News Archive

For the latest news see the Home Page.

Final Show at The Crea

After almost 7 years at the Crea Muziezaal, the Crea is closing down and moving to Nieuwe Achtergracht 170. easylaughs is moving with the Crea and we will begin again on Saturday nights in the new year. There will be no performances in January and we will be busy rehearsing and getting ready to play on a new night.

So December 9 is our final performance of 2011 and the end of an era. Come and celebrate with us. See our shows page to reserve your ticket.

Stand-up Comedy Class

This Saturday (29th Oct) a new stand-up class starts. This course will cover the skills stand-up comedians utilise and will help you develop your own persona, style and material. This is a basic course aimed at people with little or no experience in stand-up, but who are interested to try it out.
See then entry on the Courses Page for more info.

Clowning Workshop November

November sees the return of world-reknowned clown exper Ira Seidenstein. He'll be teaching a 5-day intensive workshop based on his Quantum Theatre method designed to assist actors and improvisers (professional, veteran, or novice) to awaken within their own body, intellect, consciousness, and through creative play. Details on our new special workshops page.







Playing With Reality

New York's Playing with Reality will be running 2 Interactive Performance Workshops starting on 29 and 31 Oct. See playingwithreality.org for more information. They will also be playing a show in our 10:30 slot on 4th of November. See our shows page to reserve your ticket.

Regular Workshops Here Again

The Summer recess is over. From September 4th, workshops are back at the regular time (12:00) and place (Crea). They're also back at their old bargain basement price of €5 until the of the year (pay at the workshop, no need to reserve).

Special Workshop: IMPRO SUPREME

Impro Supreme is a training system for improvisational theatre inspired by dance, mime and clown.

This two day workshop will introduce you to its essential elements: 1) individual physicality and creativity training following the Seidenstein Method; 2) choreographic scene composition; 3) dramatic/comic improvisation: 'body to fiction and back again'.

Impro Supreme is neutral in the sense that it doesn't aim to produce any specific style of theatre. Its purpose is rather to open up new possibilities for each individual or group. Essentially, you will learn and/or practise how to consciously use your body so that it becomes an endless source of inspiration and an instrument of your own creativity.

The approach connects with, and applies to, all forms of improv. Each participant will be able to work at his or her own level. Veteran improvisers will find a way to revitalise their practice while beginners will discover a simple and straightforward way to improvisational excitement and happiness on stage. Where: CREA
More information: http://www.schjelbred.com

Who: Caspar Schjelbred (Improvisation teacher and performer, artistic director of The Improfessionals, Paris)

When: 23 July 2011, 10am-4pm & 24 July 2011, 11am-5pm

Cost: € 80 per person
To sign up, contact: Sarah Grimmer at sarah@easylaughs.nl

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Peter to perform in show with Impro Liga from Slovenia

On Saturday 25th June, there is a special show at 20:30 at the Crea. The first half features improvisers from Slovenia's Impro Liga playing with local performers including easylaugh's own Peter More. The second half is Show celebrating the Marijn Vissers winner of the first AllImprov Lifetime Achievement Award. Info available from the Allimprov site.

27 May - Show at Comedy Theater on the NES
On 27th May, we're not at the Crea (due to UvA student performances). Instead we are appearing at the Comedy Theater on the NES, as part of their International Comedy Night. We're the first half entertainment and will be followed by English-language standup. Check the Comedy Theater site for more information.

Literary Death Match
On Thursday 28th April, Peter will be one of the guest judges at Amsterdam's first ever Literary Death Match. Check the LDM website for more information.

5-day intensive Clown and Acting Workshop

We're excited to a 5-day intensive Clown and Acting Workshop in Amsterdam given by Ira Seidenstein as part of his 2011 European tour. This workshop is sponsored and made possible by Allimprov.

Who: Ira Seidenstein, M.A., PhD (Cirque du Soleil, Bell Shakespeare Company, Opera Australia) is an American/Australian director of theatre, circus, clown,and commedia with over 35 years of experience in these fields. He has worked in over 100 theatre productions often combining work as director, playwright, actor, and choreographer. He uses skills of classical acting, dance, mime, singing, and circus and has worked with over 100 directors in Stage and Screen. Internationally he has one of the most varied careers in the world of Clown, having worked in classical theatre, circus, dance, opera, commedia dell’arte. He has taught throughout Australia and internationally in Auckland, Belfast, Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, New York, Oslo, Paris, San Francisco and Stockholm. For further information, see www.iraseid.com.

What: Ira has developed the Seidenstein Method known as Quantum Theatre which is a series of anatomical movements designed to assist actors and improvisers (professional, veteran, or novice) to awaken within their own body, intellect, consciousness, and through creative play. In very practical ways, the Seidenstein Method is like the yoga of acting. It is unique and adaptable; it applies to all performances, from slapstick to Shakespeare.

Ira will teach his method during the 5-day intensive workshop. It will include "The Four Articulations" which form the basics of all performance: Body, Space, Time, Time-Space Continuum. The students will discover whole new worlds of creativity, inspiration, and true drama, via the work of their bodies.

It is possible that a student performance will be organised following the workshop (to be confirmed).

When: Sunday 1 May to Thursday 5 May 2011, 9.30am to 4.00pm

Where: Crea Studios, Turfdraagsterpad 17, Amsterdam.

Cost: €400 per person.

Registration: Send an e-mail to sarah@easylaughs.nl. Spaces are limited and allocated on a first-in-first-serve basis.

