Improvising is what we do every day.
It’s our number one skill. You’re already amazing at it. So let’s play with this awesome ability and have some fun exploring what it’s like to live a human life.
You don’t have to be funny. Or clever. Or an actor. Improvised theatre is about being present, listening, and reacting honestly in the moment.
And you’ll find all sorts of ways to learn and grow by doing this – and lots of people gain confidence from expressing themselves in a creative community.
If that sounds like your cup of tea – come and join us!
Here & Now runs classes, courses and workshops in Woodbridge, Suffolk – often with some of the best improv teachers in the UK.
We aim to create a fun and supportive space for everyone and our group agreement helps us to do that.
See our what’s on page for details.
We also run Improv at Work sessions to enhance leadership, communication, creativity and teamwork.
We perform regular improv comedy shows in Woodbridge. We’ve built up a loyal following over the last 5 years and shows often sell out.
Tickets are available from the What’s On page.
Some videos from recent shows
We create engaging learning experiences that open up new possibilities for creativity, teamwork and leadership.
If you’d like to more creativity, spontaneity and courage in life, drop us a line to chat about personal coaching.
More than an art form, improvisation is the sweet spot between presence & connection.
There’s solid science that shows that being present-minded can improve empathy, flexibility, confidence, wellbeing, playfulness and increase tolerance for uncertainty.
We teach improvisation as an awareness practice that expands our capacity for being present-minded in social connection. It creates a space where you can express yourself and know that you are seen, heard and felt – and that’s good for the spirit!
Improvisation is anything that happens without a fixed plan or script. Life, basically.
You could say it’s…
Making your own entertainment
We can get together and make our own entertainment – that’s a big deal. It can be funny and dramatic – we love both. Our style is theatrical and it can look like anything from scenes, stories, and songs, to whole plays on the spot.
A rehearsal room for life
The skills and mindset improvisers use on stage can help you make the most of your opportunities in life. Studying this craft helps you to be a brilliant listener, fantastic collaborator, creative maker, bold leader and impactful follower.
A way of being here & now
Spontaneous, liberated, loving presence. It’s the goal of many spiritual practices. And curiously the generous and attentive art of improvisation also offers a path to the space beyond ego, fear and doubt. Ommm! 
Jill Bernard and Patrick Short’s definition of improvisation as ‘A highly refined system for observing, connecting and responding.’
To put it another way it’s all about opening up, noticing more, letting go and using what’s there. As improvisers say “Everything’s an offer.”
More than an art form, improvisation is a way of enjoying and experimenting with playful, creative, authentic human connection. At least it is the way we do it.
It’s not about schlocky-gags, clever-cleverness, witty lines, or showing off or being funny. It’s about showing up as an actual human being here & now with other people who are doing the same.
That makes it compelling, funny, surprising all at once, and without even trying.
As an artform it’s an way of making your own entertainment, which is what everyone did down the pub in the good old days.
Improv workshops and rehearsals offer a practice space, where you can play and learn all sorts of things about yourself and others – without needing to be perfect. Often the real value of the work is in these spaces.
In our classes you’ll learn how to express yourself and help others to do the same in improvised games, scenes, stories and longer forms. Guided by our teachers you’ll discover how to make scenes that are easy and delightful with quick agreement and playful co-operation.
Every class starts and ends with a check in so we meet as real humans and keep it relaxed and real. We make time for personal and group reflection so you can learn from what’s happening. And we’ll work on atomic skills and habits for staying centred, listening, feeling feelings, and including other people in our space (and more).
Spending time with open-minded and open-hearted people is highly addictive. Most people who do a beginners improv class with us go on to do more classes!
Check out the details on the offerings on our What’s On for specifics about the courses. Some are for improvisation aka improv comedy and others are for unscripted theatre and playback theatre.
Improvisation is for everyone.
You don’t need to be funny. Or fast. Or clever. Or an actor. Or good at it. Or anything else that might get in the way of being in the here and now.
Ultimately it’s just people being present in the moment, connecting as best they can, and all sorts of intriguing things happen as a result.
Our classes and courses are open to anyone aged 18 and over. We use accessible venues, and activities can be adapted to suit people’s physical needs.
We also work in organisations with Improv at Work to enhance leadership, communication, creativity and teamwork.
Learning to improvise is a way to:
– have fun with like-minded, open-hearted people
– share and express your thoughts and feelings
– find renewed inspiration for your creativity
– reduce social anxiety, fear and doubt
– increase tolerance for uncertainty
And the people who improvise are a lovely bunch to hang out with – generous, playful and kind.
You’ll learn to play improvised games with good energy and commitment, create enjoyable scenes, and stage satisfying human stories.
At a more fine-grained level, improvised theatre workshops and classes offer a rehearsal room for these skills:
• Listening and being present in the moment
• Accepting offers from other people
• Genuinely supporting other people’s contributions
• Expressing yourself with more freedom
• Trusting your impulses and daring to be obvious
• Noticing your self-talk and quieting the inner critic
• Being more flexible and adaptable
• Having more confidence in your own ideas
• Not taking yourself (of life) too seriously
• Using humour and the truth in comedy
• Telling rich and satisfying stories
