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.

Nothing happened today
Facilitated by Matt Powell (Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand)

As new improvisors we're often trained to look for "turning offers", ideas or events that drive the plot forward and make things happen. But in doing so, are we missing the scene that is already going on? This workshop explores what happens when we intentionally try to make nothing happen, and instead focus on what is already implicit in the presence of our scene partner, our subconscious offers, and the characters and relationships we're creating together.

This workshop is distilled from a three-week intensive that started out being about something completely different.

"Matt Powell is an eagle-eyed, curious teacher whose adept skills at improvising allow him to create a class environment that is tailor-made to what the students need. He is the perfect balance of play and knowledge of how to unlock an individual's potential."

— workshop participant, "Autumn Intensive with Matt Powell", April 2022

About Matt

Matt Powell (he/him) has over 20 years' experience in improvisation, as a performer, director, producer, and teacher. He has taught and performed around Aotearoa and Australia, as well as being invited to the 2015 FÉRIIR festival on Réunion Island. At home he is a co-founder of Locomotive Improv Theatre Training, an Associate Director of the New Zealand Improv Festival, and a core member of the team behind Late Night Knife Fight. His first solo improv show, The History Boy, was nominated for Outstanding Solo Performance at the 2021 NZ Fringe (after being cancelled 6 times by COVID the previous year). Talk to Matt about cats, board games, and mobile audience participation apps for live shows.

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.