JANUARY
16 - Monday - The Edge Cycle - 7-10PM
17 - Tuesday - The Foundations Cycle - 7-10PM
18 - Wednesday - The Bauhaus Cycle - 7-10PM
21 - Saturday - BmB Presents... 8PM -
23 - Monday- The Edge Cycle - 7-10PM
24- Tuesday- The Foundations Cycle - 7-10PM
25- Wednesday - The Bauhaus Cycle - 7-10PM
28 - Saturday
30 - Monday- The Edge Cycle - 7-10PM
31- Tuesday- The Foundations Cycle - 7-10PM
FEBRUARY
1- Wednesday - The Bauhaus Cycle - 7-10PM
4 - Saturday
6 - Monday- The Edge Cycle - 7-10PM
7- Tuesday- The Foundations Cycle - 7-10PM
8- Wednesday - The Bauhaus Cycle - 7-10PM
11 - Saturday
13 - Monday- The Edge Cycle - 7-10PM
14- Tuesday- The Foundations Cycle - 7-10PM
15- Wednesday - The Bauhaus Cycle - 7-10PM
18 - Saturday
20 - Monday- The Edge Cycle - 7-10PM
21- Tuesday- The Foundations Cycle - 7-10PM
22- Wednesday - The Bauhaus Cycle - 7-10PM
25 - Saturday
27 - Monday- The Edge Cycle - 7-10PM
28- Tuesday- The Foundations Cycle - 7-10PM
MARCH
1- Wednesday - The Bauhaus Cycle - 7-10PM
4 - Saturday
6 - Monday- The Edge Cycle - 7-10PM
7- Tuesday- The Foundations Cycle - 7-10PM
8- Wednesday - The Bauhaus Cycle - 7-10PM
11 - Saturday
13 - Monday- The Edge Cycle - 7-10PM
14- Tuesday- The Foundations Cycle - 7-10PM
15- Wednesday - The Bauhaus Cycle - 7-10PM
18 - Saturday
20 - Monday- The Edge Cycle - 7-10PM
21- Tuesday- The Foundations Cycle - 7-10PM
22- Wednesday - The Bauhaus Cycle - 7-10PM
25 - Saturday
27 - Monday- The Edge Cycle - 7-10PM
28- Tuesday- The Foundations Cycle - 7-10PM
29- Wednesday - The Bauhaus Cycle - 7-10PM
Hello and welcome to the JTW's growing online community!
Use the following links to connect with other members, increase your knowledgebase and stay up on the show schedule.
JTW Google Group
Atlanta Long-form Message Board
JT Workshop BB
Online Training
Show Schedule Coming Soon!
Thanks for being a member![JTW]
Can I learn how to do this?
Absolutely. In fact, we started the JTW because we're so excited about what improv training can mean for everyone... whether you're already a performer or not. For people of all occupations, training with us will hone your abilities in listening, problem-solving, creative thinking, concentration, awareness and communication, along with improving your overall confidence level. For actors and performers, improvisation training can add a lot to your creative and professional process from auditioning to performance.
Is it funny?
Our brand of improvisation can be very funny. We take more time developing the characters and stories which gives the audience more of a chance to become invested in and to get connected with what is happening on stage. Our work has a tendency to be funny especially when you see characters that are a lot like people you know, or characters who are dealing with issues you identify with. We're not out there to force the jokes. Scenes can be light, dark, funny, tragic... we don't know what's going to happen. The spontaneity of it all is irresistibly entertaining.
Is that like "Who's Line is it Anyway?"
Sort of. Yes, Who's Line is improvised (each taping is later edited down so the best scenes end up on tv.) However, our style of improvisation is not based on the games you would find on that show.
What is improvisation?
For us, improvisation is unscripted scenic performance. Every relationship, every character, every word is completely made up on the spot in front of a live audience.
DirectionsThe JaCKPie Theatre Workshop is located at
the Relapse Theatre in Midtown
380 14th St Nw
Atlanta, GA 30318-5364
Pick your favorite mapping website below to get directions from your home or office:
JTW Teams
Babies Mit Bearden: Intelligent. Improv. Comedy
JaCKPie: Two Men. No Script. Infinite Possibilities
Other teams will be posted soon... Check back for details...
