetup, you will receive an email containing a QR code, which you will be required to present upon entry to the event. \*\*\*We’re aware of the Tube strikes in London next week, but fortunately, from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday, train services are expected to operate as usual, so there should be no difficulty getting to the meetup.

\* This event is organised by Factory Setting - get your tickets at Resident Advisor: [https://ra.co/events/2430435](https://ra.co/events/2430435) \* Factory Setting returns to Venue MOT for a post-Superbooth party. Experience live techno and experimental electronic music around a stage centered in the middle of the M.O.T's dance floor. See performances from renowned electronic artists along side our community of modular synth and hardware users. Feel like taking part? You can bring your set up and perform a short set with London's EMOM (electronic music open mic) community. EMOM open mic will kick things off as usual! Thanks to sponsors ALM/Busy Circuits. Tickets at Resident Advisor: [https://ra.co/events/2430435](https://ra.co/events/2430435)

**The main event: MxLDN** * **Date:** Wednesday 20th May * **Time:** 18:00 - 20:00 * **Location:** Dotdigital Offices, 9th Floor, 1 London Bridge, London SE1 9BG **Post event drinks & games:** * **Date:** Wednesday 20th May * **Time:** 20:30 - 22:00 * **Location:** Bermondsey Bierkeller, 2, 4 Tooley St, London SE1 2SY **About MxLDN** 20th May, Dotdigital's office, London Bridge, be there or be square! MxLDN is a bi-monthly event, open to anyone in the Magento and Adobe Commerce world – developers, merchants, marketers, agencies, you name it… We welcome speakers who dive into the detail of what's actually happening in ecommerce right now. Get in touch via hello@mxldn.co.uk if you'd like to speak at one of our future events. We host open conversation over free pizza, free beer…what more could you want? More? Here you go then, after the talks we’ll head down to Bermondsey Bierkeller for some post-event drinks and games. There’ll be air hockey, digital darts, pool tables, and shuffleboards galore! Save the date. See you there! Presented by: JH, Hÿva, & Dotdigital Reach out to us via email us at **hello@mxldn.co.uk**

***Enter the live meeting room here: [https://discord.gg/5wgxtr4c2u](https://discord.gg/5wgxtr4c2u)*** ***Download the engine here: [https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/download](https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/download)*** Welcome to the **Unreal Engine Workshop!** In each session we'll tackle essential game design discussions, then transition into hands-on project creation. Participants will build and expand their skills continuously as we explore every aspect of game development. From basic blueprints and interactive mechanics, to advanced rigging, animation, environment design, and lighting, we'll work our way up to creating small complete games. We encourage experimentation and peer teaching, so whether you're a beginner or experienced developer looking to deepen your expertise, our sessions provide a supportive environment to learn, create, and innovate together in Unreal Engine 5.

Join us in London for a forward-looking conversation with product leaders building the next generation of autonomous, AI-driven systems. **Event Overview** AI agents are quickly advancing from basic automations to adaptive, goal-driven systems that can reason, act, and manage complex tasks. As they enter real products, teams must rethink how to design, ship, and scale intelligent experiences that remain both powerful and trustworthy. **01 - From Automation to Autonomy: What “Agentic” Really Means** Explore how AI agents differ from traditional automations, from decision-making and multi-step planning to real-time adaptation, and what this shift means for product strategy and user experience in the wild. **02 - Designing Trustworthy Agents: Safety, Reliability & Real-World UX** Examine the critical considerations behind building agents people can rely on, including transparency, failure modes, human-in-the-loop design, and the UX principles needed to ensure agents behave predictably and responsibly. **03 - The Next Frontier: Agent Capabilities, Ecosystems & Scale** Discover how emerging capabilities such as tool use, collaboration, and multi-agent systems are transforming what products can achieve, and what teams must consider when deploying agents at scale across industries.

Dive into the world of film at our event hosted by the London Film Circle! Join us for an exclusive evening where we celebrate the magic of film, television production, and screenwriting in the heart of London. Whether you are a film enthusiast, aspiring artist, writer, or simply love watching movies, this event is for you. Engage in conversations with industry professionals, discover new talents, and connect with like-minded individuals who share a passion for the art of storytelling. Explore the creative process through discussions on film and video production, comedy in TV shows, and the latest trends in the film industry. Whether you are an actor, director, producer, agent, sound engineer, editor, or simply a film buff, this event is a must-attend. Unleash your creativity, exchange ideas, and be inspired by the vibrant community of artists and musicians within the London Cine Circle. Don't miss this opportunity to be part of an unforgettable cinematic experience!

