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NORTH WEBSTER – Anyone can do improvisational comedy, according to Jessica Hardy, and she’s willing to teach you how.
Hardy will teach two five-week summer sessions on comedy improvisation at the North Webster Community Center this summer. Sessions are 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. June 11 through July 16 for the first session, and July 24 through Aug. 21 for the second session. Cost is $75 per session, or $60 if participants sign up by May 15. The class is open to ages 14 and older, and no experience is required.
There will be an end-of-session comedy showcase for participants’ family, friends and the public during the final week.
To sign up, call the NWCC at 574-834-1600.
During a telephone interview Monday from Chicago, Hardy said she and her husband had the Chicago Comedy Film Festival in Elkhart previously to showcase some of their films. During the festival, she held an improv workshop. Twenty people showed up for the introductory 1-1/2-hour workshop and expressed interest in doing something more long term. While in discussions with the Elkhart Civic Theatre about that, Hardy reached out to the NWCC to see if they were interested in a workshop. Hardy and her husband’s second film, “Welcome to Gentle Waters,” was filmed in North Webster and they spend time in the summer in the town.
“They jumped on this right away,” Hardy said of NWCC’s involvement in the workshops.
In the summer, Hardy said, it seems like North Webster is a highly populated area and there are many festivals around, but no one has ever offered an improv workshop before.
“I want to impart the basics of improv comedy,” she said. “I want them to understand these games and tools comedians use before they go on to ‘SNL’ and movies.”
Improv, she said, is also about accepting each other. Improv can teach people how to be more spontaneous and less judgmental.
“As adults, we tend not to have the opportunity to do something like this, and adults can work and then come (to the workshop) and have fun,” Hardy said.
While the workshop is for people 14 years and older, she may make exception for 12- and 13-year-olds if their parents call and she decides they are ready for the workshop.
When it comes to improv comedy, Hardy does have some experience under her belt. She graduated from The Second City in 2005, which is the school of improv that comedians such as Tina Fey, Mike Meyers, Tim Meadows and more got their start. She co-wrote and co-produced two feature comedy films, which star comedians such as Vanessa Bayer (“Saturday Night Live”) and Michael Palascak (appearances on Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, David Letterman).
“In writing and directing, I learned a valuable lesson in understanding how to collaborate with comedians,” she said.
“Anyone can do improv,” she said. “Not only do I have the experience and talent, but I also have experience working with kids.”
For three years, Hardy worked at the Second City youth camps. She said she has a good understanding of how to teach, and people tell her she’s a really relaxed teacher.
“I grew up in Elkhart. When the Second City workshops came into town, it was in the newspaper. It was an opportunity that changed everything for me,” Hardy said. “I knew it was what I wanted to do. This gives people the opportunity to try it and see if they like it.”
More information on Hardy and her resume can be found on her website at www.jessicahardy.org
