The Maydays are awarding a scholarship to the 5th Annual Intensive for Experienced Improvisers (20th-24th March) in memory of our friend, teacher and mentor Jason Chin. Jason was a huge influence on the development and spirit of the Maydays. At a practical level our show, “Tonight’s Top Story”, was blatantly stolen from the format of “Whirled News...

We are delighted to announce to announce the winner of the Jason Chin Scholarship for the Maydays Retreat September 2018 is…drumroll…Neville Bharucha, 29 years old from Mumbai, India. On his improvisation experience Neville says ‘When I did it for the first time in 2013, I realised how much of an impact it has in the...

The Maydays Improv Retreat is almost upon us and that means it’s almost the closing date to apply for the Jason Chin Scholarship. We started the Scholarship in 2015 so we thought it was about time we caught up with our previous scholars to see what they’ve been doing since. Jen M Thomas – Retreat...

Our most recent scholarship winner, Rosanna Stevens, gives us a frank and first hand glimpse into the emotional, physical and psychological journey that an Improv Festival can take you on.  In the second part of a two part series, Rosanna talks about how her outlook began to change and what she took away from the...

Our most recent scholarship winner, Rosanna Stevens, gives us a frank and first hand glimpse into the emotional, physical and psychological journey that an Improv Festival can take you on.  In the first part or a two part series, Rosanna talks about her first impressions and how she overcame her anxieties… Maydays Spring Intensive Improv...

The Maydays are awarding a scholarship to the Maydays Improv Retreat  (19th-23rd September) in memory of our friend, teacher and mentor Jason Chin. Jason was a huge influence on the development and spirit of the Maydays. At a practical level our show, “Tonight’s Top Story”, was blatantly stolen from the format of “Whirled News Tonight”...

Improv for Presentation Skills Presentation skills lie at the heart of business.  Whether one on one, or to a room full of delegates, it can be the difference between success and failure.  In our experience in improvisation training, pitching and presenting are primarily about two things: confidence, and telling a compelling story. Find out more...

The Maydays has been around for a while. Not always with the same personel, but the company is coming up to its fourteenth year. In that time we’ve gone from a bunch of improv enthusiasts doing reps above a pub, to a company with significant turnover, gigging pretty much every week, running classes across Europe...

Mayday! Mayday! We’re looking for help… Since moving into our new home in Brighton last November we’ve expanded our offerings and we’re looking for people to get involved both in paid and voluntary positions. Interested? Check out how you could get involved here.  Get Involved  

Congratulations to Rosanna Stevens who is the winner of the Jason Chin Scholarship for the Maydays Improv Intensive 2018. Rosanna is an improvisor, humourist, musician, writer and researcher based in Canberra, Australia – our most far flung winner to date! She says ‘I believe our improv community could really grow by learning more about fearlessly supporting...

Here are a few paragraphs of very sound advice from Jules Munns, Improviser, co-founder and director of The Nursery Theatre and Training Centre and, fortunately for us, a Mayday too.  Find out how he deals with the obsessive improv chat after class and also his ‘Ten Things you Haven’t Done, but Definitely Know you Should...

Our previous Jason Chin Scholarship winner, Adina, tells us about her experience of coming from Romania to do 4 days of improv with The Maydays. A time for gratitude, joy and…improv…always! In the land of far far away Bucharest, Romania, in a time when everybody is thinking about resolutions and the new year, Fm still...

The Maydays are awarding a scholarship to the Maydays Improv Intensive  (21st-25th March) in memory of our friend, teacher and mentor Jason Chin. Jason was a huge influence on the development and spirit of the Maydays. At a practical level our show, “Tonight’s Top Story”, was blatantly stolen from the format of “Whirled News Tonight”...

There is no doubt the improvisation is becoming more widely recognised as a tool for so many life skills, whether in your business or your personal life.  Having witnessed the transformation in people who improvise regularly and heard it from participants time and time again, it is nice to see that improvisation for anxiety and...

Medical Improv The medical profession revolves around interactions between people. Improv depends on strong interactions between people. From the GP consultation through to the team working in an operating theatre, communication is at the heart of a health profession that is efficient, accountable and ultimately improves patient’s health.  From my own experience, I know that...

Having a foot in both the improvisation and the teacher camps, I have often mused and been asked about how people could use the techniques of comedy improvisation for teachers.  Here is my brief journey… I started teaching piano in 2002.  I had one pupil who I would teach in the piano shop I worked...

We have been lucky enough to be invited to many of the European Improv Festivals to teach and perform over the last few years.  Having the chance to travel and do the thing we love is the dream really for many of us.  Find out how one of our band – Chris Mead feels about...

by Jamie Lee First Impressions: It’s an average Wednesday afternoon in late March and I’m trudging the platforms at Clapham Junction weathering the crowd controlled confusion of a ‘CANCELLED SERVICE’ announcement. Sporadic splutterings of rain breeze by in a lightly suppressive mood but these irregular arrivals and departures can do little to diminish my own...

  Improv is all about supporting your scene partner so let’s get out there and support our fellow improvisers by checking out their improv shows in the Brighton Fringe this month. Since I am not allowed to read the full Fringe Brochure (because of The Maydays ‘Fringe Show) this list is based on the results...

Katy Schutte, one of our longest serving improvisers has written a wonderful piece about how to stay together as an improv company through thick and thin. Whether it is celebrating each other’s successes or committing to working out problems openly and honestly, here are some great tips on how to survive the inevitable storms and...