Philly Improv Theater

Pirates, Robots, and Ninjas: Unlocking Dynamic Scene Work

You’ve honed your improv skills—creating environments, building characters, recognizing patterns, and working within the Harold structure. Now, it’s time to push your skills further by exploring a dynamic approach to scene work that will challenge you to make bigger choices, heighten faster, and edit with precision.

In this four-week master class, you’ll use the framework developed by Billy Merritt and Will Hines to explore three distinct styles of play:

Pirate Harold – Fully commit to bold, larger-than-life characters and fearless scene work. Step into a world where pirates mutiny, duel, and plunder—freeing you from overthinking and letting you play with full commitment.

 Robot Harold – Master pattern recognition and heightening. Strip away hesitation and train yourself to quickly lock onto and escalate patterns with machine-like precision.

Ninja Harold – Sharpen your editing instincts and ability to initiate with confidence. This style focuses on rapid scene work, strong initiations, and lightning-fast edits to build momentum and keep scenes moving.

In the final week, you’ll integrate these elements, combining the boldness of a Pirate, the analytical skill of a Robot, and the speed of a Ninja to create more versatile and powerful scene work.

Meets once a week for four weeks, plus an additional practice session before the showcase.

Spots in this course are limited

Prerequisite: PHIT Level 401 or permission of instructor.

Adults 18+

Please note: All sales are final. No refunds. No credit for future sessions. No transfers. Please consider your schedule carefully before you register. All classes must be paid in full before the first class meeting.

Due to the collaborative nature of this course, it is strongly suggested you are able to attend all classes for maximum learning.

Day: Wednesdays

Dates: April 2, Apr 9, Apr 16, Apr 23

Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Practice date: May 14th 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Showcase Date: Saturday May 17th Block 1 10:00 AM - 11:30AM

Room: TBD

Theater Location: Hamilton Family Arts Center 62 N. 2nd St, Philadelphia, PA 19106

About the Instructor:

Diego is an improviser and sketch comedian PROUDLY hailing from Wilmington, Delaware and is absolutely ecstatic to be coming on board to teach at PHIT, after having graduated from the program! As an instructor, Diego has an energetic and focused energy, with a big emphasis on exploring YOUR creativity and helping to activate your funny bone. On the weekends, you can find Diego performing with teams at various spots around Philly, and at home playing some tabletop RPGs, and would be happy to nerd out about them with anyone who feels so inclined.