Improv 700: Improvised Genre & Styles, Wednesdays, Winter '27

A graduate-level focused on improvised genres and styles for the advanced improviser.

This eight-week course is part of Unexpected Productions' Graduate Series: a quarterly class with revolving topics which may be taken in any order.

Genres and Styles are an audience favorite, but they also are a chance to dive deep into artistic techniques and skills which are applicable to any improvisers work.

Students will learn a broad approach to adapting almost any genre, style, playwright, author or cinematographer, as well as specializing in at least two specific genres each quarter. Students will also take a look at the "style" of improviser theatre and how many of the assumptions we make about improvisation are simply default stylistic choices that we ought to sometimes challenge. Students are expected to do some out-of-class reading and/or watching source materials for inspiration. The last two weeks of this class include performances at the Market Theater.

This class is taught by Tony Beeman, Artistic Director of Unexpected Productions, who has created, co-created or directed over 50 individual improvised shows, several of which have been performed both nationally and internationally, including Four Hearts (inspired Edward Albee), The Improvised Man (Ray Bradbury), and House of Ink (A murder mystery combining six different authors each performance). He is also know for is annual run as author and poet Edgar Allan Poe in Poe Unexpected, and as both Ghost and current Director of A(n Improvised) Christmas Carol.

Professional improvisers and graduates of other programs may apply to have the 600 requirement waived by emailing school@unexpectedproductions.org and describing their improvisational experience.

Date and Time: 8 weeks, 8 Wednesdays, Jan 13 to Mar 3, 7:00pm to 9:30pm

Location: 650 S Orcas St, Suite 101, Seattle, WA, 98108

Age Requirements: 18+

Prerequisites: Improv 600 or permission from the Education Director (school@unexpectedproductions.org)

Maximum Students: 16

About the Teacher: 

Tony Beeman

Artistic and Education Director | Unexpected Productions

Tony Beeman is the Artistic and Education Director of Unexpected Productions, a 43-year-old theatre based in the heart of Downtown Seattle. An improviser, director, and educator who has performed, taught, and directed across Europe, the Middle East, and North America, he is committed to improvisation as both a performance art and a powerful tool for human connection. His work is defined by theatricality and sincerity, focusing on unscripted theatre rooted in ensemble storytelling, poetic language, and grounded truth.

With a career spanning over 25 years, Tony has overseen more than 30 full-run productions, specializing in organic long-form improv and improvised plays. His show Four Hearts, an improvised homage to the works of Edward Albee, has been adapted by theater companies in Canada, Colombia, and Japan. Tony's performance work is deeply informed by literature and poetry, highlighted by a 15-year tenure portraying the Three Ghosts of Christmas in A(n Improvised) Christmas Carol and his annual turn as Edgar Allan Poe in Poe Unexpected.

Tony believes the most compelling theatre happens when performers bring their authentic selves to the stage—embracing the joyful failure inherent in the art form through free-fall, vulnerability, and theatrical skill.

Cancellation policy:  We apologize, but we are unable to offer refunds within two weeks of a class starting.

Free or reduced-cost access provided is supported by 4Culture