The Asheville School of Improv is excited to offer a special edition of The Performance Lab focused on the classic long-form improv structure, The Harold. Originally performed by the troupe, The Committee, in San Francisco in the late 60s, this three-tiered structure is now performed by troupes all around the world. Instructor Tom Chalmers studied The Harold with one its original creators, Del Close, at Improv Olympic in Chicago. Tom performed Harolds as part of the college troupes, The Purple Crayon of Yale and Columbia’s Six Milks. Tom continued to do Harolds with a number of NYC troupes, including Gigantic Man, The Upright Citizens Brigade’s first house team, with fellow members Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel. Tom is currently a member of the popular Ashevile improv troupe, Reasonably Priced Babies.
This six-week course will focus on teaching the basic structure of The Harold as well as strategies on how best to execute the stages of the long-form structure; the opening, the scenes, and the group games. Students will learn how to pull apart themes, insert and invent fun filler games, as well as how to establish and return to scenes through practiced approaches like time dash, same dynamic, world within a world, and more. The class will also reinforce the philosophy preached by Del Close: there is no set way to do a Harold. Rigidity is the enemy of spontaneity.
Students will act as a Harold troupe (or troupes) and perform the format several times over the several Sundays and eventually perform a Harold in front of a paying audience as part of an end-of-class performance, currently scheduled for June 23rd.
Eligible students must have completed the Basic and Beyond Basic classes at The Asheville School of Improv or a similar level of learning at a recognized improv academy. All applying students must be approved by the instructor.
The Asheville School of Improv has emerged as the central training ground for aspiring improvisers in the Asheville area. Led by esteemed instructor Tom Chalmers, the Asheville School of Improv offers classes that cover the fundamentals as well as the finer points and far-reaching possibilities of performing in an improvised format. More and more people from more and more places are saying “yes” to The House of “Yes And,” from those focused on a future as an improv comedian, to aspiring actors seeking to expand their skills, to interested individuals who are intrigued by the challenge of the sport of spontaneity.
Launched in 2016 , the Asheville School of Improv grew out of the former Asheville acting conservatory, NYS3, which had been offering improv classes since 2012, all taught by one teacher, Tom Chalmers. A graduate of Columbia University, Tom has been absorbing, performing, and advocating improv comedy for over thirty years. While at college, Tom spent summers in Chicago studying with Second City and Improv Olympic, where he learned under improv legend, Del Close. Tom chose to stay in New York where he trained with The Groundlings East / Gotham City Improv. He was a student, performing company member, teacher, and eventually Artistic Director. While in New York, Tom also trained with the Upright Citizen’s Brigade and Burn Manhattan. Tom’s former students have gone on to work on such shows as Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, and Family Guy, as well as several successful feature films. Tom has been an instructor at NYU, a guest lecturer at Columbia, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Warren Wilson College. Tom takes all the best ideas and approaches from all the people and programs that he has worked with and blends them together to define his supportive yet demanding style of teaching.
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