Navigating Ensemble Songs

About this Workshop:

Ensemble songs can be complicated to improvise, requiring hyper-active listening, group mind, and a shared understanding of song structures and cues.

In this workshop, Shawn Amaro of Worlds Collide will help you learn how to stick the landing in your group numbers--by starting, executing, and ending songs with confidence and clarity.

Students will learn how to make strong choices while also listening to the ensemble and the Musical Director in real time, how to recognize musical signals, and how to end songs purposefully by choosing strong, unified endings from several options provided.

Date, Time & Location: This three hour workshop will take place on Saturday, April 18 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm at the Endgames Improv training center at 2989 Mission St, San Francisco.

All Students Welcome: This workshop is open to students with any improv performance experience.

Maximum Capacity: In order to ensure the best possible experience for those taking part, we are capping this workshop at a maximum of 14 total students.

About the Weekend: The 2026 Weekend of Workshops is a two-day event run by Bay Area Musical Improv, featuring eight workshops all taught by local musical improvisers and concluding with our annual FREE Jam & Bread community event--a combination potluck and social gathering, plus improvised songs with a live band! See a full list of all events here.

About the Instructor:

With a passion for creating spontaneous melodies and characters, Shawn Amaro is a co-founder of such electrifying long-form musical improv troupes as Echo, Los Banditos Del Canto, and Worlds Collide. He has performed at Upright Citizens Brigade, Magnet Theater, Peoples Improv Theater, and Made Up Theatre as well as festivals like West Coast Musical Improv Festival, Del Close Marathon, and New York Musical Improv Festival. Shawn is an experienced musical improv teacher and coach, and is the lead musical improv teacher at Made Up Theatre in Fremont.