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...

by Tony Lowe   I am a student studying philosophy politics and ethics. It’s a weighty subject full of debates and essays that seems to be nothing like improv… we can’t just say what we want, everything we argue must be backed up by reasons and a lot of what we do is pre-meditated. We...

  By Rhiannon Vivian Let’s talk about work. Green party leader Caroline Lucas has just announced that she’d promote a four-day working week if she were in power. Some people have already criticized this (the main one being Brexit loving, Thatcherite, Tim Montgomerie) but I can’t understand why. Does having a rigid, toil based work...

We at The Maydays know that improv classes can have profound effects on people’s confidence, self respect and social skills in general but can they work for someone who identifies as an introvert?  Well we found out recently as one of our students, Jacqui Moorhouse, was moved to write a blog on the subject.  Here...

We know that improv classes are not just about laughing and meeting people, but it is lovely to hear it direct from one of our students. We see our students go on their own journeys as they come back each week.  Some seem to gain confidence, others are less pushy, rude, quiet or awkward when on...

You’ve signed up to an improv class which is a COMEDY course, so you really should be extra funny by week two, shouldn’t you? But Janet got 4.5 times more laughs than you and Dave, well Dave might just as well book his ‘Live at the Apollo’ gig right now. You know what you need...

  Katy has been a member of the Maydays for 12 years. She met LA’s Craig Cackowski (2nd from left) at the OOB comedy and improv Festival in Austin, Texas playing in an Armando show in 2015. She took an improv class with him then and has been enjoying his insights ever since. At the...

 by Ed Pithie  I was generously granted the full Jason Chin Scholarship to the September 2016 Maydays Improv Retreat. I planned to sanctify my notebook with the sacred teachings of the Maydays and bring the Good Word back to the folk of Horley, where I run a weekly drop-in. I can honestly say that the...

The Maydays are awarding a scholarship to the Maydays Improv Intensive  (22nd – 26th 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...

Improvisation Classes: Using good techniques to avoid bad reviews. Improvisation classes are popping up everywhere nowadays and the participants are from extraordinarily diverse sectors of society.  Many improv schools have their own flavour of improvisation techniques and styles so choosing which class to attend can be tricky.  One of the most important factors is having...

by Rhiannon Vivian ‘Eliminate self motivation and take care of each other,’ – Jorin Garguilo, the ‘Space Hippie’ After years of invaluable training and trying out different methods, schools of playing, tools, tricks and tips (all of which chug away in your subconscious) in recent times I’ve ended up actively focusing on just one thing...

How To Improve Communication Skills with Three Quick Exercises   Improvisers actively practise their communication skills as a warm-up for rehearsing and performing comedy and theatre shows. Many of these exercises improve communication as well as being quick, fun and easy for anyone to play and practise in their work life.  Listen Fully    Listening is the...

by Will Naameh I was fortunate enough to be offered a partial Jason Chin scholarship to the Maydays spring improv intensive in Osho Leela this year. I perform, teach and coach improv in Edinburgh, so went down to Dorset to learn and bring back as much improv wisdom as possible to the community here in Scotland....

Can Improv address some of the problems of mainstream education? by John Cremer and Joe Samuel Our mainstream education system is based on an industrial model of mass-produced learning. We compel lively and inquisitive young people to sit in rows and be “educated” according to an outdated and rigid curriculum. One of the problems of...

Workplace happiness is often defined around how the use of positive psychology has a beneficial effect on productivity. We don’t propose to challenge that assertion, because in business terms, workplace happiness has been shown time and again to lead to better business outcomes. What we do want to challenge, however, is the idea that workplace happiness...

Improv for business professionals may be a fast growing and innovative sector in the training and development market, but it has a long history and some very experienced facilitators.  We chased down two giants of the Improv for Business sector, Neil Mullarkey (Comedy Store Players, ImprovYourBiz.com) and John Cremer (The Maydays),  and asked them 5 key questions about...

Improvisation games and activities are ideal for conferences and training courses. The Maydays are often called on to bring improvisation to these kind of events. Most typically we’re asked to deliver ‘improv for large groups’. As the name suggests, this is a specific discipline within improv which calls for a certain kind of exercise which...

Definition of Spontaneous Improvisation Spontaneous: performed or occurring as a result of a sudden impulse or inclination and without premeditation or external stimulus. Improvisation: something that is improvised, in particular a piece of music, drama, etc. created spontaneously or without preparation. I am often asked “What is the definition of spontaneous improvisation?” and it always...

A different kind of happy Can improv training increase workplace happiness? Regardless of the environment I have seen improvisation used, whether it be at an improv show, public course or in house training, there is one thing that jumps out immediately; people seem to be enjoying themselves.  I don’t mean the nervous giggle or the...

Using Improvisation In The Workplace Improvisation is defined as the act of creating something spontaneously or without preparation. But how much can you actually improvise or apply the techniques of improv in the workplace? And why would you? Surely work is the one place that you need to prepare… If you read this article you’ll...