What is Spontaneous Theatre?
and
What is Long-form Improvisation?
For us, Spontaneous Theatre and Long-form Improvisation are based on the free play of imagination, solid character work and relationships. The improvisers journey with the audience through an intellectually stimulating, emotionally accessible, and yes, often humorous experience. Within the experience, each improviser may play several different roles, characters may reappear, roles may switch, scenes may change and space and time may be manipulated. Scenes may be light, funny, sad, painful, dark, or all of the above.
Deadly Nightshade
Do you dare eat the fruit of the Deadly Nightshade?
Oct 7 - Oct 28
Saturdays at 8PM
Inspired by the works of Edward Gorey, this Halloween long-form romp promises two parts fear, three parts laughter and a thousand parts creepy. Do you dare eat the fruit of the Deadly Nightshade?
The Vesuvius Project
A powerful night of spontaneous theatre
July 8 - Aug 26
Saturdays at 8PM
One audience suggestion launches two full acts of long-form improvisation. This complex project combines several different forms into one full evening of spontaneous theater, which includes an improvised movie for the stage.
Wax Costanza
A journey through the camera's lens
May 27 - Jul 1
Saturdays at 8PM
Painting the dynamic nature of a life using the static medium of photography, this three person long-form pulls no punches as it dives head first into what makes us human.
Meet X
Climb into the lives of 5 characters and their interweaving destinies
April 15 - May 20
Saturdays at 8PM
Ever passed someone in a supermarket and wondered about what their life must be like? Is the guy pumping gas next to you a businessman or a hit man?
500 Miles
An Improvised Romantic Comedy
March 4th - April 8th
Saturdays at 8PM
This relationship based long-form goes deep inside the lives of six characters who share a common bond. Watch as family and friends explore what keeps us together in life and the things that drive us apart.
Knucklebones
An Improv Mixer
Opens March 4th
and plays
Saturdays at 11PM
Knucklebones is an Improv Mixer open to all JTW Members. Minutes before showtime JTW members are picked by captains to create two harold teams that will perform before a live audience. Think of it as Improv Kickball...
Our Vision
The JaCKPie Theatre Workshop envisions an Atlanta community of hundreds of players and performers who are given the education, development and stage time necessary to become successful in the craft of Spontaneous Theatre. The JTW encourages players and performers to avoid the traps of ego and judgment by focusing on the ensemble nature of our creative approach. The JTW sees every new attendee as a Member of our community, not as a Student. Workshop leaders, experienced performers and those completely new to the craft will work together to inspire, educate and motivate one another in a way that is not possible with any other teaching style.
Our Goals:
Chicago Red Line
Next stop... Atlanta... Doors open on the right in... Atlanta
Chicago Red Line
Opens Feb 4
Saturdays at 9:30PM
A night of Chicago style improv right here in the ATL. See an hour of thought provoking, powerful and often humourous improv performed by members of the JTW.
What is a JaCKPie?
People who ask this question are usually wanting to know about the name itself... so let's start there...
The term JaCKPie was created when Chris Pierce and Jim Karwisch needed a name for the new two person long-form show they would be producing at the Red Chair Theatre in Atlanta's Midtown. What they decided on was a combination of the letters in each of their names... The Ja from James, The C from Chris, the K from Karwisch and the Pie from Pierce.
Since then, the logo of a child's jack and the greek letter Pi have come to stand for a balance in scenework between Intelligence and Play (and yes, we know that Pi isn't spelled with an E and that the mathematical symbol for Pi is a lowercase not an uppercase greek letter. All of this evolved organically and fit together that way... We wouldn't change it for the world.)
If you were actually looking for more information about what JaCKPie is as a whole, Click Here.
The Edge Cycle
Meets every Monday
7PM to 10PM
380 14th Street NW
Midtown, Atlanta
The Edge Cycle is a performance level workshop series in which an established or new form will be honed, directed, produced and performed by JTW Members.
All new JTW members must complete the Foundations Cycle before moving on to the Edge Cycle. To learn more about the Foundations Cycle CLICK HERE
The Bauhaus Cycle
Meets every Wednesday
7PM to 10PM
380 14th Street NW
Midtown, Atlanta
The Bauhaus Cycle is an ongoing and infinite workshop which gives each member an opportunity to "Learn While You Play" in the atmosphere of "ego free improv." Members attending this cycle are given opportunities to perform in a variety of shows and when they are ready, to join a new or existing Harold Team.
