24th to 27 October 2024

Würzburger Impro­theater­festival

Würzburger Improtheaterfestival 2024

Clever games and silly stories? Unicorns, elves and happily ever after? That’s the easy stuff, but we all know there's much more to improvised theatre than fluff and fun.
While in scripted theater we can carefully craft our scenes, in impro, searching for meaning and questioning the status quo is much more daunting! Avoiding controversial or painful topics might seem like a wise choice, but in doing so our scene work pays a price. We rarely explore relevant topics, make political commentary or expose fears and injustices. And we may miss the chance to discover something about our humanity.
The Würzburger Improtheaterfestival 2024 devotes itself to material we often avoid. The stories, subjects and characters we shy away from. We’ll explore and deepen how to approach areas artistically and respectfully that we usually tiptoe around for fear of offending. We’ll play scenes that often escape us because of a lack of support and skill. We’ll attempt to make the audience laugh, but also cry, tingle and reflect upon their lives.
Unicorns and elves are still welcome though. We know they have deeper truths to reveal than just pooping rainbows and frolicking around.

Workshop application starts on May 1st!

Programme

SHOW APPLICATION

We are planning a varied show programme and you can help to shape it!
You have a show format that you want to present at the Würzburger Improtheaterfestival? You can apply until May 31st. We are looking forward to your submissions!

Workshops

Application starts on May, 1st at 10 a.m.

12 hours of intensive work

You can choose one of three twelve-hour workshops from our wonderful workshop leaders. This year, we're dedicating all three workshops to the common question of how we can approach controversial, painful, political and challenging stories, subjects and characters artistically and respectfully – while still making the audience laugh, but also cry, tingle and reflect upon their lives?
Please note our conditions of participation and the level system.

PS – for "old hands": the organisational procedure has changed a little compared to the last years: Tickets are sold via Yesticket, so there is no lottery, and participants organise their own accommodation. The Youth Hostel is of course available and remains the smartest option, especially for late risers who like to fall out of bed into the workshop. You'll get more information after registration.

Hila Di Castro

Andrew Hefler

Inbal Lori

Conditions of participation

Code of Conduct
We have developed a short code of conduct to ensure that everybody feels safe and happy and can get the most out of their experience at the Würzburger Improtheaterfestival. Reading through this code will give you an idea of our festival philosophy and values.

Cancellation of your workshop place
Until July 31st you can cancel your workshop spot and we will refund your festival fee minus an administrative fee of 30 Euros. If you cancel your spot after July 31st, we can only refund your participation fee minus the administrative fee of 30 Euro if we can fill your place - you are also welcome to suggest a person.

Liability
No liability can be accepted for self-inflicted accidents, wardrobe, damage to property and lost items.

Level

The level system helps us building homogeneous workshop groups to ensure that everybody gets the most out of their workshop experience. Please make an honest and self-critical assessment of which level best suits you. We reserve the right to cancel bookings whose level does not match the stated level of the workshop.

1. Experienced

I rehearse with an ensemble on a regular basis, and have experience performing improvisation on the stage. I have participated in some impro workshops.

2. Advanced

I perform regularly on stage and I rehearse on a regular basis with a fixed ensemble. I have been involved in introducing performance formats to the place where I primarily improvise, either by developing these or by introducing these from elsewhere. I’ve introduced others into improvisation, either through beginner training or mentoring newer players in an ensemble.

3. Professional

I perform regularly on stage and I rehearse on a regular basis with a fixed ensemble. I have developed formats and presented these formats in cities outside of the one I’m based in. I have a professional approach to my improvisational work. I’ve developed others in improvisation, by offering advanced training on multiple occasions, or by coaching ensembles.

Hila Di Castro: Intimacy in impro (Level 1 - Experienced)

Intimacy in impro

Teacher: Hila Di Castro from Tel-Aviv/Israel
Level: Level 1 - Experienced
Language: English
Price: 270€ regular // 200€ reduced*
Duration: Friday, 25.10.24, 2pm until Sunday, 27.10.24, 2pm

Participate

Would you like create a theatre experience where the audience is holding their breath and tension can be cut with a knife? Allowing intimacy into your improvisation scene work is a way to achieve this.
Often, however, we shy away from honest, private, loving, passionate or heartbreaking moments on stage. Why? What are our limitations and apprehensions? In order to be intimate on stage, we need to let down our guards and be fully authentic with someone else. If we can trust ourselves and our fellow players, then we can slip into the intimacy zone with our characters and their stories.
In this workshop, we will learn procedures to feel completely comfortable and safe with our partners on stage. Then we will bring this training into scenes and discover the full range of intimate situations that can happen between characters. Whether it be small delicate experiences, or those bigger-than-life moments that require our full commitment and bravery, we’ll explore how far and how deep we would like these scenes to go. We'll see how becoming vulnerable helps us to mesmerize the audience and create stories full of tension, fondness and flair.

