advanced improv
now enrolling

IMPROV LEVEL 05:
ADVANCED FORMS

Prequisite: must have taken a Level 4 improv class at ColdTowne

Students will build upon their knowledge of the Harold by exploring other improv show formats and structures. These structures include The Deconstruction, Close Quarters, Spokane, and other popular forms. Through practice of these structures, students will hone their abilities while also gaining an understanding of the various parts and workings of an improv form. Understanding how to produce the kind of show you want to put up by creating your own form will be essential for the final level. This class includes a student performance!

Saturdays 2:30-4:30pm
starting October 19

8 WEEK CLASS + 2 SHOWCASES
SKIPS THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

ABBY LINCOLN is an improviser, actor, writer, and teacher from Austin, Texas. Abby holds a BFA in Acting from Shenandoah Conservatory, which is where she began improvising with her college team, "The Loaf." Abby is a graduate of ColdTowne Theater and has been featured on house teams Stool Pigeon and Yard Sale. You may also recognize her from ColdTowne's mainstage as she has played in shows like "The Emma Dilemma", "Game Night", "Dinner for Six", "Express Yourself", and "Toxic Chakra Presents: Everything Will Be Ok." Abby has been a secondary school theater arts and English teacher for the past 8 years, but recently quit to pursue her dream of not being exploited.

Tuesdays 6-8pm
starting October 22

8 WEEK CLASS + 2 SHOWCASES
– – – – – – – – – – – –

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 was Editor-in-Chief.

IMPROV LEVEL 06:
CREATING A FORM

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!

This class includes a 4 showcase performances including a graduation performance.

 

Mondays 6-8pm
starting October 21

8 WEEK CLASS + 4 SHOWCASES
– – – – – – – – – – – –

AMY KNOP (she/her) is an experienced teacher and prolific performer, producer, and director 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 has toured with Prayer Circle Comedy (Denver Improv Fest, Dallas Comedy Festival, Big Little Comedy Fest), performed in multiple ColdTowne mainstages, co-captains Fallout's Saturday night house team, and been managing director of Austin Sketch Fest since 2019. She is a graduate of ColdTowne Conservatory and Advanced Studies programs and performs every Friday with "Austin Chronicle Best Of" nominees "A Very Special Episode." She loves welcoming new performers and showrunners into the Austin improv community!

Saturdays 2:30-4:30pm
starting October 19

8 WEEK CLASS + 4 SHOWCASES
SKIPS THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

TIANA STUART (she/her) is an actor, improvisor, musician, writer, and director. 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 The Free Association out of London. She then moved back to the U.S. where she graduated from Coldtowne's conservatory program in 2022. You can now catch her goofing around on multiple House Teams at Coldtowne and in other troupes. Tiana co-wrote and directed Twinsies, a comedic short-film that has garnered 25 award nominations and 4 wins, including Best Comedy at the Austin Indie Fest. Tiana is also a co-producer of the Lysistrata Women's Comedy Festival, a four-day comedy festival celebrating the collective power of women. You can catch her in HBO's Love and Death and other films and commercials. She is represented by the Zephyr Talent Agency.