In order to enter the Bauhaus Cycle, JTW Members must first attend all 8 workshops in our Foundations Cycle to prepare them with the vocabulary and theory used to perform Long-form Improvisation and Spontaneous theatre in the Bauhaus Cycle.
To learn more about the original Bauhaus that was the inspiration for our style of teaching Click Here and Here.
Current Members
About Us...
The JaCKPie Theatre Workshop began in 2001 as a 2 man show created by Chris Pierce and Jim Karwisch to offer Atlanta a unique entertainment experience and to represent Atlanta at festivals across the country. We then grew into a production company of over 25 players and a training school called JaCKPie University. In late 2005, we began re-inventing ourselves again as we help to open the Relapse Theatre in Atlanta's Midtown.
The JTW philosophy draws heavily on training in conventional acting, directing and playwrighting and brings to the stage improv unlike anywhere else in Atlanta. We are now pleased to be able to offer quality training in both Long-form Improvisation and Spontaneous Theatre so that more people in can share in this cutting edge art form.
Click Here to learn more about how the JTW works and how you can be a part of the evolution of improv in Atlanta.
Also be sure to check out our Online Schedule. All shows, workshops and events presented by the JTW will be listed here along with detailed information to help you get involved quickly and easily. The JTW is always adding new teams/troupes to our performance schedule from the members of The Bauhaus Cycle.
How the JTW works:
The JTW's ongoing Workshop Series exists for the purpose of preparing its members to perform spontaneous theatre and then giving them stage time to perform their craft.
How do I get started?
The JTW runs its program in three different cycles:
- The Foundations Cycle is a Core Knowledge level workshop which gives each member a foundation of vocabulary and theory used to perform Long-form Improvisation and Spontaneous theatre.
- The Bauhaus Cycle is an ongoing and infinite workshop which gives each member an opportunity to "Learn While You Play" in the atmosphere of "ego free improv." Members attending this cycle are given opportunities to perform in a variety of shows and when they are ready, to join a new or existing Harold Team.
- The Edge Cycle is a performance level workshop series in which an established or new form will be honed, directed, produced and performed by JTW Members.
All new JTW members must complete the Foundations Cycle before moving on to the Bauhaus Cycle. To learn more about the Foundations Cycle CLICK HERE
2p - Two Person Scene:
An interaction between two characters who are relating to each other and where something is happening RIGHT NOW.
Every long-form piece should have solid two person scenework as its core focus.
In order to pass the 2p section in the Foundations Cycle, each JTW Member must have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of a good two person scene and must be in agreement with their workshop captain that they are adequately incorporating those fundamentals into their own scenework.
The Foundations Cycle
Join any Wednesday Night!
7PM to 10PM
380 14th Street NW
Midtown, Atlanta
The Foundations Cycle is a series of 8 specific workshops designed to teach the core of spontaneous Theatre. This Cycle can be joined at any time on any given week with equal success and all 8 of the Foundations workshops must be taken before moving on to the Bauhaus Cycle.
Membership to the JaCKPie Theatre Workshop is $100 per month and includes:
- Admission to a minimum of one workshop per week
- Free admission to shows produced by the JTW
- Discounts to Relapse Theatre shows and functions
- Opportunities to perform
Many JTW members are asked to join a Harold team with regular performances and some are asked to join the Edge cycle and mount a new production with a 6 week run.
Contact Us to join starting January 24th 2006!
BmB Presents...
Pocket Aces
and
Razorwire
Jan 21 - Feb 25
Saturdays at 8PM - $5
Babies Mit Bearden is proud to present the world premiere of two new forms from the minds that brought you
Captain, Corporal, ENSIGN! and The Vesuvius Project.
In a world where people throw up walls and bury their feelings, Pocket Aces dives into
the discovery of seemingly random events that make up our character and shape our lives.
And....
Just when you thought you were safe BmB launches itself into the deadly Razorwire. Not for the faint
of heart, this form will have you on an emotional rollercoaster from folly to fear.
