Improvisor
Kiva Murphy teacher, clown, improvisor, improv. workshop, leading, corporate
International festivals. BIG Barcelona improv Group. Clown impro
Improvisor; teacher & performer
Kiva Murphy: International Improv Educator, Performer, and Theatre Co-Founder
Kiva Murphy is a dynamic and versatile performer and entrepreneur whose career is defined by her ability to command a stage, connect with diverse audiences, and build successful creative ventures.
A highly sought-after improv artist and educator, Kiva is the Co-Founder of BIG (Barcelona Improv Group), the city’s only English-language improv theatre. Under her leadership, BIG has flourished into a highly successful hub, training over 200 students a week and staging 12 shows a month, which Kiva actively hosts, performs in, creates, and devises.
International Performer & Host
Kiva teaches internationally and performs her improv shows all over the world, demonstrating a truly global reach. Her expertise as an MC is recognized at the highest level of the improv community, including her work as a host for large-scale international improv festivals.
Her distinct performance style is informed by her professional background in film and clowning. Kiva brings a "filmic eye" to the stage, making her shows exceptional in terms of physicality and staging. She performs from an infectious place of joy and playfulness, blending technical precision with genuine spontaneity—the quality that makes her stand out while always fostering strong team trust.
Beyond the Stage
Kiva’s background includes rigorous discipline and high-stakes performance, having proudly represented Ireland at the Euro Olympics. She applies this competitive focus and professionalism to her successful corporate training wing:
BIG Works (www.bigworks.es) offers bespoke corporate training, harnessing applied improv principles to enhance executive presence, public speaking, and communication for professionals globally.
The Big Sing (thebigsing.es) brings the joy of musical improvisation to new places, highlighting her versatility.
To hear more about her approach, you can find Kiva discussing the craft and culture of improvisation on her popular podcast, LET'S SEE IT.
The thrill of performing and teaching improvisation is addictive and there is no doubt in her mind that she fell into the right industry.
To read about the workshops and coaching that Kiva can offer, just look below. If you are interested in corporate or applied improvisation for your business then click here.
WORKSHOPS AND MIXER TEAMS
You have an orange———
You are on stage. There is an orange on the floor in front of you.
There is nothing else.
As improvisors we are used to being on an empty stage and creating everything for ourselves from scratch. What happens when you add an outside influence? Does it inspire you or limit your thought process? What else can an orange be apart from an orange?
In this workshop we will look into the many creative ways that you can you use and incorporate objects to bring you to places in your improvisations that you never expected. In these 4 hours we will explore how we can be inspired by objects both mimed and real. We will push the limits of what that object ‘means’ and heighten our scenes to the point where any object will become a platform for your creativity and launch your imagination to places that you have never taken it before.
Surprise yourself in this workshop and you will never go fruit shopping in the same way again!
Let’s play…seriously———
We all talk about having fun on stage but what does that really mean? When you are genuinely having fun on stage, you are captivating to watch and that magnetism is impossible to fake.
As children we play uninhibitedly and constantly invent new stories without fear of failure. By allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, and be ‘in the shit’ we release our inner child and delight our audience.
In this workshop we will use applied clowning and physical theatre techniques to bring pure joy into our improv. You will learn how to surprise yourself, and by removing the pressure to be funny you will truly be able to play...seriously.
Clowns don’t have a history and they experience everything for the first time and we want our audiences to have the same sense of wonder when they watch us perform, if we can achieve that sense of pure unadulterated play on stage then the sky is really the limit.
Sand the Floor and Paint the Walls———
Spacework…scary to think about right? Making a space feel real enough for the audience to be able to see it all whilst not crashing into the huge oak table that you just created can be a daunting prospect but there are other ways to look at spacework as well… What happens if we take away the stress of it and enjoy creating spaces both inside and out?
By thinking outside of the box (literally) we can create an atmosphere that will draw the audience into our world and make our improv more grounded in reality and therefore infinitely more enjoyable to watch. Rather than worrying about what we can do in a space, we can try and fill it with real details that mean something to us, a small handcarved wooden horse that your grandmother gave you will inspire an entire world filled with details, emotional attachments, character choices and stories. By the end of this workshop you will want to keep creating spaces so that you can inhabit them with different characters that you never expected to play.
Mixtionary, a Mixer Team———
A Mixer Team Like No Other. Picture a stage set with a white board on an easel, 12 players standing alongside, game faces ready, a trophy stands at the back of the stage ready to be won.
They will split up into two teams - one will be drawing pictionary style and one will be performing incredible scenes whilst using the drawings as inspiration and guessing the final answer before the time runs out.
Whilst one team selects three players to perform the first round, a player from the opposing team will pull out a well known phrase that they will have to draw e.g a rolling stone gathers no moss, it’s raining cats and dogs etc. Once the timer starts the performing team will have two minutes to incorporate as many things as possible from the drawing… their goal? To include the final phrase into the scene before the time is up! The performing team gets a point for every correct phrase guessed within the time.
Once the round is over, the teams swap and the game has begun.
Whichever team wins more points gets to keep the trophy… (well until we get backstage and then they give it back… but they still get the glory!)
That’s Not a Knife!- a Mixer Team———
The show starts off with the MC going into the audience and borrowing objects from the public. These objects are gathered on the side of the stage and placed on table where the improvisors cannot see them. They have no idea what these objects are going to be so they will be in the dark… this is what makes it exciting.
Three improvisors step forward and are handed an object by the MC.
Individually they will tell us the story behind this object, inventing a history, a functionality, a legend or a narrative.
Perhaps they tell us that the object belonged to murderous King George of the Seven Seas, or that it was used to sharpen cats tails in 15th century market places or that it was designed to hold popcorn in it so that you don’t get your fingers dirty whilst on a first date.
Once the three descriptions have been explained the audience will vote on which world they would like to see in more detail.
The chosen story inspires a run of sharp, quick free form scenes until another three improvisors step forward and pick up an object and we get to find out the true meaning behind each seemingly innocuous item placed on the table.
Just so you know…a knife is never just a knife!
WEEKLY CLASSES with BIG ———
Kiva teaches two weekly improvisation courses with Barcelona Improv Group in Spain. For more information on the courses she is teaching, click here: https://www.barcelonaimprovgroup.com/kiva. Her classes have been a huge success, with many of them selling out in a matter of hours. Her Clown Improv 10-week course is the first of its kind and was a stellar success. She is set to teach it again along with her regular classes and the Sunday drop-in workshop in Spring 2020.
COACHING:
Kiva can also be hired as a private coach for improv teams. She can create a personalised workshop to help your team across a variety of topics such as cohesion, thinking fast, use of objects, bring in playfulness, getting rid of the fear of rejection, believing in your ideas. If you would like Kiva to come and coach your team, just contact her here.
