Songprov Workshop with Laura & Rick Hall

Saturday, May 6, 2023

Full Day Schedule

  • Noon – 3pm: Workshop with Laura & Rick Hall (in Unscrewed Theater)
  • 3 – 5pm: Break
  • 5 – 7pm: Rehearsal
  • 7:30pm: Laura & Rick Hall & Friends! Workshop participants perform with Laura & Rick Hall!

Rick & Laura Hall have taught music improv all over the world at comedy clubs, theaters, high schools and universities. You’ll work with two seasoned improvisers and get two different perspectives; from an experienced improv actor and musician.  Even if you’ve never done song improv before, they’ll introduce you to the basic concepts.  And if you’re already experienced with song improv, they’ll stretch your skills and bring you to the next level.

We’ll look at musical form and structure, rhyming, harmony singing, communicating with a Musical Director and more.  All in a positive setting where you can explore, stretch out, and most importantly, have fun!

Here’s what the workshop covers: 

  1. Warming up and why it’s important, care and use of your voice
  2. Building vocal confidence: exploring melody, rhythm, discovering your natural voice, becoming a more confident singer.
  3. Music improv as a natural extension of scenic work: using character, emotion, and relationships to create rich and interesting songs
  4. Group singing: Listening, watching, taking turns, coming to a chorus, harmonies, ending together
  5. Musical structure and why it’s important
  6. Improvised movement and choreography

In this workshop we’ll play loads of short form song games. We’ll do rhyming exercises and games like Irish Drinking Song, word-at-a-time songs like Three Headed Singer, and line-at-a-time songs like Conducted Song. We’ll play longer scenic games like That Sounds Like a Song (aka Sing It).  You’ll never have to be afraid of singing in a short form show again!

Experience Level

Intermediate. Completed Improv Basics or equivalent beginning class.

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Location

Unscrewed Theater
4500 E. Speedway Blvd. #39
Tucson, AZ 85715

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Showcase

Saturday, May 6
7:30pm MST

Photo of Laura Hall

Laura Hall

Laura Hall is best known as the improvisational pianist and Musical Director on all 20 seasons of the hit TV show, “Whose Line is it Anyway”, with both Drew Carey and Aisha Tyler hosting. Laura has toured extensively with “Drew Carey and the Improv All Stars” and performed with “Whose Line Live” at the Adelphi, the Palladium, and Royal Albert Hall in London.

While at The Second City, Laura was Musical Director and Composer for the Jeff Award winning E.T.C. revue, “Channel This!”  She composed original musicals with The Annoyance Theater and Theater-A-Go-Go, including “Patty, Patty, Bang! Bang!” which won an L.A. Weekly award for Best New Musical.  Laura has played with countless improv groups, including iO Chicago, iO West, Theatresports, The Groundlings, Unexpected Productions (Seattle), ImprovBoston, Curious Comedy (Portland), “Opening Night: The Improvised Musical!” (L.A.), and “Hyprov” with Colin Mochrie and Asad Mecci.

Laura has composed scores and songs for several indie films, including; “Slice of Pie”, written by Rick Hall; “The Long Isolation”, recorded entirely remotely during the pandemic lockdown; two award winning holocaust documentaries, “Swimming in Auschwitz” and “After Auschwitz”; a romantic comedy, “Anatomy of a Breakup” written by Judy Minor; and “The Wheels on the Bus” children’s video series, starring Roger Daltrey as an 8 ft dragon.

Laura has recorded “Improv Karaoke”, fully produced tracks to help improvisers learn music improv. She’s created an in-depth online video course, “A Musician’s Guide to Improv Comedy” and a book, “The Improv Comedy Musician: The Ultimate Guide to Playing Music with an Improv Group” which both teach musicians the specialized skill of playing for improv.

Visit laurahall.com for more!

Photo of Laura Hall

Rick Hall

Rick Hall was a founding member of Chicago’s Improv Institute. At The Second City he created and performed in two Main Stage shows, “John Paul Sartre & Ringo” and “Catch 27”. Rick uses his improv skills as a host/presenter at meetings and corporate events, as well as auditions, television shows and commercials.

Rick was a series regular on the improv-based TV show “The Factory”. He played Agent Johnson on 28 episodes of the hit Disney show “KC Undercover”, and has been on many other television shows including “NCIS”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “24”, “The Middle”, “Key & Peele” and “Seinfeld”. He’s been in commercials for AT&T, Centrum, Sabra Hummus and many more. Recently, Rick can be seen on the indie film circuit as Detective Chowder in “The Long Isolation”, written and directed by Deb LaCusta and Dan Castellaneta from The Simpsons. 

Rick is an accomplished writer and storyteller, headlining at “The Reboot”, “The Otter Story Hour”, “Story Salon”, and “Open Words Expo”. His one man show “Pigboy”, featuring stories about growing up on a farm in Central Illinois, was chosen for the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and enjoyed successful runs in L.A., Chicago, and across the Midwest. Rick has recorded a cd of several of his stories and turned one of them, “Slice of Pie”, into a short film, which won numerous awards on the film festival circuit.   

Visit therickhall.com for more!

I was blown away by how supportive and encouraging you both were. You’ve made me feel better about myself as an improvisor as a whole, not just musical improv.

Heather D

Toronto, ON, Canada

The workshop was fantastic. Rick and Laura make one helluva team.

Michael Descoteaux

Artistic Director, Improv Boston

Two of the most warm-hearted and encouraging teachers I have studied with. Rick and Laura are so supportive, and their wealth of experience seamlessly lifted the whole ensemble to appear as if we had done this for years!

Kevin G

Oslo, Norway

I had a great time and learned a bunch at the same time. You and Rick quickly put the class at ease and whamm-o we were singing like champs!

Andy R

Aurora, IL