IMPROV FOR THE STAGE
Deliver improv magic one audience at a time
Whether you're new to improv or an experienced performer, I can craft a workshop, class or coaching session to elevate your comedic voice. Read about some of my offerings below. If you’re interested in working together, feel free to reach out or take one of my classes at the Magnet Theater.
Improv for Actors
Being present and reacting from a place of honesty is key to any actor's craft. Improv training can help scripted work come alive in the moments between the words.
Short Form Improv
Learn some of the games that you may have seen on Who’s Line Is It Anyway? Short form is fast, fun, and a great tool for harnessing audience engagement.
You are the Show
In this hybrid workshop/performance experience, participants are split into groups to learn a different set of short form improv games before reuniting to perform a fully improvised show.
Advanced Long Form Improv Structures
Interested in working on a particular form or trying something new? I’ve been teaching, directing and performing long form improv for over two decades. I can design a workshop or series of coaching sessions for ensembles to find their footing, expand their skills, build group cohesion, and bring their unique style to the stage. Some of the long form structures that are part of my repertoire include: Harold, La Ronde, Spokane/Pretty Flower, Slacker, Evente, Monologue Deconstruction/Armando, Monoscene, and Montage. I’m also available to help ensembles build their own form!
Specialty Workshops
I offer a variety of workshops on specific themes. All of these can be customized by length, number of participants, skill level, and context. Whether your a theater company, festival director, improv ensemble, or university, I can tailor a workshop around your needs.
Our improv troupe had been struggling with the same things for months, within three hours Elana was able to help fix these issues as well as bring us closer together as a group of people. Her joy and honesty was infectious and helped us reach those rare magical improv moments multiple times over. I still have a smile on my face from working with her. If she was teaching a workshop on lighting each other on fire, I’d gladly take it and then invite all my friends to do the same.
— Harris Gordon (Student, Vassar College)
Elana, once again, brought her insight and experience to our high school improv students, illuminating so many vital tips and suggestions to make us stronger improvisors. She immediately felt like part of our ensemble and the students were instantly receptive and responsive to her clear explanations and directions. She opened the door to long form improv, bringing clarity to the students on more effective ways to make offers and the value of being able to return to characters with confidence.
— Elaine Lifter (Director of Theater, Millbrook School)
Elana Fishbein is not only one of the finest improvisors in New York City (and beyond), she’s also one of the best teachers I’ve ever had the good fortune to work with. She has the ability to create a free and unselfconscious environment for play and self-expression, while effortlessly maintaining a firm and guiding hand on the structure and discipline necessary to channeling that play into something really inspiring. Elana is dedicated, passionate, compassionate, brilliant.
— Louis Kornfeld (Instructor/Performer, Magnet Theater)