Get Schooled
The Playground specialises in both scripted and unscripted theatre!
Whether you’re just a beginner or an experienced theatre kid, we host courses in stage acting, long-form and free-form improv for all levels.
See below for a list of courses and extra activities you can join as a member of our association!
What’s ON - Register Today!
COURSES - Spring 2025
Improv Essentials I
A six-week beginner course to master the basics of improv where you'll dive into the "yes, and..." principle.
See full course description
Start: April 29
Class Timing: Tuesdays 5pm - 7pm
Teacher(s): Adrià & Cata
Duration: 6 weeks
Pre-requisites: None
Showcase Date: No showcase
Member Fee: 100€
Not an improv beginner? No problem! Get in touch with us and we’ll place you in an existing, more advanced group.
Acting (All Levels)
Designed for both beginners and experienced thespians who are interested in exploring and deepening the fundamental elements of stage acting.
Start: April 29
Class Timing: Tuesdays 7:10pm - 9:10pm
Teacher(s): Adrià & Cata
Duration: 3 months
Pre-requisites: None
Showcase Date: July 12 & 13
Member Fee: 210€
MORE Improv! - SPring 2025
Improv Club
A weekly improv class for beginners—or anyone wanting to brush up on the basics 🌟
REGISTRATION REQUIRED, please get in touch!
See full description
Class Timing: Wednesday Evenings (7pm - 8:30pm)
Teacher(s): Adrià
Duration: No commitment
Pre-requisites: None
Showcase Date: No showcase
Member Fee: 1 Class Pass*
Improv Gym
A no-commitment, weekly 1.5-hour class to drill specific improv skills and play with your improv friends!
REGISTRATION REQUIRED, please get in touch!
See full description
Class Timing: Every Monday evening (19:00-20:30)
Teacher(s): Adrià & Cata
Duration: No commitment
Pre-requisites: Essentials Ill
Showcase Date: No showcase
Member Fee: 1 Class Pass*
A Taste of Improv
A monthly workshop curated for complete beginners or anyone curious about how the magic of improv can add fun, laughter and connection to their life!
See full description
Next Workshop: Apr. 20
Timing: 17:00 - 20:00
Teacher(s): Adrià
Duration: 3 hours
Pre-requisites: None!
Member Fee: 40€
Meet Your Facilitators
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Founder / School Director
Rocío is a dynamic Spanish improviser based in Valencia, where she wears multiple hats as director, producer, and performer at VIP (Valencia Improv Playground). She is also the "benevolent" head-master of VIP School of Improv.
Her improv journey kicked off in Slovenia nearly a decade ago, performing in English—a challenge that fueled her passion for the international improv scene across Europe and beyond. She found a community of like-minded and open-hearted people in improv, and she is never looking back!
Inexplicably funny, emotionally available and introvertedly social, Rocío loves exploring the unknown through acceptance, trust, storytelling, a million resources and alternative dimensions of reality - whether it implies comedy, longform, freeform, abstract, sensitive improv or life. She's co-founded several groups to explore everything from abstract and sensitive improv to feminist comedy, always pushing the boundaries of what's possible on stage.
With a Master’s in Applied Theater, Rocío loves using spontaneous creativity not just for entertainment, but also as a powerful tool to facilitate workshops about personal development, learning, problem solving, etc.
When she's not transforming lives through improv, she’s enjoying the company of her two Slovenian cats, who are undoubtedly as quirky as their owner.
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Teacher
Catalina is a proud graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, holds a performing arts BFA from CSUS and has a Masters in applied theater. She’s spent the last 12 years as a theater dynamo, mostly dazzling audiences as an actress. She has acted in more than 40 plays and she's also ventured into IMPROV, stand-up, set/costume design, puppetry, dance and stage combat—a true theatre nerd.
Creative and hilarious, Catalina is basically a bitch- meaning playful and loving like a female dog.
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Teacher
Adrià has been performing on the screen and on the stage, nationally and internationally, for several years now. His jello physicality encourages him to focus mainly on character creation, getting inspired mostly by the body. His "full send" attitude forces him to wear, while improvising, thick safety knee pads. Even though he has never broken a bone in his whole life, he flexes them uncontrollably. And, not so surprising, his biggest inspirations are the tube man and renaissance baby angels.
The Playground is performing arts community that specialises in both scripted and unscripted theatre — all in English! Our holistic approach to learning encourages our members develop the body awareness and emotional intelligence needed to unleash their creativity and approach life and the stage with more ease and flow.
