"Hey… don’t we know each other?” Yes, of course we do! When our characters come out with a shared history, their connection feels truer, their perspectives more engaging, and our scenes can become more fun to play! In this workshop, we’ll ditch the awkward getting-to-know-you phase, use our real life as inspiration and dive straight into dynamic relationships that bring our scenes to life.

Through a mix of exercises and scene work, we’ll practice:

This workshop is perfect for improvisers at all levels looking to build scenes without feeling like they’re inventing so much. Whether you’re playing best friends, rivals, or acquaintances with shared baggage, you’ll walk away with the tools to help build your scenes more naturally.

This workshop is for all levels

About your instructor
Billy Soco is a NYC-based actor, improv teacher, facilitator, and voice artist of Chilean and Filipino descent. He teaches at The Second City Conservatory and serves as artistic director of the Megawatt house team program at Magnet Theater, where he also teaches improv and musical improv.

Billy began performing poetry and freestyle rap in the Southeast in the early 2000s before moving to New York City, where he trained at Magnet Theater, Upright Citizens Brigade, The Second City Conservatory, and Freestyle Love Supreme Academy. His performance credits include The Armando Diaz Experience, North Coast, Baby Wants Candy, Shamilton, ComedySportz, Big Whoop, Kittyhawk, and SaltPepperKetchup. He can also be heard on the Smash Boom Best podcast and the award-winning Story Pirates Podcast.

He has taught and performed at festivals and theaters across the U.S. and internationally, including the Vancouver Improv Festival, Out of Bounds (Austin), Robin Hood International Improv Festival (UK), Teatro Lospleimovil (Chile), Improv Utopia, and Last Word Comedy Festival (VA), where he was an inaugural academy coach. He is also a founding instructor for the Uptown Improv Academy in Utica, NY, founding producer of Shoes Off, an all-Asian improv comedy show, and a facilitator with The Second City Works, bringing applied improv to teams and organizations.

Billy’s teaching emphasizes authenticity, playful exploration, a strong ensemble mindset, and making space for diverse voices in improv. More at billysoco.com

About the Swear Jar Jamboree
The Swear Jar Jamboree is Philadelphia's indie comedy + improv playground, four days at The Proscenium Theatre at the Drake (with additional workshop space at Plays & Players Theatre) running July 9–12, 2026.

We curate every show, act, workshop, and event ourselves and aim to bring together people from all over the US and across multiple comedy varieties. Throughout the festival you'll get main stage shows, community jams, and festival pass holders will get access to additional optional gatherings including an open mic.

Festival Passes & Bundles  (💸use with code JARNOLD20 for 20% off until June 1st)

Visit our Shows page for more information.

💙 The Proscenium Theatre is an accessible venue! 💙
🩵 Plays and Players requires use of stairs for access to the venue🩵

SUPPORT THE FEST!
Become a Friend of Swear Jar! Choose any level as an add on at check out and get your name displayed on a special thank you display at the venue. These selections are completely optional when purchasing a ticket to the festival. Proceeds from Friends of Swear Jar go directly to keeping the festival running.

Name-a-Chair to Support Jamboree! 🪑💬 For $20, you can leave a message on an actual chair in the theater. Name it. Dedicate it. Write an ad for your podcast on it! Want to leave a compliment or share a fun fact? The possibilities are endless and entirely ridiculous, which is exactly the point. All Name-A-Chair proceeds go directly to keeping the festival running. Let us know if we're able to share your chair on our social media!

Looking to Support Jamboree in Other Ways? Also check out our page on FracturedAtlas for more ways to give to the show. Want to get involved with the show? Go here to sign up as a Jamboree Volunteer.