Merlin Works

Austin’s newest improv training center, the Merlin Works Institute for Improvisation, launched its first series of classes at the recently-opened Salvage Vanguard Theater this past Saturday.

Merlin Works, helmed by Shana Merlin of local improv troupes Get Up and Girls, Girls, Girls, has existed since 2003 as a school that not only offers long-form classes for hobbyists and aspiring comedians but also applied improv workshops for corporate clients. In its new home, The Merlin Works Institute for Improvisation offers two tracks of classes for would-be improvisers: three levels of short-form (think Whose Line is it Anyway) workshops, and three levels of long-form (think…well, pretty much everything else) workshops.

Shana Merlin/Girls, Girls, Girls

In addition to these tracks, Merlin Works also offers a Performance for Business curriculum. From the press release:

We’ll draw from the brilliant treasury of enjoyable improvisational theatre games, not to learn how to perform, but rather to help you discover the secrets that improvisers already know about working effectively as a team that needs to produce quality work without all the time, resources, or information they need.

Graduates of the long-form series will be given a run of shows upon graduation and guided through the process of forming a troupe: selecting a name, choosing a coach, and ultimately pitching a doomed-from-the-start sitcom to network executives.

Both the Short Form and Long Form Series classes are $150 for the semester (and, as of February 29th, are sold out); the Performance for Business series is $200. For more information, visit the Merlin Works website.