**Building a great product is one thing—building momentum behind it is another.** Join **Senior Product Manager Adam Solaiman** and **User Experience Manager Tyson Smith** for a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to turn complex ideas into scalable products inside large organizations. In this session, they’ll share how teams move from ambiguity to execution—navigating organizational complexity, aligning stakeholders, and continuously evolving products after launch. You’ll walk away with insights on how to: * Build and sustain momentum across teams * Adapt to changing priorities without losing direction * Scale products thoughtfully in complex environments Whether you're driving a new initiative or growing an existing product, this conversation will give you practical strategies to keep things moving forward. Come connect, learn, and swap stories with fellow product professionals. \-\-\- Food and drinks will be provided by Switchbox, our generous host. Free parking will be available at the front and back sides of the Switchbox Office.

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** TBD **YouTube Link** TBD

Whether you've never done improv before, or you've done it for so long you knew Del Close on a personal level, or anywhere in between, come join us! Swing by *Gresso's* for the **Columbus Improv Comedy Meetup** for some fun and games! The idea behind improv is to create entire scenes from scratch based on a suggestion from the audience. This can be done in game form, like *Whose Line Is It Anyway*, *ComedySportz*, or *Wild 'n Out*; it could also be done to tell stories, like *Middleditch and Schwartz*. Our meetup, which is central Ohio's longest running (and free!) weekly comedy event, brings the games (and occasionally different forms) for you to play in a safe, supportive, and compassionate environment. Not only is it a lot of fun, but you get to work on thinking faster on your feet, plus it's an excellent way to meet new people and make friendships that'll last a lifetime! Ask yourself if you want to join the **Columbus Improv Comedy Meetup**, and say "Yes, And" that you'll have fun!

PLEASE NOTE!!! This event will be In-Person for our very 1st Improving collab! If you know the [Columbus Unity group](https://www.meetup.com/columbus-unity-user-group/) location, we'll be at the same place. This is our 1st event and are doing a soft launch with limited attendance. 1st come 1st serve. If you want to be there and we fill up, please email me at [info@thecogg.com](mailto:info@thecogg.com) and I'll be in touch. All street parking is free on Sundays but you can also pay to park in any of the local garages. See image of [parking map here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mr9_LFIggbs-0_Zd3AJTGNqEhgMf2TzQ/view?usp=sharing). \-\-\- On the last Sunday of the month, we're having our usual end-of-the-month social gathering with our GameDev Meetup meeting. There will be announcements and presentations followed by some social networking Let's continue the conversations with good vibes and friends. All are welcomed from all ages and backgrounds to this public event. If we can, we'll be streaming or uploading the video later via our COGG YouTube channel here: [https://www.youtube.com/@TheCOGG/streams](https://www.youtube.com/@TheCOGG/streams) (Also please do subscribe if you have not done so!) No game development experience required! If you are interested in doing a 20 minute game development related presentation, please fill out our form online here: [https://goo.gl/forms/lVdTJZiNJewlPJuj1](https://goo.gl/forms/lVdTJZiNJewlPJuj1) Or e-mail us at info@thecogg.com with the following: Your Name, Company/Affiliation, Name of Your Game/Topic, Description, Tech Needs, and Your Contact. Be sure to check out our Discord for real time news updates: [https://discord.gg/NrBhuNQ](https://discord.gg/NrBhuNQ)

Come attend a free in-person seminar where you will find out why you: -Feel isolated -Can't express yourself openly -Get nervous or anxious in front of people -Run out of things to say or feel tongue-tied -Feel introverted -Don't feel comfortable in any social setting -Can't make more friends -Are shy and miss opportunities to connect in a meaningful way And we cover what you can do about any one, some or all of the above. This seminar is the weapon against loneliness, isolation and boredom, come join us! COME TO THIS SEMINAR AND LEARN THE SECRETS TODAY This seminar is brought to you by the Dianetics & Scientology Life Improvement Center. 1266 Dublin Road, Columbus, Ohio 43215

This meetup is a beginner-friendly session introducing version control for Unity projects, with a look at three common tools: Git, Perforce, and Unity Version Control. The goal is to help you understand what version control is, why it matters for Unity development, and what options are out there. The format will likely be presentation-style, with live demos and time for questions throughout. You'll see each tool in action and learn how they fit into a Unity workflow. What to Expect: * An introduction to version control and why it's essential for Unity projects * An overview of Git, Perforce, and Unity Version Control * Demos of each tool in a Unity workflow * Tips for getting started * No prior version control experience required * Resources for continued learning All experience levels are welcome. Whether you're new to version control or already using one of these tools, this session will help you understand what each one offers. Food and drinks provided. Join us to learn more about version control options for Unity.

We will show how to build custom agents with Microsoft Agent Framework. Attendees will learn how to build and custom host agents when Microsoft Foundry is not a viable option.