We focus on building trust, generosity and confidence while fostering a community that is playful, creative and open-minded.
For us, a safe environment means pure freedom to explore—so come laugh, learn, connect and let your imagination run wild with us!
Our Philosophy
Don’t take our word for it… here’s what our Members are saying!
“I love the focus on long form improv, it is often neglected in other communities I’ve been in!”
“Learning improv has impacted me really positively. I spend a lot of time in my head. During and after the classes I catch a break from that.”
“I enjoy the workshops a lot because they bring an outside perspective and do a deep dive into one very specific topic that we normally don’t get a chance to cover in a regular course. ”
“It’s really not as scary as one might think!”
“I feel like these courses have made me a better improvisor in both work and in life.”
“Do it! It’s great! It’s so multifaceted, it gets you out of your head, teaches you techniques to listen better and connect in many ways. ”
FULL Curriculum
Improv
Tap into creativity, expand your leadership skills and build confidence on stage through improvisational play!
Full Courses
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Join our six-week course to master the basics of improv, where you'll dive into the "yes, and..." principle. Discover the art of listening, accepting, and collaborating as you build a strong foundation in improvisational skills. Perfect for beginners, this course will equip you with essential techniques to enhance your personal and improv skills.
Timing: 6 weeks
Requirements: none
Capacity: 10-12 ppl
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Join our six-week course designed to keep drilling the groundwork for improv (yes, and…) while delving into the core values of generosity, trust, and creativity. Over these sessions, you'll not only practise foundational improv techniques but also experience the transformative power of a playful, safe and creative collective environment.
Plus, you'll have the chance to showcase your skills on stage at the end of the course, demonstrating your newly enhanced confidence and skills in a live performance with your classmates!
Timing: 6 weeks + showcase
Requirements: Improv Essentials I or audition
Participants: 10-12
Showcase Format: The Townmodel
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Join our 12-week course designed to keep applying the groundwork learned in Essentials I & II while taking your first steps into pattern recognition, character building, inside games, emotional reactions and storytelling.
Over these sessions, you'll not only continue to practise foundational improv techniques but also you will feel more comfortable on stage with a toolbelt full of improv skills!Timing: 12 weeks + showcase
Requirements: Improv Essentials II or audition
Member Fee: €210
Participants: 10-12
Showcase Format: TBD
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Improvisers are not only actors but also scriptwriters and directors. Join our 12-week storytelling course and unlock the secrets of improv storytelling!
You will learn diverse techniques and resources to craft dynamic narratives, develop the plot, jump through time and space, and make sense of the stories as they unfold. This includes building the structure of a long-form story both from within and from the sidelines.
Conclude the course by showcasing your storytelling skills in a live performance that brings your creative journey to life.
Timing: 12 weeks + showcase
Requirements: Improv Essentials III (or audition)
Participants: 8-10
Showcase Format: The Harold or Rocio’s Choice
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Dive deeper into the art of crafting dynamic, engaging scenes, learn how to play with tension and exploit the games that arise from within the scene. With a focus on active listening and emotional depth, this course will help you elevate your ability at making interesting and relevant scenes on stage.
Timing: 12 weeks + showcase
Requirements: Improv Essentials III (or audition)
Participants: 8-10
Showcase Format: The Apartment
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Dive into our 12-week course dedicated to exploring emotions in improv!
In long-form improv, one of the main techniques to ground a scene is to connect and react emotionally to what is being created on stage. In this course you’ll learn techniques to identify, connect and amplify your emotions, and explore how to connect with your scene partners and audience on a deeper level, making your improv more impactful and memorable.
Conclude the course with a live performance that showcases your ability to evoke and navigate emotions and connect with your classmates.
Timing: 12 weeks + showcase
Requirements: Improv Essentials I & II (or audition)
Participants: 8-10
Showcase Format: TBD
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Join our 12-week course dedicated to mastering character work in improv!
Throughout the course, you'll delve into techniques for crafting unique, multi-dimensional characters and bringing them to life on stage. Learn to explore and develop characters through their body, voice and energy. Discover how to adapt and evolve your characters in real-time, making them resonate deeply with your audience.
Conclude the course by showcasing your character work in a live performance with your classmates.
Timing: 12 weeks + showcase
Requirements: Improv Essentials I & II (or audition)
Participants: 8-10
Showcase Format: The Bench
Weekly Classes
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Love improv but can’t commit to a full course?
