Trent Pancy

Testimonials from the participants:

In my amateur opinion imrov is spontaneus and silly way of creating comedy and stories by imitating things and characters in everyday life. It’s forgiving, it’s engaging and it’s incredibly rewarding.
Improvising in a foreign language is a bit challenging, especially when one has to come up with something outside the daily vocabulary. On the other hand, this gives you that small pinch of adrenaline. And of course everyone is on the same boat which eases situation a little. After a while, you just stop paying attention to it.
- Valeria G.

 

About the improv workshop hosted by Improgroup Jaa! in cooperation with Trent I attended on a sunny Sunday.
In improv I like pushing the frames of what is norm or the status quo. Also because I’m a lot more avant-garde theatre person, as for example i have considerable experience in forum theatre and
the theatre of the opressed, I like the jovial comical aspect of improv.
And the workshop with Trent was indeed fun. It was easy, playful, carefree – as i would normally like to spend my Sundays.
I thank the opportunity to take part and as for many other people, improv is also a survival tool for me and i support the expansion of it! May be improv with you! :P
- Erika S.

 

Kes koolitab?

Koolitajaks on Trent Pancy, kes on Ameerika näitleja, improviseerija ja õpetaja, kes hetkel resideerub Soomes. Enne Chicagosse kolimist lõpetas Trent 2006. aastal Kalamazoo Kolledzi teatrikunstide eriala. Chicagos elades õppis ja esines Trent sellistes prestiižsetes kohtades nagu Second City Conservatory, Second City Music Conservatory, iO Theatre (endine ImprovOlympic) ja ComedySportz Chicago, kus ta lihvis ja täiustas oma oskusi nii lühivormi kui pikavormi improvisatsiooniteatri alal ning lisaks esines ja osales ta ka ringreisidel koos mitmete professionaalsete ja amatöör improvisatsiooni ja sketšikomöödia truppidega. Seal alustas ta ka improvisatsiooni õpetamist ning on seda jätkanud ka nüüd Soomes. Praegu reisib ta Euroopas ringi ja jagab oma teadmisi Chicago-stiilis improtamisest.

Trent on spetsialiseerunud lühivormi impromängudele, vabavormis improvisatsioonile, pikavormi improformaatidele, muusikalisele ja hip-hop improvisatsioonile, sketšikomöödiatele ning improvisatsiooni kasutamisele sotsiaalvaldkonnas. Soomes tegutseb ta praegu kaheliikmelises impromeeskonnas “Big & Tall” ja suuremas trupis nimega „JadaJada“.

 

---

From the Instructor:

For the public workshop, I was kind of planning on just doing some basic introduction to improv things in the beginning. I usually like to introduce myself, then talk about what improv is, and what it can be used to achieve.

After that I always like to spend a good amount of time creating a “Safe Environment” with the group. I figure these things will take the first 1.5-2 hrs…

Next I will start introducing the basics of scene work and help to describe what goes into a scene, what the basic building blocks are to scenes, and what they try to achieve. I will have the students do as many scenes as possible. The basic scenework stuff should take about 2 hours as well.

After that, I will run the students through the gambit of some of the most common games, and basically just have them play games for the remaining time.

If you wanted to summarize that in a nice way, I would say that “the goal of the 6 hour workshop is to act as an introduction to what improv is, how to perform it, and what it can be used for”. We will spend time learning the basics and applying them to scenework and some short form games.

By the end of the workshop, the students will understand improv and should feel comfortable improvising in front of a crowd.

Who is Trent?

Trent Pancy is an American Actor, Improviser and Teacher who currently resides in Finland. Trent graduated from Kalamazoo College in 2006, where he earned a BA in Theatre Arts, before moving to Chicago. While in Chicago, Trent studied and performed at the prestigious Second City Conservatory, the Second City Music Conservatory, iO Theatre (formerly ImprovOlympic), and ComedySportz Chicago, where he learned and honed his skills in both Short-Form and Long-Form Improv. While living in Chicago, Trent also performed and toured with several professional and amateur improv and sketch comedy troupes. Trent began teaching improv while living in Chicago, and has continued to do so after moving to Finland. He is currently traveling around Europe spreading the word of Chicago-Style Improvisation.

Trent specializes in Short Form Improv games, Free-Form Improv, Long Form Improv formats, Musical & Hip-Hop Improvisation, Sketch Comedy and Applied Improvisation for Social Change. In Finland, he plays with the two-man free-form team “Big & Tall” as well as a larger team, “JadaJada.”