You Offer Free Classes?

There are some questions I get a lot, and rather than trying to re-explain what my thinking every single time, and also just for clarity, I've decided to just write a post about it. If you're just reading this because, that's cool, but otherwise, you're probably here because I pointed you here. I've been an improv teaching instructor for a very long time; I taught my first ever longform class in San Diego (a short, four week class out of a dance studio in La Mesa) in 2012, after having coached longform in San Diego (the Stage Monkeys San Diego) since 2009. I've blessed to have been invited to teach at over 20 different improv festivals and/or theaters, as well as being a faculty member of three different improv schools since 2013. All that to say, I believe in the power of improv instruction, I have faith in what good classes and good teachers can do. Even just coaching can be game changing for some improvisers, and I say this as someone who has probably logged more free coaching hours than absolutely anyone (4 years of SMSD, 2 years of Keystone in Chicago, plus a handful of one-offs, favors, or spec coaching over the last 15 years). I'm priveleged in that I have had regular, good paying employment that has allowed me to take classes without a significant impact to my own finances, as well as being able to sacrifice my free time to teach others - something I know not everyone can do (nor, honestly, should they want to). I cannot however, ignore the inherent financial burden that improv has. The craft on it's surface is free, and truly, if you and some friends just wanted to do scenes in your garage, the absence of scripts, props, sets, costumes, tech and the ready availability of relatively cheap books and just a huge wealth of free online resources (videos, articles, blog posts (hello!), PDFs, and Reddit threads) make the *initial* barrier to entry essentially non-existent. To keep getting better though, requires time and a lot of money, money that you will almost definitely not make back doing improv. As of the time of writing, an improv class at one of the Big Three theaters costs (on average) $343. Even the next tier down runs, on average, $223/class, and these prices are fairly consistent nationwide. And, it should be pointed out that this is only for one class level, and most programs require 5 levels of classes, and in many cities it is considered expected that improvisers will take classes at all the schools available. Similarly I have seen individual workshops vary wildly, from $25-$100+ for a single 2 or 3 hour session with a visiting or specialty instructor. I'm not here to debate the economics or capitalism of improv education, certainly I would not want to argue against being fairly compensated for my experience and my time, and theaters generally use their training centers as the primary engine for operations. Effectively, the training center (and bar) subsidize being able to do shows, and this isn't a novel or groundbreaking observation. This is just to give background on why I'm having this conversation, because to get "good", and, hopefully, get on teams, perform in shows, and participate in the improv community, you will eventually have to pay money. And probably a fair amount of it. Bill Arnett always said that he'd be glad to give away his exercises, because when you're hiring him, what you're getting is his eye and his mind, and the exercises are just tools to either diagnose a problem or train a solution. I regularly see posters on the improv Reddit ask "do I *really* need to take improv classes?", and the short answer is generally no (excluding graduation requirements for auditioning, or other similar rules) but the long answer is that a good teacher (or coach/director/whatever) who is experienced and knows what they're doing can make your work so much easier and so much better. You occaisionally buy fundamentals (e.g. how the Harold works, which knowing that is like learning to conjugate verbs in a foreign language, which is to say, it's standardized and essential to communicate) but you really buy efficiency and insight. (This is of course, ignoring conversations about if teachers actually are earning their keep or how much work is expected from students, but there's only so much space.) I've taken, as an attempt to rememdy this problem, offering usually two spots in any workshops I teach, for free, first-come-first-served, no questions asked, whenever I can. (There are some theaters that already do things like this, awesome, and some places where the theater doesn't have the infrastructure to do it - like improv, it's a process not a product.) When I do this, I eat the cost personally, which I can do because I have the luxury of a traditional career and I think the long term gains outweigh the small money loss. If I've sent you here, it's probably because you've asked some variant of "so can I take the class for free?", to which the immediate answer is "of course, that's why it's there." Now what I think some people are really saying is "I can afford it, I'd just rather not", to which I would argue is not the point of the free class. I'm attempting to level the playing field for improvisers who want to get better, who want the benefit of improv instruction but can't afford it (for whatever reason). I can't answer the question of if it's appropriate for you, if you're "needy enough". I really want to trust improvisers to do the right thing, to be good citizens of theater. I'd encourage you to ask yourself the question "would it be a hardship for me to pay for this class?" If the answer is yes, please take a free slot and I look forward to seeing you in class. If the answer is no, I'd ask that you leave a free spot for one of your fellow improvisers who could use it. As an addendum, I don't expect any other teachers to follow suit, everyone has their own finances to worry about, but I know a lot of schools that offer scholarships (either full rides or discounts) for different students. I also know there are some organizations that offer what are essentially grants to pay for (or offset) the cost of improv classes, and I'd encourage anyone to look at what you have available in your situation or area. (If you're reading this and you run a theater or festival and you want me to come into town and do cool stuff, shoot me a message! I will always work with people to figure out how to make a trip work; I would rather me not make as much and be able to offer my considerable experience than just sit at home.)