Maybe you’ve seen a few improv shows and thought, “I could do that.” (And you’re right!) And sure, it looks like it might be fun. What if you could see for yourself with the least possible commitment? That's why ColdTowne is offering this one-off class all for the low, low price of FREE. Taught by members of the ColdTowne Conservatory faculty, this Free Intro to Improv is a heaping sample of what you’ll encounter in your typical Level One class.

That means a warmup, a lot of group games, and some discussion of the basic principles of improv. At ColdTowne we believe that best way to learn improv is to do improv, so we get you up and playing right from the start. Not only does this make for better improv . . . it’s more fun.

And fun is the operating principle here, people.

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.

No prerequisite, all experience levels welcome.

When you hear the terms Musical, Hip Hop, Freestyle and or Improvised Rapping, do you get excited? Nervous? Intimidated? If you do, don’t worry, so did I! But after freestyling at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam with Baby Wants Candy and on Broadway with Freestyle Love Supreme, I have some simple techniques that made the practice fun, easy and accessible to everyone. Join me to learn the very basics of Freestyle and Hip Hop and discover the joy of participating in a cypher at the end of the course!

TARIK RASHAAN DAVIS has been acting, improvising, and writing for over 25 years. He strives to cross-pollinate performance styles and audiences in all his work. Tarik recently appeared on all episodes of the three seasons of The Amber Ruffin Show on Peacock TV. His past experience includes Boom Chicago in Amsterdam and The Second City in Chicago as well as appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Undoing (HBO), Last Week with John Oliver, in commercials and other television and web series. In 2021, Tarik was a core cast member in the Tony Award winning Freestyle Love Supreme on Broadway. He performed at The Brooklyn Museum in David Levine's Some of the People All of the Time, selected as the New York Times Best Art of 2018. Tarik was a member of The PIT’s longest running improv team, The Baldwins and performed with Baby Wants Candy at UCB Hells Kitchen. As a writer, Tarik makes films, web comics, sketches, and has published critical essays. Tarik’s latest short film, DOC: Race, Revolution, Relativity & The Confessions of a Time Traveling Terrorist (2023) is currently in the final stage of production and is premiering at ColdTowne Theater in August 2024.  In the height of the Covid-19 shutdown, Tarik created a horror play, set on Zoom, linking labor rights, capitalism and A.I. The Tank presented this project, Host Invite, on Halloween in 2020. Tarik also teaches improv and theater to people of all ages. He has a journalism degree from Rutgers University and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Prerequisite: must have completed at least a Beginners level improv course.

Do you consider yourself an improviser? Great! How about an actor? Not sure? Here’s the answer…Yes and! When we learn improv we’re taught the rules of “game”,  pattern recognition and heightening. But how about learning how to use Improv as a tool for approaching scene work, auditions and character study? How can improv make you a better actor? This workshop helps answer these questions and is designed to build confidence and skills so that whether you are performing in an improv show, classical theatre, in a TV show or a film, you have a reliable set of tools to keep you prepared for whatever role you take on next.

TARIK RASHAAN DAVIS has been acting, improvising, and writing for over 25 years. He strives to cross-pollinate performance styles and audiences in all his work. Tarik recently appeared on all episodes of the three seasons of The Amber Ruffin Show on Peacock TV. His past experience includes Boom Chicago in Amsterdam and The Second City in Chicago as well as appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Undoing (HBO), Last Week with John Oliver, in commercials and other television and web series. In 2021, Tarik was a core cast member in the Tony Award winning Freestyle Love Supreme on Broadway. He performed at The Brooklyn Museum in David Levine's Some of the People All of the Time, selected as the New York Times Best Art of 2018. Tarik was a member of The PIT’s longest running improv team, The Baldwins and performed with Baby Wants Candy at UCB Hells Kitchen. As a writer, Tarik makes films, web comics, sketches, and has published critical essays. Tarik’s latest short film, DOC: Race, Revolution, Relativity & The Confessions of a Time Traveling Terrorist (2023) is currently in the final stage of production and is premiering at ColdTowne Theater in August 2024.  In the height of the Covid-19 shutdown, Tarik created a horror play, set on Zoom, linking labor rights, capitalism and A.I. The Tank presented this project, Host Invite, on Halloween in 2020. Tarik also teaches improv and theater to people of all ages. He has a journalism degree from Rutgers University and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Maybe you’ve seen a few improv shows and thought, “I could do that.” (And you’re right!) And sure, it looks like it might be fun. What if you could see for yourself with the least possible commitment? That's why ColdTowne is offering this one-off class all for the low, low price of FREE. Taught by members of the ColdTowne Conservatory faculty, this Free Intro to Improv is a heaping sample of what you’ll encounter in your typical Level One class.

That means a warmup, a lot of group games, and some discussion of the basic principles of improv. At ColdTowne we believe that best way to learn improv is to do improv, so we get you up and playing right from the start. Not only does this make for better improv . . . it’s more fun.

And fun is the operating principle here, people.

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.

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!

ANTHONY ELLISON spent 9 years in Chicago writing, performing, teaching, etc. After dozens of sketch shows at Second City, Annoyance, CiC, he earned an MFA in Playwriting, and won the Scott McPherson Playwriting Award. His plays have been produced in Chicago, NYC, Austin, Liverpool, Athens OH, Muncie IN, and many more.

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!

EMMA HOLDER is an actor, improviser and sketch comedy writer with a background in theater and literature. She has been performing, writing and directing at ColdTowne theater since 2008 and has taught improv, sketch, youth improv, youth playwriting, and creative writing for over 10 years. Emma performs regularly with her improv teams Kinkade and Stupid but Brave. She was a founding member of one of the longest running ColdTowne sketch teams, Pendulum, and has written and produced two solo sketch comedy shows: Kennedy Women and I'll Allow it. Emma has performed at UCB Theater's Dell Close Marathon, Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, New York Sketch Fest and Austin Sketch Fest.

Level 1: Intro To Improv

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.”

GARRETT ROJAS is an actor, improviser, multi-hyphenate from Austin, TX. Named after Garrett Morris, he was probably destined to become an improviser at some point anyway. He was named Rookie of the Year at the 2023 ColdTony’s and has appeared in a number of main stage shows since then. He’s a working actor who’s committed to continuing his education, having taken acting, improv, and elective classes weekly since January 2021. As a teacher and someone who also has a passion for playing pretend, he aims to help you on your creative journey while maintaining an environment that fosters fun. You can catch him this fall at Coldtowne performing in shows such as The Monster, The Misterios, and The Showdowne (hosting).

Prerequisite: must have taken a Level 03 Improv class at ColdTowne.

If Chicago-style improv were music, The Harold would be the twelve-bar blues, the language that’s shared by all improvisers in this tradition. In addition to being a challenging and rewarding form in itself, The Harold is also a great teaching tool, and the skills learned in mastering it are applicable to almost every other form of improv. This level builds on and challenges all of the skills the students have learned up to this point. Students weave together multiple story lines and characters to create shows that are each a unique tapestry spun from what has come before. This class includes a student performance.

WILL CLEVELAND brings 20 years of theatre experience into his class. He has served as Artistic Director of ColdTowne since 2016 and trained in improv and sketch writing at New York's Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. He wrote and produced works for UCBComedy.com as well as produced for Above Average, Funny or Die, Official Comedy and more. His show "One Hour Til Air" received the B. Iden Payne award for best Improv Cast in 2019.