in-person:
Musical & movement
Work or play with Camila! Check out her background on all things music, movement, acting, and writing – she is open to travel for playing/guesting, jamming, leading workshops or intensives! Requires hiring piano accompaniment for musical unless otherwise noted.
For anyone wanting to open up their voice to singing, humming, drumming, or doo-wop-bopping spontaneously, these gentle group exercises help you find your niche (whether you think you “can sing” or not) in sound building with a team. You may even walk away with your own anthem for the day!
- Intro: Confidence, commitment, character, and enunciation! Any one of these fundamentals is all you need to improvise song! But yes, we’ll also work on hearing musical timing, creating rhythm, building dynamic group sound, and improvising lyrics with ease.
- Basic Song Structure: with special emphasis on the distinctions of creating chorus and verse, you’ll walk away being able to improvise your very own song that applies to singing a group opener, solo, duet, or point of view group number! Learn some universal language and exercises of musical improv, like “lip trills” “an AAAB chorus” or “Many Mumbling Mice”! For anyone who loves to sing out (car, shower, karaoke – in tune, or not!) with a little improv experience required (Yes-And attitude).
- Scene to Song & Show: Learn the foundation of a strong opening number, and learn how to get your scene into a song. Explore song types like Want, Mentor, POV and List!
- Genre, Special Targets, and More: Ask away! If you have specific targets for your musical improv Camila would be happy to connect you with instructors who can go deep on Opera, Blues, Jazz, Rap/Hip hop, harmonizing, and more!
Do you understand openers and scene to song, but now want to create a 30-60 min improvised musical? Learn how to turn any audience suggestion into a hero’s journey trialling storytelling with common formulas or your own organic style/intuition. These classes will put it all together, and also help the group discover their “signature” to improvising their own musical.
(Jam or Workshop, No Accompaniment Req.)
- Onstage Physicality & Dynamic Blocking
- Movement for Musical Improv: emphasis on mirroring & simple song-appropriate stylistic moves and gestures to bring more to your number. You might not kick like the Rockettes, but you can look just as cohesive!
- Presence & Picture (for any improv): Posture, presence, lines. Boldly and beautifully take up more space, translating to confident improv and character choices. Practice and build awareness of stage picture by getting out of “talking heads” and “clumping” by using strong, motivated crosses and levels. Up your improv game to improvised theatre level.
- Dance Party! for anyone or any group: Camila believes that mastering the confidence to move to music is what makes one a “good” dancer. Yes, anyone can dance, but they have to believe it. This movement based session has you exploring your eyebrows, from fingertips to hips, core to heart, and more. Discover how you feel confident moving and using it to your advantage. You’ll also learn dance move basics like “step-touch” and “lines,” and how to make them your own. If you can dance freely, you’ll feel like you can do anything.
in-person/online:
If you feel lost in the mist of second guessing your choices, avoiding center stage or protagonist roles, or comparing your abilities to “advanced” players, this workshop or weekly course will help you find the confidence to blast, “Yes, I KNOW, and here’s why!”
Skills (1 per jam, 1-4 for workshop or 4 week course, 1-6 for 6 week course:
1) Finding Your Voice: How Vocal Confidence Sounds
2) Carry Your Scenes: You Know Everything
3) Point of View: Yours Matters
4) The Mindset of FLEX: Adjust to Any Offer
5) Your Biggest Improv Fears Quashed (tailored)
6) Unleashing Your Unique Improv Powers (tailored)
This is accessible to any amount of improv experience in the same room, and any creative or curious type will be able to participate in the meditative group flow of this course. Each session ends in a poetic group story set. Great for writers, musicians, improvisers, and those with no experience but curiosity!
Jam, Workshop, 2 day Workshop or Intensive, 4 or 6 wk Course
Skills: Rich sensory detail, cinema-of-scene, musicality & lyricism, vocal color/character, themes/metaphorm/meaning, improvising specific lyrical/poetic structures (iambic pentameter, sestinas, refrains, and more!)
Wrap thy tongue around some Basic Shakes to see if thou desirest more drink from the well of Bardly improvisation! Thees, thous, metaphor, and the ol’ iamb-pentam included, no experience necessary.
ONLINE Sessions - audio based
Camila is available to make your online theatrical presence more inclusive of off-camera and non-screen participants with her dedication to the medium of AudioProv.
Camila’s uniquely designed audio exercises are known for a high amount of engagement time for all participants.
All sessions are designed to be either audio/video hybrid, or audio only, adjusted to request.
All exercises and accompanying sets are in audio only, with certain exercises offering a second pass on camera.
The benefit to audio/video hybrid for introduction, discussion, and closing is that it provides a stimulus break from an overwhelming auditory experience. Additionally, some players may need to process direction visually.
Camila respects and adjusts to the difference in accommodation for those who cannot access a screen, versus those who prefer to remain off-camera but still see the meeting.
intro to IMPROV & SCENEWORK as an audio-based experience
An 8 week course introducing improv via the audio medium. Slip into the improv flow through audio. No experience required!
- all the classic improv foundations that will serve you wherever your improv & scenework goes next: classic warm-ups, “Yes-And” fundamentals, exploring relationships, having character want, and being a supportive & joyful player
- a relaxed pace that relishes detail and balances humor with drama
- next steps guidance: individual post-course communication & encouragement on where to go next, locally or online!
Scenework in the audio medium
Experience the magic of fantastic listening and Yes-Anding with no visual distractions. For the improviser who wants to focus on translating scenework to audio, this slow, organic approach also translates beautifully to grounded improv back on stage/on camera. We always end in a set!
(Stage/Camera/Audio scenework experience required)
This 4-week course emphasizes the dynamics required to make audio engaging:
- Explore pacing & rhythm of the scene
- Practice painting detail of environment and character
- Find the comedic or dramatic climax through heightening (basics of “game”)
- Feel the arc of a scene and show
- Recommended: up to 8 participants, 2 hrs/session