Amalgam Courses
Amalgam Improv courses provide high quality instruction, feedback, and a fun environment to meet others and learn improv. Amalgam offers Level 0 courses for a half-day dip into improv and our new Level 1 course for 8-weeks of instruction and a course show.
Level 0 serves to introduce people who are curious about improv but may be hesitant to commit to a multi-week course, are limited on time, are intimidated by potentially performing, or want to “try before you buy”. Level 0 serves as an introduction to the fun in improv and the basic concepts that make improv work. We’ll focus on longform improv, which focuses on scene work without games. Longform is the style of improv used by Ben Schwartz and Friends.
Promise of the workshop: A half-day, no-pressure intro to improv where you can experiment, laugh, and mess up in a kind room. We’ll introduce physicality, using emotions, character work and more!
Intended participants: No prior experience is needed. This workshop is designed for people who are improv-curious, anxious about performing, or returning to improv after a long time away.
The facilitators to are active members in the Amalgam Improv community, so they will lead with a collaborative spirit, know what is happening in the scene, and have connections across the community.
Before you sign-up, ensure you are committed to our course and workshop agreements, which you can view here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pQkfmAReQmnHVtYJJzekrRmd7QWaxPa92S5UOOdH1Ug/edit?usp=sharing
Logistics
This Level 0 course will take place on July 18, 2026 from 10am to 3pm at StartingBlock. Attendees will have a lunch break from 12-1pm and lunch is not included in the registration cost. In total, attendees will participate in 4 hours of activities and games.
StartingBlock can be a confusing place to locate! Give yourself extra time to find it. We will gather on the southeast side of the American Family Insurance building that houses StartingBlock. This is the entrance of the building that faces Vintage Brewing Company and has some modern art sculptures nearby. StartingBlock’s address is 821 E Washington Ave 2nd floor, Madison, WI, 53703. A map to the StartingBlock meeting space is on this page.
You can cancel your ticket up to a week prior to the Level 0 date. Refund may be subject to sales tax still.
Amalgam’s Level 1 Course serves to familiarize improvisers with being on stage, working as a team, and covering the basics of improv like physicality, emotions, characters, edits, and the montage form in a welcoming, fun environment. This course will focus on longform improv fundamentals, which focuses on improvised scene work instead of games. Longform improv is the style Ben Schwartz and Friends perform while another style, shortform improv, is the style Whose Line Is It Anyway performs.
Amalgam instructors will facilitate introductions, teaching of subjects, administrative/logistical subjects, debriefing, and provide immediate feedback using sidecoaching. Sidecoaching is a technique where the instructor may pause an improv scene to provide suggestions to the improvisers on stage. This can be intimidating, but it is a practice that allows for quick growth. Our sidecoaching will always be actionable and given for specific reasons to enhance a scene. We also will believe learning is experiential, so will focus on providing as many opportunities to practice improv while in class.
This course ends with a culmination experience- a show! Students are highly encouraged to perform in the show to experience performing in front of a live audience. The student show will be on November 5th at Muso and will start at 7:00pm.
Here is the weekly class breakdown of the Level 1 course:
Introductions, course overview, structure scenes.
Stage presence, base reality, montage.
Sweep edits and how to use a suggestion
Physicality basics
Using emotions basics
Creating characters basics
Points of view and group scenes
Course review, practice, and wrap-up.
Unsure? Come see a show to learn the vibes and culture of Amalgam Improv.
Dates, Times, & Locations
Saturdays from 11-1:30pm, September 12 - October 31 at StartingBlock (821 E Washington Ave). The course show is on November 5th at 7pm at Muso. The cost is $215 for 20 hours of instruction and a course show. This course is open to anyone above 18. No improv prerequisites needed. More logistical details about StartingBlock and the course will be sent prior to the start of the first week of the course. This course is capped at 14 students. Before you sign-up, ensure you are committed to our course and workshop agreements, which you can view here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pQkfmAReQmnHVtYJJzekrRmd7QWaxPa92S5UOOdH1Ug/edit?usp=sharing
Instructor details
Ben Rush is the founder of Amalgam Improv. He has taken improv courses in Madison and Chicago and started before the madness in 2020. He quickly and continues to be obsessed with improv. Ben has taught improv courses at UW-Madison and improv workshops to university and industry groups since 2022. He is constantly thinking of new ways to practice and teach improv evidenced by new activities in Amalgam jams, coaching, and Level 0 courses. Ben’s philosophy of improv is that there is no right way to do improv. Relationship, game, character, dramatic- whatever style speaks to improvisers differently and can play to their strengths and weaknesses. By learning from each style, Ben offers supportive instruction and feedback unique to each student and situation.
