On a stage on the Comedy Bar on Danforth, full with a purple velvet curtain, a number of individuals are collaborating in a circle music. One begins with a single line, then every provides a line of their flip, making up the phrases, and probably veering into surprising instructions, as they go.
“Simply seize it and be current with the music,” counsels Carly Carly Heffernan. She’s an affable and full of life host/teacher for this system.
A proficient keyboard participant provides accompaniment, and likewise contributes to the concepts for songs, subjects, and extra. It’s like taking viewers solutions and turning them into musical scenes on the spot — one thing contributors might be placing into follow on the showcase that takes place on the finish of the course.
Carly Heffernan
Heffernan is an award successful director, author, actor, and showrunner, and is at the moment the Inventive & Government Director of Comedy Bar Danforth Productions and CB Professional Comedy College.
Earlier than her present gig, she was the Head of Artistic for The Second Metropolis and Inventive Director for The Second Metropolis Toronto. She’s additionally an alumna of Second Metropolis Toronto, and wrote and carried out in 4 revues throughout her time there. That features directing the hit essential stage present Come What Mayhem!, and co-writing Second Metropolis’s Information to the Symphony, which toured to venues like Roy Thomson Corridor and the John F. Kennedy Heart in Washington, DC.
Carly directed one other hit present, the primary ever, all-female Second Metropolis sketch revue, SHE THE PEOPLE, which loved a 3 12 months run in Second Metropolis Chicago’s UP Theatre, together with touring to Boston, Nebraska, Montreal, Washington DC, and Toronto.
Her writing credit embrace The Irrelevant Present (CBC Radio), George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (CBC), Canadian Air Farce NYE (CBC), Canadian Air Farce 150 (CBC), Nearly Genius (CMT), SketchersonsTV (Rogers), amongst others.
As an actor, she’s appeared in Youngsters Break All the things, The Beaverton, Elliott The Littlest Reindeer, The Different Kingdom, Misplaced & Discovered Music Studios, Spun Out, Odd Squad, However I’m Chris Jericho, The L.A. Complicated, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and extra.
For Second Jen (Metropolis), credit embrace serving as author, actor, showrunner, and director of the third season. The present was nominated for a Canadian Display Award.
Carly just lately directed Season 3 of the tv sketch present, ABROAD (OMNI).
The Lessons
The video games and workouts start with the straightforward, and regularly add layers and complexity. Musical kinds vary from pop to blues to traditional musical theatre, and even operatic aria-style work. From solo work, the category strikes to working in pairs and creating duets, or “teeny-tiny two-line musicals” as she calls them.
The “piano torture recreation” begins with an improvised scene and a random subject. In flip, the contributors communicate traces, interrupted at random factors by the piano. When the music begins, they’ve to show to music, however then cease simply as abruptly when the piano fades out.
Alongside the way in which, Heffernan affords recommendation and encouragement. She emphasizes physicality and perspective. Strains are sung with a way of physicality in addition to musicality.
“By no means communicate a single phrase or sing a single notice earlier than you… What?” she asks the category. “Set the stage!”
Whereas lodging are made for the shy at coronary heart, Carly additionally pushes contributors out of tendencies to desire being a wall flower to being the centre of consideration.
“I need you to crave that down stage second.”
It’s not all simply enjoyable and video games, although. Whilst you’re enjoying, you’re studying, amongst different issues, tips on how to improvise together with primary rhyming patterns, timing points, and extra. Class members discover ways to create rhymes on the fly.
Including the small print and complexity elevates the work to the extent of theatre. Constructing scenes means establishing the who, what, and the place, and doing so inside seconds in music kind.
The courses cycle by varied kinds and enjoyable musical improv video games like Blues Jam, Hoedown, Irish Ingesting Music, Sing It! and extra. A part of that enjoyable is seeing a few of your classmates go from a bit shy to totally taking centre stage by the tip.
It’s additionally about being there in your classmates on stage. In a scene the place another person is performing, it’s equally as necessary to pay attention and react.
“The primary factor they need to see is emotion.”
Course Info
The course contains eight in-studio courses and a showcase efficiency.
- Discover particulars on Musical Comedy Improv courses (beginning in January 2026) on the Comedy Bar Danforth [HERE].
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Anya Wassenberg is the Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. Beforehand, she was a contract author with a specialty in tradition and journey for 3 many years, and a inventive writing teacher for Ontariolearn.
