Youthful thespians with a penchant for comedy are what the teacher of an improvisational course is hoping will make up his student body, slated to commence next month. Part Saturday Night Live, part comedy review, director Derek Green said he
Youthful thespians with a penchant for comedy are what the teacher of an improvisational course is hoping will make up his student body, slated to commence next month.
Part Saturday Night Live, part comedy review, director Derek Green said he hopes his students will learn how to be conduits of creativity in his upcoming workshop at the Hanalei Community Center.
Green said students from last year’s North Shore improvisational class, Christian Potter, Maddie Rausch and Savannah Frisk, said they wanted to “take it to the next level — a play,” he said.
In light of that, stepping it up this year will include a fund-raising performance at the end of the course for the Garden Island Arts Council.
The performance will include original skits created by the students, workshopped and practiced together.
The 16-week course will be spread out over 21 weeks, with some weeks concentrating on straight improvisational scenes and others on performing.
Though the cost for the workshop is fairly pricey, $600 to be exact, Green said he has figured out a way to make it more inclusive for those who might otherwise not be able to afford it — locally sponsored scholarships.
“Several companies — Prince-ville Ranch Adventures, Empire Properties and Investments, and Bread for the Journey and the Garden Island Arts Council— have all supported me in the last year,” Green said. “They’ve been setting up scholarship funds for students who can’t afford to sign up.”
Green said he thought of the scholarship idea after witnessing children who he believed would have benefited from the class, but couldn’t afford it.
“Time and time again I’d see brilliant kids out there without the means necessary,” he said.
The $600 price tag includes all materials the students will need, he added. Slots for scholarships are still available, as well as room for local sponsors.
Though students in years past have primarily consisted of North Shore residents, Green hopes within the next five years there will be students island-wide who will attend.
Green’s class begins Jan. 16 at Christ Memorial Church in Kilauea. The course will continue to June 1, he said.
• Amanda C. Gregg, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or agregg@kauaipubco.com.
