Advanced Forms: The Deconstruction (with Trevor Silverstein)
Do you enjoy the balance of grounded, truthful improv with game-based absurdity? Are you interested in further exploring how these approaches can be performed together? The Deconstruction is a show format entirely inspired by one recurring relationship-based scene. Every detail, idea and reference contained in that slice-of-life is mined to create a tapestry of themes, absurdities and chaos
In this 2-day intensive course, you will learn a highly structured version of The Deconstruction. But emphasis will also be placed on taking an organic approach when necessary and letting the show define itself when need be. Players will be introduced to the concept of “Position Play,” which will reinforce their ability to recognize the types of scenes that commonly appear in shows. And what those scenes require of them as performers
The Deconstruction is a format that will allow you to stretch all of your improv muscles, pay close attention to your teammates and create a show that will dazzle audiences. Or at least leave them wondering what on Earth they just saw.
Student Show: Sunday, April 23rd, 2023
A half-hour lunch break will take place each day.
About Trevor
Trevor Silverstein is a filmmaker/comedian performing in improv and sketch shows in Berlin since 2016. The Deconstruction was the staple format for Trevor and Nacho Sanguinetti in their collaboration as Double XL. Together, they hosted the monthly show “In the Lab with Double XL” which explored all kinds of improv formats and interviewed legendary improvisers from around the world. He can be seen regularly at Comedy Café Berlin with various groups including Fünfdollar, Action Jackson and Macro-dose with Trevor & Steindor.
Instructor
Trevor Silverstein
Course Dates
- April 16th
- April 23rd
Location
Course Info & Requirements
This course includes:
- a student show
- free student tickets to improv shows at Comedy Café Berlin
- Certificate of Completion*!
*upon successful completion of the course
Health & Safety Requirements
- If you are feeling unwell, please let your instructor know and stay home!
- FFP2 masks should be worn at all times unless students are actively performing in a scene or exercise.
Registration requirements:
- All students must read and agree to our School Policies and the above Healthy & Safety Guidelines.
- Students must be respectful to their fellow students and course instructors, and adhere to our Student & Teacher Code of Conduct and our Community Code of Conduct.
Have questions? Take a look at our FAQs
FAQS
Questions? Concerns?
Please (pretty please) read the info below or our full FAQs before contacting us! (We’re pretty sure all your questions are answered here).
No. We keep our course and workshop costs low to allow as many students as possible to learn the art & fun of improv. To avoid unnecessary headaches involved in estimating student numbers, keep administrative costs down, and generally be fair to all students and would-be students, we do not offer refunds once a course or workshop registration has been purchased. Please keep this in mind before registering!
No. We don’t offer test classes or auditing, but we encourage prospective students to join our weekly open improv jam and to come to House team shows on Friday nights to get an idea of what we’re doing and who we are. This is a great way to meet us and current and former students, as well as join in the CCB community.
Yes but… we require students to attend at least 6 of the 8 course sessions in order to pass the course and continue taking higher level courses with us. In addition, students may not be more than 15 minutes late to 4 out of 8 classes in order to pass.
The student show offered as part of most courses is not required, but we feel that participating in the show is a fun and rewarding conclusion to the course, so we highly encourage everyone to participate.
If you know you’ll miss more than 2 classes, we strongly recommend you do not register as you’ll simply not get enough out of the course and you’ll be required to retake the course in order to continue taking courses with us.
We do not offer make-up classes for missed classes. Students are added to a Google Group for their course and can message fellow students for notes about missed classes, but please keep in mind that no one is under any obligation to respond.
Sometimes. We allow course prerequisite exemptions on a case by case basis, but please keep in mind that we rarely grant exemptions. We teach a very specific style of long form that is relatively unique in Europe. We lay the foundation for that in our Intro course and we’ve found that students who have received training at other schools that focus on short form ‘impro’, status and narrative are often at a disadvantage when skipping Levels, in addition to slowing down the progress of other students.
Our courses and workshops are capped at 16 students max; some courses and workshops have a lower class size – these will be noted in the event description.
Still have questions?
Get in touch or email us at [email protected]
Please do not contact instructors directly!