Julie Tattershall, the Artistic Director and Park Manager of Heller Theatre and Clark Theatre for the City of Tulsa, Park and Recreation Department, will lead her second Improvisional Workshop for The Playmakers on Sunday, February 2, at 1:30-4:00 at The Playmakers’ theatre, 121 W. 3rd St. in Grove, OK. That’s Superbowl Sunday, but the workshop should end in time for those festivities.
The workshop is made possible with a grant from the Kathleen Patton Westby Foundation. There is no charge, but enrollment is necessary as space is limited. To enroll, or for more information, please call 918-786-8950 and leave a message or email groveplaymakers@yahoo.com. Students must be at least 8 years of age to attend.
Ms. Tattershall created an improvisational troupe, Laughing Matters, which has been performing for the last twenty years in Tulsa. It has performed in over 350 improvisational shows and implemented touring projects throughout the Tulsa area.
Improv received prominence with the Commedia dell’Arte companies in the 16th century. Lessons on this “slapstick” form of comedy are taught by the Playmakers for all 6th grade students in Grove Schools. But it was the improvisational nature that is the “spine” of this kind of comedy. Most students today and many parents are familiar with “Whose Line is it Anyway” on television, or with Second City, the founding company for “Saturday Night Live,” both of which use improvisational techniques.
However, Ms. Tattershall says that “it’s a lot more complicated than it may appear.” She teaches a short form improv which includes a “built-in safety valve. “The fun thing about improv is that sometimes even if you crash horribly, it’s still pretty funny…It’s really about building trust onstage,” she adds.
The workshop is primarily for the students in the Off Broadway Troupers youth theatre group. However, it is open to speech & drama students from area schools, adults who are part of The Playmakers or who wish to be, especially those who are used to working in scripted theatre.
Other adults who might benefit from it in their jobs are invited to attend and/or just observe the process. “If you work with the public,” says Suzanne Boles, Artistic Director for The Playmakers, “the role-playing improv exercises can be very beneficial.”
Ms. Tattershall has been awarded the Mary Kay Place Legacy Award after the actress, singer, director and screenwriter from Tulsa, and the Tulsa Award for Theatre Excellence (TATE) award. She was also named Communicator of the Year, the top honor of the annual Bronze Quill Awards sponsored by the Tulsa chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators.