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!
DREW WESELY graduated from ColdTowne Conservatory in 2008, started as a Teacher’s Assistant in 2011, and became an improv teacher in 2015. He graduated from ColdTowne Conservatory’s Advanced Graduate Improv Studies program in 2016. He hosted the ColdTowne Theater monthly improv jam, and currently hosts his independently operated weekly drop-in improv class/jam. Instructors from UCB, iO, The Annoyance and The New Movement have either coached or taught him in classes or workshops.
XARIA COLEMAN is a comedian, writer and Alumni of ColdTowne Theater and Upright Citizens Brigade NY. At ColdTowne she has performed in various mainstage shows and regularly as a member of Bear Derby (Student Troupe), Damn, Gina! (B. Iden Payne Outstanding Improv Troupe 2016) and Kingz (A bunch of hotties in drag).
IMPROV LEVEL 04: THE HAROLD
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.
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.
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.
