National Guest Artist Series Workshop: Billy Merritt 🏴☠️🤖🥷
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Are you a Pirate, a Robot, or a Ninja?
Every improviser has a type on stage, and most of us never find out what ours is. Billy Merritt is a longtime Upright Citizens Brigade performer and teacher. He came up with the Pirate Robot Ninja idea, which has since become one of the best-known ways improvisers talk about how they play. He co-wrote the book Pirate Robot Ninja: An Improv Fable, and he’s bringing his award-winning workshop based on it to Improv U.
🏴☠️
The Pirate
Do you charge into scenes on instinct and impulse? You bring chaos and fun, but you might be leaving your scene partners behind.
🤖
The Robot
Do you analyze every move, tracking the game and the logic? You’re smart and precise, but maybe you’re stuck in your head.
🥷
The Ninja
The balance between the two: a player who can follow instinct and stay aware of the scene at the same time.
What you’ll do: Billy will help you figure out who you really are on stage. Then he’ll take the habits you think are weaknesses and turn them into strengths. You won’t be asked to change your style. You’ll learn to use it on purpose.
The goal: to take control of your own improv and leave with a clearer idea of how you play, and how to play better.
📖 Read the Book
Pirate Robot Ninja: An Improv Fable (2019), by Billy Merritt and fellow UCB teacher Will Hines, tells Billy’s big idea as a fable. It’s packed with lessons and exercises drawn from years of teaching at UCB in New York and Los Angeles, all built around one question: are you a Pirate, a Robot, or a Ninja? It’s a great primer before the workshop, or a way to keep the lessons going after.
Get the book →
Two ways to join:
🎭 Workshop ($65): full participation, with stage time and hands-on coaching from Billy.
👀 Audit ($25): watch the whole workshop and take notes (no stage time or individual coaching).
Space is limited. Find your inner Ninja on Thursday, January 14, 2027.
Every improviser has a type on stage, and most of us never find out what ours is. Billy Merritt is a longtime Upright Citizens Brigade performer and teacher. He came up with the Pirate Robot Ninja idea, which has since become one of the best-known ways improvisers talk about how they play. He co-wrote the book Pirate Robot Ninja: An Improv Fable, and he’s bringing his award-winning workshop based on it to Improv U.
🏴☠️
The Pirate
Do you charge into scenes on instinct and impulse? You bring chaos and fun, but you might be leaving your scene partners behind.
🤖
The Robot
Do you analyze every move, tracking the game and the logic? You’re smart and precise, but maybe you’re stuck in your head.
🥷
The Ninja
The balance between the two: a player who can follow instinct and stay aware of the scene at the same time.
What you’ll do: Billy will help you figure out who you really are on stage. Then he’ll take the habits you think are weaknesses and turn them into strengths. You won’t be asked to change your style. You’ll learn to use it on purpose.
The goal: to take control of your own improv and leave with a clearer idea of how you play, and how to play better.
📖 Read the Book
Pirate Robot Ninja: An Improv Fable (2019), by Billy Merritt and fellow UCB teacher Will Hines, tells Billy’s big idea as a fable. It’s packed with lessons and exercises drawn from years of teaching at UCB in New York and Los Angeles, all built around one question: are you a Pirate, a Robot, or a Ninja? It’s a great primer before the workshop, or a way to keep the lessons going after.
Get the book →
Two ways to join:
🎭 Workshop ($65): full participation, with stage time and hands-on coaching from Billy.
👀 Audit ($25): watch the whole workshop and take notes (no stage time or individual coaching).
Space is limited. Find your inner Ninja on Thursday, January 14, 2027.
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Where is it happening?
St. John Lutheran Church, 1600 S Orlando Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789-5547, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherImprov U
