The Comedy Conservatory – The Premier Improv Training Center in the Gulf South
Here’s our current 2010 Course List and see what current and former students are saying about La Nuit’s Classes.
Comedy Conservatory classes are split into five levels, ranging from Beginner to Advanced. Each level has a cost of 300 dollars for 8 weeks. Most classes are on the weekend but we have an expanded schedule to include weekdays as well. Classes are kept small so that each student gets plenty of personal attention and a lot of support.
Upon completing our training program, you’ll have the skills and confidence to deliver outrageously funny, honest and riveting improv, strengthen your acting skills, write laugh-a-minute stand-up routines and work in a team to bring a group of ideas into a unified goal and execute it with professionalism and positivism. We train our students to behave as professionals and it shows.
Our students have been scouted by every local casting directer, as well as Mosaic Media (Will Ferrell’s agent and development company), top stand up bookers, and comedy development companies from around the US.
What is Improv? Here’s an article from Wikipedia.
This class is geared towards aspiring sketch comedy writers. The culmination of the class will be a show produced at the end consisting of student sketches that students can invite industry representatives to see. The class will consist of students breaking down what makes a consistently funny sketch, and how to play to local New Orleans’ audiences so your show sells!!
Yvonne Landry is a star of stage and film. She’s been seen on shows like: “Big Momma’s House 2″ and “The Reaping.” Most recently, Yvonne had a supporting role on David Simon’s “Treme.”
Yvonne Landry has taught all over the world and even taught at the famed “Second City”- widely regarded as the “Harvard of Comedy.”
Yvonne Landry has worked in commercial casting for 5 years with O’ Connor Casting- Chicago’s largest commercial casting agency. Her specialties were kids, comedy, and street casting.
Her students have gone on to have great successes. One of her juvenile students, Chloe Suazo, went on to book a leading role on the “Freddie Prince Jr. Show” playing Freddie’s younger sister. This prompted an MGM casting director to say: “Yvonne’s the only person in this town who knows what she’s doing as far as children are concerned.”
She teaches that acting should be FUN! Each session will also cover “the business of acting.”
This class will cover solo on camera work. We’ll be doing rehearsed and cold readings of commercials and scenes. Students will watch their work immediately, breaking down what does and doesnt work. You’ll learn the “rote” of auditioning, and we’ll discuss getting agents, unions, etc. Each class will be 8 weeks long. Adult classes are 2 hours a week, children’s are 1. Adults will meet Mondays at 6. Children’s- Saturdays at 10. Adult classes are $300; Children’s are $200.
Class space is VERY limited. Sign up today!
Class size is limited to 18 students. We reserve the right to cancel classes with less than 5 students booked.
La Nuit brings in masters from outside of New Orleans from time to time to teach our master classes. This is a benefit to our students, only. There is either no charge or only a small charge for these classes with working professionals from our field. It’s our way of saying “thank you” to our students, and our way of adding value to our classes. These master classes ensure that OUR students are ready to take on the professional world upon graduation. In the past, we’ve brought in working actors from “Curb your enthusiasm”; “Wizards of Waverly Place”; and “MadTV” just to name a few.
This fall, Mosaic Media will be scouting our students, alone, here at La Nuit. Mosaic is Will Farell’s agent and development company.
La Nuit is proud to have this friendship with them.
To sign up or for information, please contact us at 504-231-7011 or email us at info@nolacomedy.com
Meet the Staff:
Former Second City instructor Yvonne Landry has 18 years of professional comedy experience. Her background includes a BFA in Performing Arts from Columbia College in Chicago, and she is also a graduate of the Annoyance Theater and Improv Olympic (Chicago).
Yvonne has trained or performed with with the top improvisational teachers from around the country, including: Del Close, Charna Halpern, Mick Napier, and Matt Besser, Susan messing, Don Depollo, Fran Adams, Matt Besser, Joe Bill, Miles Stroth, Norm Holly, Jeff Richmond, Carey Goldenburg, Jodi Lennon, Mindi Stirling, James Grace, Paul Vaillencort, Dick Chudnow, Patrick Short, James Baile, Matt Walsh, Eric Hoffman, Jill Bernard, Molly Erdman, Peter Gwinn, TJ Jagadowski, Rich Fulcher, Bill Chott, Rich Talarico, Bob Dassie, Scot Robinson, Mary Watchel, and Craig Cackowski.
Her acting experience is also extensive – she most recently appeared in Treme and has appeared other feature films: The Reaping, Big Mommas House 2 and Deja Vu. You won’t find this much experience in an improv teacher anywhere else in the Gulf South. She’s also worked as a casting associate for the television industry for 5 years.
Besides teaching improv, Yvonne is also one of the South’s leading corporate trainers. She does individual and corporate coaching. She is also the founder of the New Orleans Comedy and Arts Festival.
Jenny Finkel moved to New Orleans after graduating from Indiana University, where she studied Human Sexuality, Theatre, French, and Art History. She has been studying and performing improvisational comedy at La Nuit Theater since early 2007. Since graduating from La Nuit’s Comedy Conservatory, Jenny has performed in shows all over the country and taken workshops and master classes with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Jill Bernard and Bill Chott. Jenny now teaches and coaches improv at La Nuit, serves as the associate artistic director of ComedySportz New Orleans, and performs with God’s Been Drinking and ComedySportz.
Bill Chott
Bill Chott has written and performed on The Dana Carvey Show and Saturday Night Live cartoons with Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell. Kids know Bill as Mr. Laritate from Disney’s Hit The Wizards of Waverly Place.
Bill trained at The Second City, and worked with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz, among many others. He was a big part of the founding of both The Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater and The Improv Olympic West. He teaches adults, children, corporations and donates his time and energy to important causes like Special Olympics.
He is a founding member of Opening Night: The Improvised Musical, and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with Baby Wants Candy. He was in the very first Armando Show in Chicago and the first A.S.S.S.C.A.T. in New York.
Bud Faust
Bud Faust is a humorist and playwright from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the author of Great Moments in New Orleans History (Volumes 1 and 2) and has had several plays produced in and around the city, including one (Gettin’ Dirty with Guy Camaro) performed as part of the New Orleans Improv Festival and another (To Hell and Back, Somewhat) being a winner in Le Chat Noir’s 7th Annual New Play Festival.
Beautiful Bastards, his critically acclaimed play about the founding of New Orleans, was likened by The Times-Picayune to “what it must have been like watching the Marx Brothers segue from vaudeville to Broadway comedies.”
Bud served as the head writer for the inaugural season of The Red Light District Variety Show and currently writes a monthly column for The New Orleans Levee newspaper.
