Synergy Theater School of Improv

Synergy Theater School of Improv offers beginning, intermediate, advanced, and master improv classes where students learn the Three Rules of Improvisation, make up hysterical stories, create outrageous characters, and improvise humorous sketches and scenes. Classes include work on creating the environment, developing three-dimensional characters, understanding scene structure, truthful acting, and applying these skills to classic short-form and mid-form structures, with advanced options that include improvising a full-length play and digging into specific genres such as Improvised Slasher Films. The program also offers an Awesome Improv Retreat that includes 12 intensive hours of advanced-level workshops and caps registration at 20 participants.

• Schedule: All class times are listed in USA Pacific Time. Improv I and Improv II each run for 8 classes of 1.5 hours, and Improv III runs for 8 classes of 2 hours. The Awesome Improv Retreat 2025 is scheduled for September 19–21.
• Price: Improv I: Beginning Improv is $160 for 8 1.5-hour classes. Improv II: Intermediate Improv is $160 for 8 1.5-hour classes. Improv III: Advanced Improv is $210 for 8 2-hour classes. Master class prices vary.

Classes are taught by Synergy Theater company members, including Artistic Director Kenn Adams, who is the author of the book How to Improvise a Full-Length Play: The Art of Spontaneous Theater and the creator of the improv games Sit, Stand and Kneel, The Family Dinner (also known as Ding/Buzz or Biography), and The Story Spine. Kenn Adams began his career in New York City with Freestyle Repertory Theater, the New York home for TheatreSports, and has been performing, directing, and teaching improvisation for almost 30 years. Other instructors include Griffen Bier, who has taught for Berkeley Improv, Synergy Theater, Piedmont Adult School, and BATS; Elyse Iovino, who joined Synergy Theater in 2023 as a K–5 teaching artist; and Nikki Vilas, who has a BA from UC Berkeley in Theater Arts Dance and Drama and is a teaching artist in Synergy Theater’s Youth Outreach program. Synergy Theater’s School of Improvisation states that it provides world-class training and education in the art of improvisational theater and shares its work through classes in its training academy, community improv jams, innovation programs for companies and organizations, and ongoing theater enrichment programs in local East Bay schools.

Last updated March 21, 2026.