Finding the Fun in Fights: How to Argue in Improv
with Alfred Chow
Saturday, August 12, 3-5:30pm (2.5 hours)

When we first begin improv training, we are told not to argue with our scene partners, as conflict can be detrimental to creating a good scene. In my view, I believe that it is okay to have an argument between characters, as conflict is part of theater. Arguments can help characters connect by creating opportunities for vulnerability, opening the space for real confessions, and truths about each other.

In this workshop you’ll learn to how to turn a fight into a fun point of view, use empathy to have a stronger connection with your scene partner, lose the fight temporarily to move the scene forward, and play the relationship out based on the initial dynamic or offer instead of trying to change the relationship.

Alfred Chow is an improviser who calls Toronto home. He has performed internationally in cities such as Edinburgh (SCT), Chicago (USA), Uppsala (SWE), Oslo (NOR), Sydney (AUS), Brisbane (AUS), Baltimore (USA), Bangkok (THA), and Miami (USA). When in Toronto he produces and performs in the weekly show “All of us are Asian” and the monthly show “All of us are Naughty”. He has also performed with Bad Dog Theatre in shows such as “Close Quarters” and “Theatresports”. In 2023 his duo “Mahjong Mafia” outlasted 90 other teams to win “The World’s Biggest Improv Tournament”. Alfred is a teacher for the improv schools “The Assembly” and “Bad Dog Theatre”, has led corporate improv workshops, coaches half a dozen indie teams, and has taught workshops overseas. He has studied improv at world-renowned schools such as UCB, iO, and Groundlings Theater, and has worked with over 100 coaches during his improv career, including people such as Joe Bill, Dave Razowsky, Susan Messing, Jamie Moyer, and Will Hines.

$25-59 (pay-what-you-can) / 2.5 hours / Limited Space / Class is held at the Hideout Theatre downtown