Goofing: A Weekend Intensive in Clown, Solo Improv & The Art of Riffing
Dates: June 20 & 21
Time: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM (one-hour lunch break each day)
Location: Sweet Action Theatre, 180 Shaw St, Unit 106, Toronto
Capacity: 12 students
Ever wanted to walk onstage with nothing planned — and still make people laugh?
Goofing is a weekend intensive in clown and solo improvisation built on The Goof Method — a pedagogy rooted in the teachings of Jacques Lecoq and Philippe Gaulier, sharpened through years of teaching, riffing, and flopping in front of live audiences. It draws on Idiot Work and contemporary solo improv, and carries those traditions forward with a modern, present-tense energy.
At its core, Goofing is about presence over performance — riffing live with an audience, with nothing planned, reading the room, responding in real time, and letting laughter come from honesty and play rather than preparation.
And central to all of it is the art of the flop.
We fail — often, and publicly. But we make a distinction here that matters: there's honest failure, the kind that happens when you genuinely don't know what's coming next, and there's performed failure — the preemptive apology, the self-deprecating armour, the safety of acting like you don't care. The work is to dismantle the second one so the first one can do its job. Honest failure is where the laugh lives.
This is also where the work extends beyond the stage. Most of us spend our lives avoiding looking foolish — performing competence, dodging risk, staying safe. Goofing is a controlled environment to practice the opposite. Think of it as rejection therapy with laughs: you walk in afraid of looking stupid, and over the weekend you discover that looking stupid is survivable, freeing, and often the funniest thing in the room. People leave with a different relationship to failure — and that shows up everywhere, not just on a stage.
Whether you're an actor sharpening instincts, a writer hunting material, a comedian testing premises, or someone who's never performed in their life and just wants to get out of their own way — there's a way in. You'll leave with more freedom in your impulses, more trust in your instincts, and more confidence in the unknown.
Through exercises, improvisations, and live coaching, we'll work on:
Building character through physical instinct
Physical comedy — using the body as your first comedic tool
Being fully present on stage and filling the space you're in
Finding your genuine pleasure on stage — and sharing it with an audience
Reading an audience in real time
Tools for generating material on the spot
Finding the comedic voice that's actually yours
Rewiring your relationship with failure and rejection
Building confidence in the unknown — useful far beyond the stage
No script. No safety net. Just you, your impulses, and a room of people willing to find out what happens.
About Your Teacher
Chase Jeffels is an actor, comedian, and teacher whose work bridges clown, improv, and the art of playful failure. He is a graduate of École Jacques Lecoq and the Laboratoire d'Étude du Mouvement in Paris, and trained under renowned clown master Philippe Gaulier — teacher of Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, and Emma Thompson. Gaulier once said of Chase's work (imagine it in a thick French accent):
"I do not like very much Canada, but I like what you do."
Chase has also studied clown, bouffon, and idiot work with Aitor Basauri, John Gilkey, Chad Damiani, Kevin Krieger, Deanna Fleysher, Jaime Mears, Ken Hall, Isaac Kessler, and Gordon Neill. He is a graduate of the George Brown Theatre School classical conservatory program.
As a performer, his work spans film, television, and theatre. He is a member of the longform improv and sketch collective $20 Sandwich, and one half of West 2 West, a clown duo known for blending physical comedy, audience connection, and absurd play.
Pricing
Tier Base + HST (13%) = Total
Regular
$250.00 + $32.50 = $282.50
Early Bird (first 3 spots)
$215.00 + $27.95 = $242.95
Returning Intensive Student (10% off)
$225.00 + $29.25 = $254.25
Scholarship / Low-Income (2 spots)
$175.00 + $22.75 = $197.75
Deposit & Payment: A 50% non-refundable deposit secures your spot. Spots are reserved on a first-paid basis only — submitting the form does not hold your spot. This applies to all tiers, including Early Bird and Scholarship spots. Balance due before the first session. Payment by e-transfer to jeffels.chase@gmail.com.
The Returning Student rate is for past Goofing Intensive participants ONLY. Riff Reps drop-ins and other class participants are not eligible.
Scholarship rate is available for students experiencing financial hardship — please use it honestly so we can keep offering it.