Master improv with this one weird trick!  This is what the improv professionals don’t want you to know! You’ll never believe these improv hacks! Clickbait headlines to get you to sign up for this class!

All kidding aside, whether your improv goal is solid storytelling or pure comedy chaos, many beginner and intermediate improvisers find that their ability to execute quality scene work can be frustratingly inconsistent.

But here’s the thing that people who have been at this a long time already know: improv only feels hard because we make it too complicated. Good scene work isn’t a mystery, and it never has to feel like work. This playful workshop geared for all skill levels focuses on improv’s secret “cheat codes” – tactics and tricks that will allow us to get out of our heads, simplify things, and make every single one of our scenes fun to watch and fun to be in.

MICHAEL JASTROCH is a comedic actor, writer, and improv instructor, formerly based out of Austin, TX, and presently living his “Van Life” dream of traveling the country and working out of Walmart Parking lots. 

As one of the founders of ColdTowne Theater and a member of the seminal improv groups ColdTowne and the Frank Mills, Michael has won several awards for his work, including “Best Comedy Group ” in the Austin Chronicle Reader’s poll and the B. Iden Payne award for “Outstanding Improv Ensemble.” His improv and sketch comedy podcast Victrola! was named one of Austin’s “Best Comedy Podcasts” and nominated by Austin Chronicle readers as one of the city’s best comedy groups.

Michael has taught improv comedy for the last seventeen years and has been nominated and won “Best Improv Teacher” and “Best Improv Coach” a whole bunch. He’s taught his improv workshops all over the country, including at the Magnet Theater in NYC, the Oberlin College Improv Festival, The Oklahoma Improv Festival, the Phoenix Improv Festival, The Dallas Comedy Fest, The Alaska State Improv Fest, and the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival in Chapel Hill.

No lesson plans. Just a steady stream of scenework to help you pinpoint your individual tendencies. Find out what your strengths are and where you could explore further. Working in a non-stop series of improv reps, you'll learn what your patterns are and how to break them through personalized challenges. Great for intermediates who want to develop new skills and for professionals who want to keep fresh.

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

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!

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.” Find out when the next classes begin by clicking register!

KEYLAN HAYNES is an Austin based actor and a graduate of ColdTowne Theater. He has taught in ColdTowne’s wonderful youth program, Excused Absence, and is a part of the B. Iden Payne award-winning improv troupe Sugar Water Purple.

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.” Find out when the next classes begin by clicking register!

TIANA STUART (she/her) is an actress, musician, writer, and director hailing from the Chili’s at 45th and Lamar (probably).  Tiana discovered a love for improv comedy when she lived in Amsterdam from 2016-2019 where she studied long-form improv at the world renowned Boom Chicago under Michael Orton-Toliver who combined curriculums from both Boom Chicago and London’s The Free Association. Learning and performing an Armando really helped ease the disappointment of her bike being stolen (even though she totally used two locks)! She then moved back to Austin, TX where she graduated Coldtowne Theater’s conservatory program in 2022. You can now catch her goofing around with Coldtowne's house team Dr. Jack along with her other teams: Switchblade, The Racket, and Big Hug. Tiana co-wrote and directed Twinsies, a comedic short-film that has garnered 19 award nominations and 4 wins, including Best Comedy at the Austin Indie Fest and is still currently making rounds in the film festival circuit. Tiana also recently signed on as a producer of the Lysistrata Women's Comedy Festival, a four-day comedy festival celebrating the collective power of women. She can be seen in HBO's upcoming limited-series, Love and Death, episode 5 (unless they cut her scene which would be an even bigger disappointment than when her bike got stolen).

Level 2: Scene Work Strategies

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!

G. BENJAMIN BAZÁN (Lipan Apache/Ndé) is a 6th generation Tejano, born in McAllen and raised in La Casita. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and is a faculty member of the ColdTowne Conservatory. His work has been recognized by the Austin Critics Table and was most recently included in the Austin Chronicle’s Top 10 Memorable Moments in Theatre. He was awarded the 2022 B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Drama for his portrayal of “Juan Julian'' in Anna in the Tropics. As a comedian, Ben has performed at the Moontower Comedy Festival, Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, SXSWEdu, Del Close Marathon (NYC & LA), and the Miami Improv Festival. He was last seen in Tide produced by The Filigree Theatre. 

Level 2: Scene Work Strategies

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 began to seek guidance in longer comedy within structure. He received an MFA in “The Art of Dramatic Structure”, and won the Scott McPherson Playwriting Award, while also directing for the OU Comedy Org - Black Sheep/Six to Midnight.  His plays have been produced in Chicago, NYC, Austin, Liverpool, Athens OH, Muncie IN, and a lot more.

Level 2: Scene Work Strategies

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!

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.