Mark Phoenix

Guest Instructor

A professional Actor and Tutor of 30+yrs, I have been developing my own style of dramatic improvisation for 20+yrs using acting techniques including the Meisner technique to produce the best acted improvisation stories. In theatre I am inspired by Pinter, Beckett, Artaud and use the power of silence in subtext.
The pandemic opened the idea of cinematic improvisation, allowing each actor to become their own camera operator, lighting designer, props and costume creators. In cinema I am inspired by, Kurosawa, Bergman, Tarkovsky and use the power of movement, shadow and prop use to illuminate subtext. My work is unlike any other form of improvisation I have witnessed. My aim is to compete with National theatres, producing as good work as any top notch theatre, except that it’s improvised.
I believe that improvisation can move away from its amateur status by using high level skills, to become a professional art form in its own right. I am continually evolving my work, solving the problems that arise from the challenge of my ambition.