Curious about diving into the world of short-form improv?
Or maybe you’re a stand-up comedian seeking fresh ways to play and shine?
Introducing the Short Form Sandbox: a weekly 1.5-hour session of fun and fast-paced short-form improv. No long-term commitment—just show up, play, and enjoy!
Plus, you can take the stage at our improv jams to showcase your short-form skills!
Timing: Weekly drop-in; 1.5hrs
Requirements: Essentials I & II
Capacity: 10-12 ppl per class
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Looking to dive deeper into improv? Eager to level up your training?
Welcome to the Improv Gym, a weekly 1-5-hour class facilitated by one of our teachers to drill specific improv skills.
Perfect for improvisers eager to sharpen their abilities, review resources, build confidence in their improv toolbox, and get instant feedback in a supportive environment.
Requirements: Essentials I, II & III
Timing: Weekly drop-in; 1.5 hrs
Capacity: 10-12 ppl per class
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A weekly improv class for beginners—or anyone wanting to brush up on the basics 🌟 Improv Club is a fun review session, where you can revisit and redo exercises from Essentials I & II.
Perfect for beginners eager to learn and review basic improv skills, and build a solid foundation for great improv.
Requirements: None
Timing: Weekly drop-in; 1.5 hrs
Capacity: 8-10 ppl per class
Acting
Let your inner superstar shine! Deepen emotional expression, physicality, character work and more with our acting classes.
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This three month course is designed for beginners who are interested in exploring the fundamental elements of acting on stage.
Students will develop essential skills in the use of body, voice, and emotion to create authentic performances while working on a monologue. We will cultivate imagination, discover personal truth, and embrace vulnerability as powerful tools for storytelling.
Timing: 12 weeks
Requirements: none
Capacity: 10-12 ppl per class
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In the duration of this six month course we will study one significant playwright's body of work and prepare a performance for an audience.
We will engage in in-depth analysis of text, subtext and developing a deep understanding of characters' motivations and relationships. Emphasis will be placed on truthful acting, and learning to bring authenticity and depth to their roles.
We will also cover staging, blocking, and the collaborative nature of the rehearsal process, with a focus on integrating direction and feedback.
Timing: 12 weeks + performance
Requirements: Acting I
Participants: 8-10
Workshops
Our 3-4 hours workshops are appropriate for all experience levels. Learn new skills, dive into different formats or apply improv to life beyond the stage.
Any student enrolled in any full course receives a 20% discount on workshops
Email us to request a workshop for your group or organisation
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Our monthly beginners’ workshop specially curated for complete beginners or anyone curious about how the magic of improv can add fun, laughter and connection to their life.🌈
A Taste of Improv takes place once per month at The Playground School and you can expect:
A supportive space to explore the basics of improvisation
Fun exercises that unlock creativity and spontaneity
Loads of laughs and new connections with fellow participants
No experience? No problem! This workshop is designed for people with little to no experience.
Timing: 3 hours
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Enjoy laughing at mistakes! In this workshop we'll learn how to approach mistakes with less judgement.
We will explore tools to turn these so-called "mistakes" into happy accidents that lead to unexpected plot twists, meta-improv opportunities and just creative ideas in general!
Teacher: Rocío Barquilla
Timing: Half-day (4 hours)
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Stop using your body on stage (and in life) just to carry your brain! Learn how to create fun, interesting and developed characters fully inspired by your own physicality.
Teacher: Adrià Lerma
Timing: Half-day (4 hours)
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An acting workshop designed to strip away pretense and bring your authentic self to every role.
Learn to connect with your characters and bring words on a script to life creating moments of raw, undeniable truth on stage.
Teacher: Catalina Bucheli
Timing: Half-day (4 hours)
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Want to work with us but don't see what you're looking for? We're specialists in applied theatre and we're happy to co-create custom workshops that suit the unique needs of your team or community!
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Every 2-3 months we invite renowned improvisers from all over the world to perform with us, taking the opportunity to also offer our students a special workshop with them.
We have had the pleasure to host great improvisers and teachers such as Luana Poença, Nick Armstrong, Ignatio Grinstein, Liron Levin, Emil Lundrgen and Carl Clancy to play with us!
Interested in being a guest teacher and performer? Get in touch!
Cost:
3 hours: 40 euros
4 hours: 50 euros
*20% discount for any student currently enrolled in a full course