Level 0 serves to introduce people who are curious about improv but may be hesitant to commit to a multi-week course, are limited on time, are intimidated by potentially performing, or want to “try before you buy”. Level 0 serves as an introduction to the fun in improv and the basic concepts that make improv work. We’ll focus on longform improv, which focuses on scene work without games. Longform is the style of improv used by Ben Schwartz and Friends.
Promise of the workshop: A half-day, no-pressure intro to improv where you can experiment, laugh, and mess up in a kind room. We’ll introduce physicality, using emotions, character work and more!
Intended participants: No prior experience is needed. This workshop is designed for people who are improv-curious, anxious about performing, or returning to improv after a long time away.
The facilitators to are active members in the Amalgam Improv community, so they will lead with a collaborative spirit, know what is happening in the scene, and have connections across the community.
Before you sign-up, ensure you are committed to our course and workshop agreements, which you can view here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pQkfmAReQmnHVtYJJzekrRmd7QWaxPa92S5UOOdH1Ug/edit?usp=sharing
We will cap this course to 14 people.
Logistics
This Level 0 course will take place on August 1, 2026 from 10am to 3pm at StartingBlock. Attendees will have a lunch break from 12-1pm and lunch is not included in the registration cost. In total, attendees will participate in 4 hours of activities and games.
StartingBlock can be a confusing place to locate! Give yourself extra time to find it. We will gather on the southeast side of the American Family Insurance building that houses StartingBlock. This is the entrance of the building that faces Vintage Brewing Company and has some modern art sculptures nearby. StartingBlock’s address is 821 E Washington Ave 2nd floor, Madison, WI, 53703. A map to the StartingBlock meeting space is on this page.
You can cancel your registration up to a week prior to the Level 0 date. Refund may be subject to sales tax still. Registration cancellations after a week prior to the start are nonrefundable.
Level 0 serves to introduce people who are curious about improv but may be hesitant to commit to a multi-week course, are limited on time, are intimidated by potentially performing, or want to “try before you buy”. Level 0 serves as an introduction to the fun in improv and the basic concepts that make improv work. We’ll focus on longform improv, which focuses on scene work without games. Longform is the style of improv used by Ben Schwartz and Friends.
Promise of the workshop: A half-day, no-pressure intro to improv where you can experiment, laugh, and mess up in a kind room. We’ll introduce physicality, using emotions, character work and more!
Intended participants: No prior experience is needed. This workshop is designed for people who are improv-curious, anxious about performing, or returning to improv after a long time away.
The facilitators to are active members in the Amalgam Improv community, so they will lead with a collaborative spirit, know what is happening in the scene, and have connections across the community.
Before you sign-up, ensure you are committed to our course and workshop agreements, which you can view here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pQkfmAReQmnHVtYJJzekrRmd7QWaxPa92S5UOOdH1Ug/edit?usp=sharing
We will cap this course to 14 people.
Logistics
This Level 0 course will take place on August 22, 2026 from 10am to 3pm at StartingBlock. Attendees will have a lunch break from 12-1pm and lunch is not included in the registration cost. In total, attendees will participate in 4 hours of activities and games.
StartingBlock can be a confusing place to locate! Give yourself extra time to find it. We will gather on the southeast side of the American Family Insurance building that houses StartingBlock. This is the entrance of the building that faces Vintage Brewing Company and has some modern art sculptures nearby. StartingBlock’s address is 821 E Washington Ave 2nd floor, Madison, WI, 53703. A map to the StartingBlock meeting space is on this page.
You can cancel your registration up to a week prior to the Level 0 date. Refund may be subject to sales tax still. Registration cancellations after a week prior to the start are nonrefundable.
“I enjoyed Amalgam’s Level 0 course so much that I took it twice, and I’d do it again. I’ve had other introductions to improv, but the specific scaffolding Amalgam has created for this four-hour workshop is exceptionally well designed. The course guides you step by step, building skills so naturally that you don’t realize how much you’ve learned until you find yourself doing things that felt impossible at the start.”
-RACHAEL, STUDENT
“Level 0 is always fulfilling. Of course people learn, and maybe more importantly, they keep in touch after the course.”
-Ben Rush, Instructor