The Acting of Improv: A Two-Day Workshop with Suzi Barrett

This workshop is all about honing your acting chops—digging into the emotional commitment of a scene, and completely connecting with your scene partner so that even silences are compelling. In the second half of class, we’ll work with the Gravid Water form—where one scene partner reads from a script, and the other one improvises their lines. If you can up your improv skill-set with grounded, believable acting, you'll be able to create unforgettable scenes.

About your instructor:

Suzi Barrett is an actor/writer/improviser who lives in Los Angeles.

She hosts the popular improv podcast Yes Also, and is a frequent guest on After Midnight and Comedy Bang Bang. Other TV credits include Drunk History, How I Met Your Mother, and Just Roll With It-- on which she was a series regular. She’s written for Our Fascinating Planet with Demetri Martin, America’s Next Weatherman on TBS, and is the creator/author of the best-selling humorous self-help series Affirmators!, which is currently in development as a TV series.

She’s also been studying, performing, and teaching improv for 25 years. A student of iO, The Second City, and UCB, she spent 3 years in Amsterdam performing with Boom Chicago before moving to LA. At UCB LA, she plays with ASSSSCAT and is a member of the long-running house team Sentimental Lady. She’s also taught all levels at UCB (including Advanced Study), has coached 6 Harold teams, and toured with UCB Tour Co. On the LA indie scene, she was the co-founder of LA’s indie training program Improv Bootcamp (where she taught for ten years), and is one half of the popular indie team Elephants Gerald, with Rebecca Drysdale.

About Highwire Improv:

Highwire Improv is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization based in Baltimore, Maryland. Our mission is to steward a community of artists committed to growth, collaboration, joy, and justice — in Baltimore and around the world — through improvisational theater.