Tim Manning
Educator and improviser with over ten years' experience.
I know that trying improv for the first time can feel intimidating — almost everyone who comes to my classes feels that way. Most people are complete beginners: curious, a bit nervous, and not quite sure what to expect. My job is to help you feel welcome, supported, and able to enjoy yourself from the very first session.
Teaching has always been at the heart of what I do. Long before I found improv, I worked as a teacher and facilitator in France, Ireland, and the UK, creating playful (and occasionally slightly chaotic) learning experiences that helped people relax, connect, and learn more than they expected. One of my earliest successes involved Irish folk music, a fair bit of confusion, plenty of laughter — and, somehow, real progress. That experience still shapes how I teach today.
I discovered improv about ten years ago, and it quickly became one of the great passions of my life. What drew me in wasn't performing. In fact, at the beginning, I didn't even know what improv was. I signed up for a beginner's course because I wanted to learn how to think on my feet — and because my partner had told me I was a bad listener. That's how the course was sold to me. It wasn't until my second course that I realised improv was actually a performing art.
Over the years, I've trained with some of the most respected improv teachers in the world, including Patti Stiles, David Razowsky, and the members of TJ & Dave. My longest and most formative performing experience was with Peareshakes, where I spent over eight years exploring grounded, relationship-driven, theatrical improv. I've also performed with The No More Marys and ET Improv. All of this feeds directly into how I teach: practical, supportive, and focused on helping people trust their own instincts rather than trying to "get it right".
My preferred style of improv is slow, connected, and character-focused — the kind of work where scenes grow out of genuine reactions rather than clever ideas. I'm interested in what happens when people really pay attention to one another, follow the emotional truth of the moment, and let the story take its own shape.
In my classes, I focus on creating a supportive, low-pressure environment where mistakes are very much part of the process, risks are gently encouraged, and everyone gets the space to find their own creative voice at their own pace.
Through improv, I love helping people build confidence, reconnect with their imagination, and enjoy the simple pleasure of making something together — moment by moment.
Most people who sign up feel nervous. Almost everyone leaves glad they came.