We genuinely believe that improv classes can change a person’s life. It certainly has for all of our students, performers, staff, and faculty, and it seems like each day we see a new piece of writing espousing its benefits.

To best share that magic, we're offering a limited time discount for Level 1 Improv or Sketch Class gift packages. So give the gift of fun and play to either someone important to you or for yourself to use any time in 2023.

FOR THIS WEEK ONLY, Gift Certificates will be available (through December 26th) for only $150 using the code Y'ALLIDAYS.

Fine Print: Gift certificate is good for 2023 calendar year and for level 1 Improv or Sketch classes only. Attendees can register for their classes in advance by emailing ColdTowne's Conservatory Director at ctconservatory@gmail.com.

The Harold (proof of vaccination required)

Prerequisite: must have taken a Level 3 improv class at ColdTowne

Strong group work, or “group mind,” is the focus of Level 3, where students take a deeper look at their scenework and begin to create shows that are more than just a montage of disconnected scenes. While continuing to strengthen and build on the lessons of past levels, various storytelling techniques and other skills are introduced to help students go from improvising a single scene to creating an entire longform improv show. This class includes a student performance!

KYLE ROMERO is an actor and writer based out of Austin, TX. He is a graduate of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles and an improv and sketch faculty member at ColdTowne Theater and Fallout Theater. In Austin, he has appeared in the B. Iden Payne Award winning One Hour Til Air and the regional premiere of Bigfoot: The Musical, as well as directed the play Sex a.k.a. Wieners and Boobs. Kyle is a member of the sketch comedy collective Pendulum and is the Festival Co-Director for Austin Sketch Fest.

Create Your Own Show (proof of vaccination required)

Prequisite: must have taken a Level 5 improv class at ColdTowne

In Level 6, you'll take everything you've been learning for the past year and apply it to creating and performing your class's own form. You'll also get a series of showcases at the theater that run concurrently with the class and culminate in a graduation show and ceremony. You get a certificate and everything!

ASAF RONEN is the author of Directing Improv: Show the Way By Getting Out of the Way. He regularly performs, teaches and produces in Austin, was Education Director at The Institution Theater for eight years and is currently the Conservatory Director at ColdTowne Theater. He is also a Producer and Education Director of Austin’s annual Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. He has taught and performed improvisation in Canada, Great Britain, Norway and in twenty-eight of these United States with such groups as the B. Iden Payne Award winning Confidence Men (improvised plays in the style of David Mamet) and imp (mostly silent improv). He was also producer on TRUST US, THIS IS ALL MADE UP, a documentary on legendary improvisers TJ & Dave that premiered at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival in 2009 and helped develop the improvised film Days of Delusion with director Scott Myers. In 1999, Asaf founded the improv website, YESand.com of which he is Editor-in-Chief.

Level 1: Intro To Improv(proof of vaccination required)

Spontaneity. Playfulness. Listening. Trust. Honesty.

Learn the basic fundamentals of improv comedy and meet cool new people in the process! Our courses are designed to help students unlock their inner creativity in a fun and supportive environment. Whether you want to learn more about the comedic process to become a better writer/actor/performer, or you just want to loosen up and improve your communication skills while becoming more comfortable in your own skin, the lessons of improv we teach work to build your confidence both on-stage and off. This class will teach you how to celebrate who you are and to find truth in comedy through a series of improv and acting exercises that focus on honesty, spontaneity, playfulness, and saying “yes, and.” Find out when the next classes begin by clicking register!

AMY KNOP (she/her) has been a prolific performer and producer of improv at ColdTowne since 2016, including as B. Iden Payne-nominated director of "My Own Worst Enemy", "It's Britney, Bitch", and producer of sold-out runs of "Angola," "Old Love," "The Rose," and more. She is a graduate of ColdTowne Conservatory and Advanced Studies programs and performs regularly with Prayer Circle Comedy (Denver Improv Fest, Dallas Comedy Festival, Big Little Comedy Fest). Amy has been in weekly cast for Sweet Lightning, Pioneers, and several ColdTowne mainstages, and a festival director of Austin Sketch Fest since 2019 (but most significantly, captain of the still-reigning champs of Improv Fantasy League, H-E-Bees 2018). She loves the ColdTowne community and wants to welcome you into it!

