Experience Level: All Levels

Learn the skills of improvisation, including scene creation and team dynamics at Improve Your Improv on Thursdays, April 17 through May 29 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.

Students 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 April 10 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

Expand your musical horizons at Afro-Brazilian Traditions: Samba-Reggae on Tuesdays, May 20 through June 17 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Music Barn.

Instructor Mark Becker will introduce students to the fundamentals of Samba-Reggae, a vibrant musical genre that blends traditional samba rhythms with reggae, creating an energetic and distinct sound. Students will get hands-on exposure to the diversity of percussion instruments that give this tradition its swing and beauty.

Samba-Reggae originated in Salvador, Bahia, in the 1980s, from the work of Mestre Neguinho do Samba and the musical groups Ilê Aiyê and Olodum.

$120 for the entire season or $35 per class. Register by June 13 or one week prior to subsequent classes*. All sales are final.

*Students should wear pants and a shirt that allows for comfortable movement as well as exercise shoes.

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

About the instructor

Lead instructor Mark Becker, a student of Capoeira Angola in the tradition of Mestre João Grande who has studied under Contramestre Denis Chiaramonte for 8 years, with 19 years of experience in the art of Capoeira. He is also a student of traditional Samba Chula, an art form from the Recôncavo region of Bahia, Brazil while also serving as the Director of the Bloco Gavião, a community drum ensemble focused on Afro-Brazilian drumming traditions such as samba-reggae, maracatu and afoxé. Mark has a master’s degree in education from the University of Illinois and enjoys designing learning experiences for all ages to feel belonging in the exploration of Brazilian culture.

Experience Level: Beginner

Expand your musical horizons at Afro-Brazilian Traditions: Samba-Reggae on Tuesdays, May 20 through June 17 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Music Barn.

Instructor Mark Becker will introduce students to the fundamentals of Samba-Reggae, a vibrant musical genre that blends traditional samba rhythms with reggae, creating an energetic and distinct sound. Students will get hands-on exposure to the diversity of percussion instruments that give this tradition its swing and beauty.

Samba-Reggae originated in Salvador, Bahia, in the 1980s, from the work of Mestre Neguinho do Samba and the musical groups Ilê Aiyê and Olodum.

$120 for the entire season or $35 per class. Register by June 13 or one week prior to subsequent classes*. All sales are final.

*Students should wear pants and a shirt that allows for comfortable movement as well as exercise shoes.

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

About the instructor

Lead instructor Mark Becker, a student of Capoeira Angola in the tradition of Mestre João Grande who has studied under Contramestre Denis Chiaramonte for 8 years, with 19 years of experience in the art of Capoeira. He is also a student of traditional Samba Chula, an art form from the Recôncavo region of Bahia, Brazil while also serving as the Director of the Bloco Gavião, a community drum ensemble focused on Afro-Brazilian drumming traditions such as samba-reggae, maracatu and afoxé. Mark has a master’s degree in education from the University of Illinois and enjoys designing learning experiences for all ages to feel belonging in the exploration of Brazilian culture.

Experience Level: Beginner

Expand your musical horizons at Afro-Brazilian Traditions: Samba-Reggae on Tuesdays, May 20 through June 17 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Music Barn.

Instructor Mark Becker will introduce students to the fundamentals of Samba-Reggae, a vibrant musical genre that blends traditional samba rhythms with reggae, creating an energetic and distinct sound. Students will get hands-on exposure to the diversity of percussion instruments that give this tradition its swing and beauty.

Samba-Reggae originated in Salvador, Bahia, in the 1980s, from the work of Mestre Neguinho do Samba and the musical groups Ilê Aiyê and Olodum.

$120 for the entire season or $35 per class. Register by June 13 or one week prior to subsequent classes*. All sales are final.

*Students should wear pants and a shirt that allows for comfortable movement as well as exercise shoes.

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

About the instructor

Lead instructor Mark Becker, a student of Capoeira Angola in the tradition of Mestre João Grande who has studied under Contramestre Denis Chiaramonte for 8 years, with 19 years of experience in the art of Capoeira. He is also a student of traditional Samba Chula, an art form from the Recôncavo region of Bahia, Brazil while also serving as the Director of the Bloco Gavião, a community drum ensemble focused on Afro-Brazilian drumming traditions such as samba-reggae, maracatu and afoxé. Mark has a master’s degree in education from the University of Illinois and enjoys designing learning experiences for all ages to feel belonging in the exploration of Brazilian culture.

Experience Level: Beginner

Do you have a bunch of vacation photos on your phone that go ignored? Then make them into works of art at Watercolor Travel Journal from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Aug. 22-24 in The Studio.

In this three-day workshop, instructor Deb Marett will teach the basics of watercolor painting, drawing skills and putting a layout together to create pages in journals that capture memories and turn them into a cherished keepsake that can be expanded.

First, students will experiment on practice paper, focusing on how to break down images into simple shapes to make drawing easier, the principles of watercolor, painting light to dark, mixing colors, handling brushes and other basics.

The second day, students will put together a page layout with thumbnail sketches and create page in their journals, as well as a painted page.

$190/person. Register by Aug. 11. All sales are final.

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

About the instructor

Deb Marett is a professional artist whose work focuses on equestrian scenes, figurative scenes, and portraiture. She always travels with watercolors and a travel journal.

“It is an amazing way to remember moments of the trip, and spend time soaking up the places I visit,” Marett said.

She loves sharing her knowledge and teaching, and finding ways to make painting and drawing fun and accessible to anyone who wants to explore their creative side.