Dubai’s Courtyard Playhouse Theatre workshop to help teenagers improve their improv

Courtyard Playhouse in Dubai has introduced Theatresports, a brand of improv classes, for teenagers to teach everything from on the spot acting to the technical aspects of creating a production.

The Playhouse workshop. Coutesy Tiffany Schultz

Teenagers can try their hand at improv with a new five-day Theatresports workshop by the Dubai-based theatre company Courtyard Playhouse. ­Designed for 13- to 18-year-olds, the 20-hour programme is one of the first in the Middle East and launches on Saturday, ending with an audience challenge showcase in mid-December.

“Children are naturally inclined to be good at improv,” says Kemsley Dickinson, the improv instructor at Drama Dubai, running the course. “They are less guarded. Adults, on the other hand, have inhibitions that often need to be undone.”

Dickinson says the students will not only be building confidence to face sudden situations on stage, but will also be taught access to the technical aspects of creating a show.

“For example, if somebody challenges them to a scene in hell, suddenly the smoke machine goes on and the lights turn red. They’ll learn about those cues,” he says. “What the improv course does is provide them with core skills, such as how to work a lighting board, arrange scenography and lighting design – all the elements they’ll need if they want to get into theatre.”

Participants can learn the ropes by assisting during the Playhouse’s weekly improv show held on Wednesdays.

Young talent is also being encouraged with an eye to hosting the first teenager improv championships in the region next year. The Playhouse is working with several schools in Dubai, and from January will begin offering improv classes as an after-school activity.

The workshops offer lessons for the youngsters that can be applied off-stage, too.

“It’s all about agreement, cooperation, teamwork and playing against each other,” says Dickinson. “And what’s nice about it is that they get to do it in an actual theatre, unlike a lot of classes that are conducted in a room.”

• The first Theatresports session for teenagers begins on Saturday; the final showcase is on December 12. The course is priced from Dh1,000. For more information, visit www.courtyardplayhouse.com