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New Improv Courses
The next round of improvised comedy courses is about to begin. Firtstly, there are two Level 1 (beginners) classes: on Mondays starting in March and on Saturdays starting in April. We also have a Level 3 on Tuesday evenings starting in April. See the Courses Page for more info.

Standup Course
We We are excited to announce a new course in Standup Comedy. This course will cover the skills standup comedians utilise and will help you develop your own persona, style and material. This is a basic course aimed at people with little or no experience in standup, but who are interested to try it out.
See then entry on the Courses Page for more info.


Advanced Workshop by Rob Reese
We also have a special advanced workshop on February 5th to be taught by highly experienced improviser Rob Reese from new York. For more information see Workshops.

easylaughs Sponsors Improv Festival!
Easylaughs is one of the proud sponsors of the 16th International Improvisation Theatre Festival. The festival takes place from 24th to 29th of January at the Rozentheater in Amsterdam. It features improvisers from all over the world, including a team of local talent including our own Jochem Meijer. We urge you to go see the festival every night, except Friday, of course.

Final show of the year, this Friday!
Yes, it's official 2010 has nearly been superceded by the new improved model, 2011. But before we consign 2010 to the history books, there's time for one last show. Well, okay 2. This Friday, 7th December, the usual Friday Show (20:30) will have a very festive feel as we perform some games with a Christmassy feel, ending with an improvised reinterpretation of Dicken's classic A Christmas Carol.

Level 3 End-of-Class Show Rocks Crea!
Congratulations to easylaughs level 3 class "The Milk Machine", who raised the roof at the Crea Cafe last Friday! The students outperformed themselves, earned a thunderous round of applause *and* raised money for charity. All in a night's work for The Milk Machine!

Those who pledged money on the night (you know who you are :) can go here to pay up! All money raised goes towards research into prostate cancer. Yes - it was part of Movember, the moustache month, as this recent snap of one of the group should demonstrate...


THIS WEEK'S SHOWS: The Friday show and Fright Night



2 LEVEL 1 COURSES STARTING VERY SOON

We have two Level 1 Improvised Comedy courses starting very very soon. One on Saturdays starting 23 October and the other on Mondays starting 1 November. Improv courses are fun, confidence-building and a great way to explore your creativity. See the Courses page for more info.


NEW MASTERCLASSES COMING UP

This season we are provifing more masterclasses for advanced students. These are shorter courses that specialise in a specific aspect of improvised comedy. We have three starting soon. From Saturday October 23, we have an Acting for Improv (Intensive Performance) masterclass which includes several performances and focuses on really acting within improv scenes. From Saturday November 6, there is a Singing for Improv Masterclass. And from November 20 we have an Introduction to Longform.


SUMMER WORKSHOPS ANNOUNCED

Following the success of last year, easylaughs will be running Summer workshops at a new place and time. The regular (12:00 at the Crea) workshops finish up on June 6, and from the folllowing week, the Summer Workshops begin. These start at 15:00 and at The Krakeling. Please note a price increase for the Summer Workshops. For more information, see the Workshop Page. Note that the time has changed from the originally advertised one and is now 15:00-17:00.


NO SHOW THIS WEEK (28/5/10)

With the arrival of Summer, it'll soon be time to put the shows on hold. There are no shows this week (28/5/10) due to Crea "Eindpresentaties" (Not Eendpresentaties which are something more bizarre entirely). but next week (4/6/10) we're back with the regular Friday Show and an edition of The IMPROV Apprentice where up-and-coming improvisers are put through their paces by The Donald and his two assistants. The following week (11/6/10) is our final show of the year. Miss none of them or regret it all summer long.


APPRENTICE APPLICATIONS REQUESTED

On June 4th, we are running another edition of The IMPROV Apprentice. In it six up-and-coming improvisers compete for a place in the cast of next week's show, all watched by The Donald and his two assistants.

The audience decides the winning teams, and for the losers that can only mean the boardroom where someone will be fired. Who will stay alive, and who will become the next IMPROV Apprentice?! If you'd like to take part, email us and let us know about yourself. Deadline: May 25.


CSI: AMSTERDAM RETURNS THIS FRIDAY



EASYLAUGHS 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY GALA

Thanks to everyone who came to the Crea on Friday April 9 to help easylaughs celebrate their 5-year anniversary.

The show and reception was a chance for easylaughs to thank many of their friends and supporters for the 5 great years at the Crea. The special Gala Evening featured live music and a selection of formats played by easylaughs cast members past and present playing to an enthusiastic sold-out crowd.

Once again, thanks. And if you came and took photos, feel free to add them to our facebook group.






EASYLAUGHS WIN CREA IMPROV TOURNAMENT

On Saturday March 20, easylaughs took part in the Crea Improvisatie Festival bringing together many of the groups who perform and rehearse at the Crea.

The competition was very strong and easylaughs had the handicap that only one of the their players was fully native Dutch. But in improv, the difference between a handicap and an advantage is often just a matter of attitude.

After two qualification rounds, a semi final, all of which were hard-fought, easylaughs found themselves up against Placebo in the final. Placebo were the organisers of the event and play regularly in the Crea Theater. After an hour of fun and high quality improv, the vote came in from the jury and the audience: The winners were easylaughs.

In all, the day was great fun day, particularly well organised, and brought together all of the great improv that goes on in the Crea. Thanks to all who came to watch, to play, and those who helped make it happen.