Position Play Improv Workshop with Brian James O'Connell

Anubis Improv and Big Couch are elated to welcome Brian James O'Connell, a well-regarded improv instructor from the West Coast for workshop and performance opportunities in January 2025.

In this workshop, you'll learn the skills you need to find your "position" in the scene and then play it to the hilt. "Position Play" was invented by Miles Stroth (Del Close's "Warchief", Founder, Owner & Operator of The Pack Theater in Los Angeles) as a way to understand and execute the "scene dynamics" of the Four Basic Scene Types: Logical/Absurd, Character Driven, Alternate Reality and Realistic. If you are able to understand the few tools & techniques needed to play these individual scenes, every other choice you make on stage will be from a place of renewed confidence and successful fun!

Topics include: "Thing. Concept. Idea.", "The Five Scenes Everyone Tells You *NOT* To Do But Darn It They Come Up On Stage Anyway", "Playing Archetypes", "Mapping Characters" and many, many more.

This workshop is dedicated to giving the student “practical applications of improv” and providing replicable good habits/behavior on stage. The goal is to be able to take this workshop during the day and be able to execute the practice immediately on stage that night!

About Brian James O'Connell

Brian James O’Connell is a working actor, writer, director, filmmaker and teacher in Los Angeles. He taught as part of the Core Faculty at The Pack Theater and at iOWest for over a decade before pursuing his own independent, bespoke & curated student training ALL IMPROV. Brian is the Creator and Executive Producer of Big Yellow Taxi, the Executive Producer and Founder of Long Hard Tuesdays, the Executive Producer and Founder of The Lady Invitational and Executive Producer of Genre Night! at The Pack Theater. Brian is a graduate of the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts and moved to Los Angeles in 2000 to follow his dreams of a career in filmmaking.

BOC (as his friends call him) is part of the comedy collective Dr. God, who recently completed their first feature film project BLOODSUCKING BASTARDS, starring Fran Kranz, Pedro Pascal, Joey Kern, Joel Murray, and Emma Fitzpatrick, which O’Connell directed (his third feature as a director) as well as co-writing the script with Dr. God. The film was the Opening Night Premiere at Slamdance in 2015 and is available now on DVD and On-Demand after it’s theatrical run.

A regular performer, coach and teacher in Los Angeles, Brian derives most of his approach to improv from The Deconstruction, the form created by iO’s legendary team, The Family. With his internationally touring improv duo Billyhawk and iOWest’s legendary improv group Dr. God, Brian has performed and taught in festivals in Denver, Dublin, Phoenix, Toronto, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Austin, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Mexico City, Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Chapel Hill, NC.

Well-respected as one of Los Angeles’ premier improvisers, Brian is famous for his encyclopedic knowledge of minutiae and his insane recall ability and memory.

In addition to being on the board at Highwire Improv, BOC is a board member for the non-profit Camp Improv Utopia, the premiere improv, acting and training retreat in the country and served as the Director of Camp Outreach for the first 8 years.

Host or Publisher Big Couch