Advanced Scene Work & The Group Mind(proof of vaccination required)

Prerequisite: must have taken a Level 2 improv class at ColdTowne

Strong group work, or “group mind,” is the focus of Level 3, where students take a deeper look at their scenework and begin to create shows that are more than just a montage of disconnected scenes. While continuing to strengthen and build on the lessons of past levels, various storytelling techniques and other skills are introduced to help students go from improvising a single scene to creating an entire longform improv show. This class includes a student performance!

DAVE BUCKMAN has directed, taught and performed at some of the world’s leading improvisational comedy institutions. After several years studying and teaching improv in Chicago, Dave served as Artistic Director of Boom Chicago in Amsterdam for 2 years, where he was fortunate to work with and direct some of the funniest people working in television and web-based sketch comedy today. After Europe, Dave worked as a director and teacher at The Second City in Chicago. He has directed MainStage shows at ColdTowne: Bigfoot, the musical, Austin Translation, Barney Biller Dark Night, The Roast of St, Nick, Eye for an iPhone and Shanty Town Lake. The Second City: Who’s yer Baghdadi?” (Cleveland), World’s Gone Wild” (Touring Company) and Deficit Comedy Jam (Touring Company) Boom Chicago: Your Privacy is our Business, Europe, We’ve Created a Monster, The Future is Here and it is Slightly Annoying. In 2002, he directed “Boom Chicago: RockStars” only the second stage-swap with The Second City’s Main Stage in its 50 year history.

Level 1: Intro To Improv(proof of vaccination required)

Spontaneity. Playfulness. Listening. Trust. Honesty.

Learn the basic fundamentals of improv comedy and meet cool new people in the process! Our courses are designed to help students unlock their inner creativity in a fun and supportive environment. Whether you want to learn more about the comedic process to become a better writer/actor/performer, or you just want to loosen up and improve your communication skills while becoming more comfortable in your own skin, the lessons of improv we teach work to build your confidence both on-stage and off. This class will teach you how to celebrate who you are and to find truth in comedy through a series of improv and acting exercises that focus on honesty, spontaneity, playfulness, and saying “yes, and.” Find out when the next classes begin by clicking register!

DANI GONZALEZ is a comedian based in Austin, Texas. She is a 2017 graduate of ColdTowne's program and has been performing ever since. She is a current member of Midnight Society, one of Austin's longest-running troupes, and has been a member of troupes such as Say Uncle, Stool Pigeon, and Prima Donas (Latinuats) to name a few. She has performed in multiple festivals with her sketch and improv groups.

Level 2: Intro To Improv
(proof of vaccination required)

Prerequisite: Must have taken an improv class at ColdTowne or elsewhere.

Strengthen your two person scenes using characters, relationships, and finding & playing “The Game.”

Building on the fundamentals from Level 01, students will begin to practice skills and techniques that strengthen their scenes and characters. Concepts will be introduced to help create deeper characters and relationships more quickly, while keeping things fun! Students will learn how to identify patterns within their scenes to create “The Game”: the engine that drives comedy in an improvised scene or sketch. This class includes a student performance!

KRISTIN HENN is a proud graduate of the ColdTowne Conservatory. Committed to continued training, she has taken additional classes and attended intensives regularly since 2009, including with The Annoyance Theater, IO Chicago, Improv Utopia,  and visiting performers  and practitioners from around the country. She holds a BFA in Directing and an MA in Theatre History and Criticism, both from Texas State University.

Unlock your creativity and tap into your spontaneous side with Nathan Sowell's unique formats workshop! Are you tired of feeling stuck in your scenes, or finding yourself lost in your thoughts? Nathan understands the struggle and wants to help you break free from these common improv traps. As a dedicated improv teacher and coach, Nathan has curated a workshop that focuses on three unique formats – Screw Puppies, The Bruise, French Braid, that you won't find in traditional Austin improv classes. Designed to prioritize the players and their individual strengths, these formats will help you stay present, focused, and most importantly, have fun!

In this workshop, you will get to experience three unique formats and choose one to explore in greater depth. Whether you're a seasoned performer or a complete beginner, Nathan's workshop is the perfect place to expand your improv horizons and take your skills to the next level.

NATHAN SOWELL has been improvising for more than a decade and teaching almost as long. He has studied at iO Chicago, The Annoyance Theater, ColdTowne Conservatory, and The Hideout which has provided him a well rounded improv education. Nathan is a beloved improv Teacher in the Austin Improv Community and has multiple teaching and coaching awards to back that claim up. You may have seen him in award winning ensembles such as Dinner for Six, Angola, and My Own Worst Enemy. He regularly plays with ColdTowne House Troupes Friends for Now and Kinkade.