Note: This type of work is not about touch (although touch can happen, if it is comfortable for both sides)

Hila Di Castro is an actress, international improviser and teacher based in Israel. You can find her every year in Pandora improve festival (Italy) as she is the director of the international cast. Hila is the co-founder, member and co-artistic director of the trio MOMENTUM – one of the leading improv groups in Israel. She is the creator and director of the show "Woman up!" and also the host and one of the performers both in the Israeli and the international cast. She is leading this show with a vision of a worldwide project to create a web of women groups performing it worldwide. Hila is the co-founder of "equal & above" improve workshops and shows that aims to advocate gender equity throughout Israel and the world. For over 10 years Hila tours the world performing and teaching acting and improv. She has visited over 10 countries, Bringing her unique, inspiring, personal style and improv philosophy.

Andrew Hefler: Taboos, Misbehaviour and Challenging Themes (Level 2 - Advanced)

Taboos, Misbehaviour and Challenging Themes

Teacher: Andrew Hefler from Budapest/Hungary
Level: 2 - Advanced
Language: English
Price: 270€ regular // 200€ reduced*
Duration: Friday, 25.10.24, 2pm until Sunday, 27.10.24, 2pm

Participate

Do you feel like improvised shows revisit the same types of scenes over and over? Do you ever leave the theatre unable to remember what you saw or why you saw it? There are strong arguments to be made for light entertainment. Quick comedy is playful and spontaneous, and audiences deserve to laugh. Still, the stage is a dangerous place. It should not lack consequence.
This workshop is about putting risqué or unsavory behavior on stage and exposing its effect. It is a chance to explore controversial or troubling content and learn how to handle it sensitively and poignantly. We'll turn up the temperature on risk and relationship and play informed characters that champion philosophies or feelings quite the opposite of our own. Participants will develop the skills of naughtiness and mischief in a playful atmosphere of support and trust. There will be fun and failure as well as candid constructive feedback.

Andrew Hefler is a performer, director, trainer working in theatre, music, film and television for nearly thirty years. He was first introduced to Improvisational theatre at the age of 10 in grade school in Los Angeles. Since then he has worked with theatre groups in the US, Canada, Europe and since 1994 in his homebase of Budapest. He was a founding member of the experimental impro trio Scalabouche and later he founded Grund Theatre in 2008 developing a company and training methods for actors and shows for performance. Grund Theatre has a strong mission for creating progressive relevant improvised theatre, television content, and skill building courses for the public. Education for people in the entertainment industry as well as applying improvisation for a wide range of clients from the professional business, socially conscious sectors.

Inbal Lori: The Time is Now! - Dark & Uncomfortable Scenes (Level 3 - Professional)

The Time is Now! - Dark & Uncomfortable Scenes

Teacher: Inbal Lori from Tel-Aviv/Israel
Level: 3 - Professional
Language: English
Price: 270€ regular // 200€ reduced*
Duration: Friday, 25.10.24, 2pm until Sunday, 27.10.24, 2pm

Participate

The world is changing fast, and we are often not sure what we are “allowed” to do on stage and what is “inappropriate”. We find ourselves facing questions like:
How do we tackle political, racial, gender issues in improvisation?
How do we play the bad guys and/or people who are different from us?
What do we want to say and how do we avoid propaganda while saying it?
How do we keep our improvisation playful and funny while tackling deep, disputed, or dubious topics?
If you are interested in making relevant, meaningful, thought-evoking improvisation – this workshop is for you! Come open minded, assume good intentions, and join the ride.

