Experience Level: All Levels

Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, Sept. 5 through Oct. 17 in the Music Barn.

Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that will use both short-form games and long-form scenes in its sessions.

This will not be a place to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes, as students will be performing as much as possible! It will be a get-up-and-perform kind of class. The class will emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no script.

Participants who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join! 

$100/person for the series or $25/class. Register for the entire series by Aug. 29 or one week before each subsequent class. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015.

He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs.

Experience Level: All Levels

Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, Sept. 5 through Oct. 17 in the Music Barn.

Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that will use both short-form games and long-form scenes in its sessions.

This will not be a place to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes, as students will be performing as much as possible! It will be a get-up-and-perform kind of class. The class will emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no script.

Participants who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join! 

$100/person for the series or $25/class. Register for the entire series by Aug. 29 or one week before each subsequent class. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015.

He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs.

Experience Level: Beginner

Take part in a delicious series with an international flavor at Wines of the World on Wednesday, Sept. 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Mansion Solarium.

Renowned wine educator and television personality Mike Lee will lead this delightful and delectable wine class, where he takes students on an enchanting journey through the vineyards of Europe and California. With a wealth of knowledge and passion for introducing students to tasting, talking, and understanding wine, Mike’s engaging style immerses students in the Old World.

Mike’s class is for beginners and wine lovers alike, from the refined elegance of Bordeaux to the inspiring hills of Tuscany and the bold flavors of Rioja. Each class will include tastings of 5 to 6 wines. You must be at least 21 years old to participate.

$60/person* (Ages 21+). Register by Sept. 18. All sales are final.

*Or $200/person for the entire series. Sign up for all four classes and use the promo code “WINE40” to get $40 off at checkout.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the Instructor

Mike Lee is an accomplished wine, spirits, and beer educator with 9+ years in the alcohol industry. Having achieved the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (London) Certified Educator achievement in Wine, Lee is certified to teach levels 1 and 2 internationally. With experience with class sizes large and small, he is known for his ability to adapt to any learning environment with excellent facilitation skills.

Experience Level: All Levels

Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, Sept. 5 through Oct. 17 in the Music Barn.

Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that will use both short-form games and long-form scenes in its sessions.

This will not be a place to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes, as students will be performing as much as possible! It will be a get-up-and-perform kind of class. The class will emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no script.

Participants who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join! 

$100/person for the series or $25/class. Register for the entire series by Aug. 29 or one week before each subsequent class. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015.

He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs.

Experience Level: All Levels

Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, Sept. 5 through Oct. 17 in the Music Barn.

Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that will use both short-form games and long-form scenes in its sessions.

This will not be a place to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes, as students will be performing as much as possible! It will be a get-up-and-perform kind of class. The class will emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no script.

Participants who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join! 

$100/person for the series or $25/class. Register for the entire series by Aug. 29 or one week before each subsequent class. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015.

He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs.

Experience Level: All Levels

Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, Sept. 5 through Oct. 17 in the Music Barn.

Kyle Tasch returns to The Farms to teach this popular course, which will be jam-packed with improvisational fun that will use both short-form games and long-form scenes in its sessions.

This will not be a place to sit down, hear lectures, and take notes, as students will be performing as much as possible! It will be a get-up-and-perform kind of class. The class will emphasize the mechanics needed to act out an entertaining and meaningful scene on the spot with no script.

Participants who have already completed this class are welcome to join again. Beginners and those experienced in improv are all encouraged to join! 

$100/person for the series or $25/class. Register for the entire series by Aug. 29 or one week before each subsequent class. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

Kyle Tasch is an improvisor, improv teacher, filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician from the Chicago suburbs. He started performing improv in 2004 and has been improvising in front of audiences regularly since 2015.

He has also taught classes both in-person and remotely at Westside Improv in Wheaton, Illinois. He performs live across the state in various comedy and music acts and has produced hundreds of videos and songs.

Experience Level: Intermediate (basic musical skills required)

Find your voice as a musical performer at Pieces of Music: A Songwriting Workshop on Saturdays, Oct. 12 through Nov. 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. in The Studio.

The craft of songwriting is made up of creative writing, music theory, poetic practice and working with song fragments and forms. In this course, songwriter and passionate performer Paul Kotheimer will pass along his lifelong love of the writer’s craft, explore music theory with a contemporary focus and present a view of songwriting as an all-inclusive and hands-on human activity.

$175/person*. Register by Sept. 28. All sales are final.

*Students should bring:
— Favorite writing tools (pens, notebooks, etc.)
— The musical instrument they feel most comfortable writing with (typically a guitar or portable electric keyboard with built-in speaker)
— Accessories like guitar picks, capo, tuner, and if possible
— A device to record audio memos, if possible

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About The Instructor

Paul Kotheimer has been making songs for 40 years and has made a name for himself locally and regionally as a passionate performer, insightful collaborator, generous teacher and accomplished storyteller-in-song.

He is a veteran of the Champaign-Urbana music scene as a prolific and poetic writer and a DIY recording artist with fans around the world. He is also known as a powerhouse stage performer and a valued member of the local music community.

Experience Level: Beginner

Take your culinary skills to a new level at Cook a 3-Course Meal on Tuesday, Oct. 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Mansion Carriage House. 

Blue Dragonfly Catering owner Leah Bodine will instruct students on basic knife stills as they prepare a 3-course meal. Learn three international recipes, prepare, cook and dine afterward. A short wine course will be included.

$100/person. Register by October 8. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About The Instructor

Leah Bodine calls herself the ‘accidental chef’ with years of experience in the food industry. She started her catering company, Blue Dragonfly Catering, to express her creative mind in food preparation and cultivating recipes. She loves sharing her skills with others and seeing the fascination on students’ faces when they realize how creative they can be and how easy it is to do so.