Intro to On-Camera Improv for Actors - Online

Intro to On-Camera Improvisation for Actors (5 weeks)

If you’re an on-camera actor auditioning for commercials, film, or TV, your self-tape setup is already your stage. Comfort inside the frame matters as much as your preparation.

This course is built specifically for the self-tape world: your home space, your webcam, your eyeline, your lighting, and your frame. We work in the exact environment you already use so you can build real on-camera ease, stronger listening, and the kind of flexible presence that makes reads feel alive instead of stiff.

This is not a tech-only class, and it is not scene study. It is audition training through improv, using Moment Improv’s playful and structured approach to help you stay connected under pressure. You will practice clean, confident on-camera choices such as framing, eyeline, stillness, and specificity, while learning improv fundamentals that directly support auditions: agreement, responsiveness, emotional clarity, and truthful moment-to-moment work. We also introduce simple, actor-friendly scene work early so you can apply these tools to partner-style reads and common audition scenarios.

You will leave with a repeatable self-tape workflow, sharper on-camera instincts, and practical exercises you can return to before auditions to drop in fast and play honestly.

In this 5-session class we will

• Set up a repeatable self tape audition workflow for your space
• Practice staying playful and responsive on camera
• Build foundational improv tools that support auditions and cold reads
• Use improv games and guided exercises to strengthen on-camera presence

This class runs for 5 consecutive sessions on the same day and time as the first class unless otherwise stated.

About the Instructor

Marcus Sams has been in the film and TV industry for over 2 decades and has been improvising for over 26 years. In that time, he has been a co-owner and creative partner of Crux Jinx, has had professional representation through MDT Talent, and has sat on the board of the Improv Network. He is the co-founder of the Bay Area Film Mixer, where he received the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service for bringing the Bay Area filmmaking industry together since 2001. He is also the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Improv Festival and the founder of Moment Improv Theatre, one of the first African American owned improv theatres and training centers in the United States, established in 2014.

Sams has been in 70+ national improv festival shows, including the “Secret Show” at the Chicago Improv Festival, where he opened for BassProv with his duo Liss n’ Sams, featuring Joe Liss of Second City. He was a “Master Teacher” at the Alaska State Improv Festival in 2017 and has been a headlining act and instructor at the KC Improv Festival, Out of Bounds Comedy festival, and Seattle Festival of Improv Theatre, among others.