Personal branding 1

Recently I took part in an improv 'masterclass' run by a very good teacher visiting from Canada. The guy in question used to live in the UK and has a justifiably devoted following of ex-students, many of whom signed up for the workshop.

Twenty of us paid £40 and went along with high hopes only to spend the day in a small, overheated room in a South London community centre that was entirely unsuited to drama work. The teacher was experienced and passionate but overambitious in the scope of his plan for the day. This was complicated further by the variability of experience amongst the participants (improvisers almost always improve with stage time). The process was repeated the next day.

Not one experienced performer I spoke to came away impressed. Some went so far as to say that was the last workshop of his that they'd attend.

Sure the £1600 or so he earned more than covered the cost of flights, accommodation and so on and he got to catch up with old friends in London. But at what cost to his personal brand?