Inbal Lori is a graduate of Jerusalem art high school (1994) and Nisan Nativ acting studio (2000). Since then She writes and acts for television and theater and has won prizes and scholarships for her acting and writing. Inbal started improvising in Tel Aviv in 2001. In 2015 Inbal moved to Berlin and since then she is teaching and performing all over the world in places like: the U.S.A, Canada, Australia, Colombia, Japan, Nigeria and Europe. In a business context Inbal is working and coaching companies like: Spotify, Disney, EY, Doberman, McKinsey, Rolls Royce and more.

* Categories such as students, employed, etc. do not always reflect the actual financial situation. Please decide for yourself if you are able to pay the regular price or if you need a discount. We trust that the reduced price will benefit those who really need it.

Festival-Guide

If you would like to take part in the festival, you will find various information and all kinds of interesting facts in the festival guide. We will add to the guide during the year. If there is still an open question, just contact us.

Code of Conduct

We have developed a short code of conduct to ensure that everybody feels safe and happy and can get the most out of their experience at the Würzburger Improtheaterfestival. Reading through this code will give you an idea of our festival philosophy and values.

Schedule

follows soon

Directions & Parking

Workshop application

How does the registration work?

This year everything is a little different than usual: no lottery, no registration form, no workshop priorities. You can simply book your desired workshop via Yesticket. Please note the different levels!
Afterwards we will ask for some information through a form (e.g. if you prefer vegan food or if you don't tolerate gluten). The additional information will help us to make the festival run as smoothly as possible for everyone.

Can you book me accommodation in the youth hostel?

Unfortunately, this is not possible this year. If you want to stay overnight at the youth hostel, you can book a place there yourself. Please note the regulations for overnight stays in youth hostels, especially the youth hostel pass, which can be purchased for only half a year. Guests from abroad need a foreign youth hostel pass.

I didn't get a workshop spot. Is there a waiting list?

If you did not get a place, you can send us an email with your desired workshop. If a place becomes available, we will inform all interested persons by mail. Be quick to be the first one to book the opened spot on Yesticket.

What happens if I have to cancel my participation?

Until July 31st you can cancel your workshop spot and we will refund your festival fee minus an administrative fee of 30 Euros. If you cancel your spot after July 31st, we can only refund your participation fee minus the administrative fee of 30 Euro if we can fill your place - you are also welcome to suggest a person. In case of cancellation, please contact us by mail.

Around the festival

Where does the festival take place?

The festival takes place mainly in and around the Jugendkulturhaus Cairo (Fred-Josef-Platz 3, 97082 Würzburg). The workshops will be at the Cairo, the elementary school, the church and the Youth Hostel, which are all nearby and within walking distance - here and there including some stairs and unfortunately barrier-free only to a limited extent. The shows in the evening take place at different venues in Würzburg. These are best reached on foot or by public transport.

When should I arrive?

Many participants already travel to our traditional opening gala. This always takes place on the Thursday evening before the festival weekend. We are happy if you are there. Of course you can also arrive on Friday for the workshops. Before the workshops you can arrive comfortably at the Cairo. While enjoying some snacks you can get to know the other participants and the festival team and clarify open questions. After a welcome we will start with the workshops. You can find the exact times in the schedule.

Which meals are included in the festival fee?

The festival package includes the following meals:

  • Friday: Dinner at the hostel
  • Saturday: Lunch and dinner at the youth hostel
  • Sunday: Breakfast provided by the festival team at the Jugendkulturhaus Cairo

In the youth hostel, water and juice will be provided free of charge with the meals. During the social program (e.g. coffee breaks, get together) you can buy drinks for little money.

Are tickets for the shows included in the festival package?

No. Since several shows are offered in parallel on the evenings, they run separately via Yesticket. As a workshop participant you can buy tickets at a reduced price. We will remind you in time by mail about the beginning of the presale. Please get your tickets for the shows of your choice early, as the shows are often sold out.

Is it possible to help out with the festival?

Yes! We are very happy for your support! Just send an email and we will get back to you.

Team

Carina Odenbreit

artistic director

Kati Schweitzer

artistic director

Christoph Röseler

project coordination

Scarlett Vucic

side programme

Jonathan Suderman

technics & logistics

Elina Martin

ticketing

Carolin Buchmann

social media

Hendrick Ziegler

finance

Viki Tempel

social media & websiite

Lilly Grund

social media & website

Franziska Plehn

participation mangagement

Support

We would like to thank all our partners, sponsors and venues for their support and the long time cooperation.