Music exists in every society and is woven into our lives and cultures so completely that it is hard to imagine life without it. It creates and soothes emotions, builds connection and defines communities. It is a part of how we relate to each other and understand the world. And of course, it creates stories.

In this course, you will examine how your instinctive understanding of music can be transferred to improvisational scene work. Starting with music as a soundtrack, you will play with how to work with and against the mood of the scene, making and playing with offers. Later, you will apply your shared musical understanding to guide the shape of scenes. You will use tempo and rhythm to influence and create characters and then even conduct scenes and replay them in different keys.

This is not a music improv course. There will be no singing and no specialised knowledge is required. It is a music and improv course.

This six-week course includes:

• Using music to create character, mood and game
• Using musical terms and structures in scenes
• Playing with and against the feeling of the scene

Note: the cost of this course is slightly higher than our normal Thursday afternoon classes as we will have an accompanist for some sessions.

Our Thursday classes are our improv laboratory. Created for experienced improvisers to hone their skills and for us to experiment as teachers, they are small classes, capped at eight players. We normally run two classes at the same time following approximately the same syllabus. During the course, we sometimes combine the classes for a week or two to share ideas.