We believe our Teen Comedy Program to be the best teen improv instruction in town!
This is the program our co-founders wished they’d had when they were improv nerds in high school over 100 years ago – cool, fun, and focused on practical, high-level comedy training. Every teacher is a professional comedian actively creating great work. Every class comes with feedback. Every class comes with a show or shows. We’re focused on skill development in a very fun, safe, community-oriented environment. The TCP also comes with its own Teen Diversity and Teen Financial Need Scholarships.
Whether you’re a teen or a parent, you might have questions. Get at us at classes@blindtigercomedy.ca or contact our Teen Program Director Allie Entwistle at allie@blindtigercomedy.ca. Otherwise, keep reading, there’s a lot more cool stuff to cover.
JUMP TO:
TEEN FINANCIAL AID SCHOLARSHIP
THE IMPROV SERIES
You can find the full list of our current offerings for youth (9-13) and teens (14-17) in the teen section of our main classes page.
Advanced Improv for Teens
Five or eight classes. Two shows.
We get that a lot of teens are cool as hell and have already been doing improv for a long time with a lot of cool people. This class is meant to dive into some of the more advanced concepts we teach and explore at Blind Tiger Comedy for students that are already well along their way as improvisors, perhaps through independent acting training or one of the other many excellent teen improv programs in Canada.
This course will explore game of the scene, group scenes, early long form improv ideas and advanced character concepts for improvisors looking to take the next step. You will do two shows and have a great deal of fun making very funny comedy.
Pre-requisite: Blind Tiger Comedy’s Improv 3 or equivalent experience. We know some folks will be joining us from outside of Blind Tiger training program so shoot Allie an email at allie@blindtigercomedy.ca to chat more about your experience – we won’t bite!
Instructor: Allie Entwistle
Class is not currently open for registration (it will be in later 2020 though don’t you worry). To be alerted when it is, sign up for our mailing list.
Sketch Comedy Classes
Five or eight classes. One show.
This course focuses on developing both your voice as a sketch comedian and good writing habits. By examining existing sketches from the past and present, you will be introduced to a well of resources. You will learn the importance of positive brainstorming, discovering premise ideas from everyday life, and the value of a structured development process from page to stage.
You might be wondering, what is the difference between this digital class and the “normal” in-person one? Well, the answer is almost nothing. It’s crazy we didn’t offer this class online earlier. There will still be two shows (and they’re going to rule online, you’ll see), and the course content will be literally the same. We’ll sit around a table, do some fun warm ups, learn about sketch writing process and tools, and work together to write sketches. Only now instead of a table there will be the online video platform Zoom.
You will move onto Sketch 2 with the ability to lay the groundwork of a sketch, and a strong understanding of the relationship between the page and stage.
Note: Blind Tiger sketch classes, like sketch comedy itself, are homework intensive: there will be work assigned outside class time every week.
Pre-requisite: Intro 2 or equivalent experience. We know some folks will be joining us from outside of Blind Tiger of Vancouver for this class, so think of this pre-req as “moderate writing or comedy performance experience.” Email directors@blindtigercomedy.ca to tell us more, and try us!
Instructor: Ronald Dario
Class is not currently open for registration. To be alerted when it is, sign up for our mailing list.
The Academy
Welcome to the Blind Tiger Comedy Swim Team.
The Academy is the ensemble-based long form program for students grade 8-12 who have completed the Improv 1-3 classes and demonstrated the versatile range of skills needed to tackle open scenes of all kinds.
Starting in late 2020, Academy ensembles will be cast based on performance skills and schedule to work with specific teachers on long form improv forms and skills. Each ensemble will work on specific long form and mid form formats like Harold, Armando, Tap Out, Cut To and beyond. Each course will have a specific set of skills and goals, and will focus on training students to find their next level as confident, versatile comedians.
Pre-requisite: at least two full improv courses with Blind Tiger Comedy and permission from a faculty member to move into The Academy.
The Academy is not currently open for registration. To be alerted when it is, sign up for our mailing list.
Why Should I Take an Improv Class?
For us, the first and biggest reason to take a class in the Blind Tiger Teen Comedy Program is to have a great time. Every Blind Tiger Comedy founder and faculty member found improv as a way to have an extremely fun time with like-minded folks. Improv is fun, and our playful approach, the hilarious working comedians who teach our classes, and our focus on safe spaces make our classes a good time, every time.
Beyond that, improv is good for your brain. Improv is a fantastic way to hone your comedic and artistic voice in a collaborative environment. It focuses on positivity, flexible thinking, and ingenuity.
Improv helps you to get out of your head and think on your feet- a skill useful not only on stage, but also in job interviews, public speaking, pitching, and auditioning. Improv flexes your creative problem solving skills and teaches you how to work as a team. Just ask basically every major business.
Why Blind Tiger Comedy in Particular?
Our goal with the Blind Tiger Teen Program is to provide the learning opportunities we missed as teens. This is a training program in the truest sense. Students receive structured training, regular feedback and the tools and support to improve. Where other schools might teach a game and leave it to the students to understand why, our teaching focuses on specific (hilarious, playful) learning outcomes and our teachers make sure students can demonstrate them. We also prioritize performance opportunities because there’s nothing like the rush and thrill of a comedy show to battle-test your skills.
As our already-decorated list of alumni suggests, we foster an environment and playful, supportive classes that produce successful, ground-breaking comedians.
Safe Space Policy
Blind Tiger Comedy is dedicated to providing a safe space for all of our participants and teachers. We are committed to welcoming a wide range of backgrounds and voices into our classes and to reducing the barriers for entry to improv for all people.
We are very active in making sure our classrooms are safe spaces. Every student is required to read and sign our Anti-Harassment Policy and our Comedy Class Guidelines, which covers very specific expectations and the steps we take to enforce those standards in and out of class.
Every course begins with a detailed breakdown of our safety rules (no swearing, we can only touch hands, content will be kept light), as well as a physical and emotional check in. Students will be given the opportunity at the beginning of the first day to specify the pronouns they identify with/as, and every effort is made to stop scenes when content may veer into problematic or harmful territory.
It is our belief that great comedy comes from students feeling sincerely and routinely safe. When we can be vulnerable, we can be funny and we take that very seriously.
The Teen Diversity Scholarship
Our Teen Diversity Scholarship mirrors our adult Diversity Scholarship exactly. Each semester (or every three months), we invite students who identify as people of colour, or as members of the LGBTQIA2+ community or disability community.
While the Diversity Scholarship is not explicitly need-based, we ask that applicants be mindful of their need when applying so that we can welcome those who might not otherwise be able to try comedy at Blind Tiger Comedy.
We have taken steps to ensure that applying for this scholarship is as easy as possible. To apply, simply fill out our simple teen diversity scholarship form that does not include any sort of essay or long answer question.
We have at least two scholarship spots in every class we offer. Applicants will be contacted within a week of their application by BTC staff.
BTC would like to shout out the great work other improv and theatre communities have done crafting inclusive programming like the above, some of the language and ideas from which we’ve borrowed to create our own, including HUGE Theater, Bad Dog Theatre and Rapid Fire Theatre.
The Teen Financial Aid Scholarship
We are committed to limiting barriers to taking classes with us wherever possible. We understand finances can be a burden especially for parents, and as a company founded by a collective of struggling artists we certainly empathize. Our Financial Aid Scholarship is designed to curb that challenge as much as possible.
Fill out the teen financial aid scholarship form here.
As ever, we encourage you to offer your feedback on our inclusion programming by contacting us at classes@blindtigercomedy.ca!
