The Brisbane Improv Festival is excited to be hosting 22 Improvisation Workshops as part of the 2022 Festival with facilitators from all over Australia and New Zealand.

Hugging The Cactus
Facilitated by Jaklene Vukasinovic

In rehearsal spaces and performances where anything can happen, nearly everyone has something that scares the shit out of us - the things that would make us "Nope!" out of a scene, freeze, go blank, or pull the lights in a panic. In Hugging The Cactus, we'll figure out what these topics, themes or dynamics might be for us personally, examine them, and determine ways we can challenge our fears in scene work. We'll use solo, pair and group exercises and dig deep to find the confronting, the scary, the wake-in-a-cold-sweat feelings... and then we'll learn ways that we can make friends with that concept to make it our ally in our improvisational adventures.

About Jaklene

Jaklene Vukasinovic (she/they) is a Naarm/Melbourne-based improvisor, teacher, technician and producer who has been making theatre since 2005. Jaklene is an ensemble member at Impro Melbourne and The Big Hoo Haa Melbourne, and founder of First Draft Theatre. They've performed/taught workshops at Improvention (Canberra), Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Melbourne and Adelaide Fringe Festivals, New Zealand Improv Festival (Wellington), Slapdash Improv Festival (London) and at Mount Olymprov - the Greek International Improv Festival (Athens). Jaklene is also a lighting technician and designer who creates and operates for sketch, cabaret, theatre and impro in theatres and found spaces across Melbourne.

The Brisbane Improv Festival will be following all current COVID-19 safety guidelines and will also require all workshop participants to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for the wellbeing of all participants and facilitators - please note this is a extra requirement mandated by the Festival.