improvised documentary
8 week course plus show with Chris Mead.
Spinal Tap, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, The Office, Parks & Recreation.
Mockumentaries are documentaries where the world and characters presented are exaggerated versions of reality.
Improv and mockumentaries have a long and storied history together. In fact, a free-wheeling improvisational style fits the tone of the form perfectly. Over the years, such improv luminaries as Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Amy Poehler and Steve Carell have all used their training to hilarious effect in mockumentary films and TV shows.
In this 8 week course, we’ll explore how to put them on stage. We’ll look at everything from the Christopher Guest cannon, through the US version of The Office and Parks & Recreation, to existing improv formats like The Documentary developed by Billy Merritt.
Improv Toolkit:
Creating distinct and memorable characters.
Interview-style monologues and asides.
Relationships and subtext.
Light-touch narrative.
Voice over & narration.
This is an advanced course suitable for people with previous long-form improv experience. You must have done our Level 4 course or equivalent before doing this course.
next available dates:
Dates: Every Saturday for 8 weeks from Saturday 24th January 2026 plus show on Saturday 21st March 2026. BOOK
Time: 2pm – 4pm each week.
Teacher: Chris Mead.
Price: £255. Either payable all at once or £120 at time of booking and £135 when the course starts.
Venue: Theatre Delicatessen Studios, 107 Leadenhall Street, EC3A 4AF.
Tubes: Bank or London Liverpool Street.
This is an advanced course suitable for people with previous long-form improv experience. You must have done our Level 4 course or equivalent before doing this course.
chris mead
Chris is one of Hoopla’s original and most experienced teachers!
He is currently performing in the incredibly popular improvised Shakespeare show The Play’s The Thing and is also Director of The Pretend Company.
Chris has studied improv internationally at iO Chicago, The Annoyance Theatre in Chicago and The Hideout in Austin, Texas.
He studied theatre at Royal Holloway College and University of London.
He has performed at various improv festivals internationally including Austin Texas, Norway, Barcelona and Dublin.
Chris previously improvised with the award winning Maydays, sci-fi group Project2 and produced Duologues at Hoopla. He was also one of the Artistic Directors of The Nursery Theatre.
faqs
Who is this suitable for?
People who've done our Level 4 Long-Form course of have a similar amount of Long-Form experience somewhere else and want to try a brand new long-form format.
How much improv or acting should I have done before doing this course?
Ideally our Level 4 Long-Form improv course or a similar amount of improv somewhere else. This course is not suitable for people totally new to improv or acting. You should be comfortable with improvising long-form scenes and know about long-form edits.
What comes after this course?
We have a variety of other advanced improv courses that would be suitable with themes like Story, Harold, Improvised Singing and more.
What’s the class size?
Limited to 16 people. Average of 12-14 people.
Is there an end of course show?
Yes.
What if I’m running late?
We’ll be starting each session at 2pm. This is an advanced course and we’re trying to form a team, so please don’t book this course if you are likely to be late on a regular basis.
What if I can't make all of the workshops?
Please don't book the course if you are likely to miss more than 2 workshops. This is an advanced course with topics building on each other week on week, so please don't book the course if you are likely to miss more than 2 workshops. You might be asked to not do the show if you miss more than 2 workshops over the course.