Advanced Training Program

Mockingbird Improv’s Advanced Training Program (ATP) is for graduates of our Improv Essentials core training series or other experienced community members looking to advance their improv skills. Class meets once a week on an ongoing basis and is tailored to the needs of the class. Our expert instructors work with our students to identify areas to strengthen and craft the class to address those needs. Goals are set at the start of each enrollment period (approximately every two months) and the curriculum is designed to work towards those goals. Students receive a lot of individual feedback and are supported in working on their specific goals as improvisers.

Program Details

Class schedule: Class meets every week on Wednesdays 7:00 - 9:00 PM in our Liberty Station location.

Performance opportunities: Students will have regular performance opportunities, at least every other month on Thursday evenings.

Other program features: Students can attend all Mockingbird Improv shows for free. Students also receive discounts on electives and workshops.

Membership is $85 a month. Billing is automatic and can be cancelled at any time. No minimum enrollment period.

Eligibility: Students are expected to have completed or be on track to complete Mockingbird Improv's level 5 class or equivalent training.

Entry to the class is by audition. Auditions are approximately every two months (see upcoming date below) and are used to ensure students have adequately grasped the concepts taught in the Improv Essentials core training program.

To inquire about eligibility, placement, or anything else pertaining to class, contact our Education Director at jackie@mockingbirdimprov.org

Yew Tree Group

Focus: Dramatic long form, emotional authenticity, and creating deep connections and truthful relationships within each scene. The class will entail candid feedback that challenges students to lean into moments of growth, balanced with playful banter that keeps the room light and fun. Exercises are tailored to bring out and celebrate the truth of the scene. Chris’ teaching style is loving yet straightforward, a mix of honesty, humor, and heart. With high expectations for respect toward the craft, time, and one another, he fosters a professional yet joyful environment. He’s unafraid to curse in jest and cheer in awe.

Chris “Jazz” Colthurst: Chris has been studying improv since 2001. He’s been blessed to have learned the art form from teachers at San Diego TheatreSports(SDTS), National Comedy Theater, Finest City Improv, Sidestage Improv, BATs, and Mockingbird Improv. After many years performing with SDTS, he was the founding member of Husky Improv, the sexiest improv team in San Diego, Up Yours!, puppet improv, and a collection of other indie groups. Chris has also enjoyed teaching improv classes at SDTS, The La Jolla Comedy Store and The Comedy Palace in San Diego. Chris admires the work of Peter Gabriel, Marina Abramovic, and Fred Rogers. He and his amazing wife Unison have two amazing kids Zion and Zachary.

Willow Tree Group

Focus: Inhabiting new characters in body and mind, uncovering drives, and using those discoveries to drive each scene. Classes are student-driven and focused on performance. The goal of all class exercises is to help students become better at radically exploring capacities they didn’t know they had and to learn to accurately (and lovingly) coach themselves. Socratic side coaching and small group exercises press the players to discover for themselves what makes a more impactful character and scene by honing their own observations. Mae’s teaching style is described as deeply insightful and caring, committed to the growth of each student as a player and as a person.

Mae Brayton: Mae has been teaching improv for 8 years since developing Virginia’s Operation Improv curriculum for the nonprofit Armed Services Arts Partnership. Mae has studied improv performance at both the Second City Conservatory and Groundlings Core Track. She has been on over a dozen house teams and indie teams at theaters spanning the country, including genre, premise-based, Harold, JTS Brown, movie, musical, puppet, and short form. Her teaching philosophy has been shaped by Teaching Artist training from PsychArmor and psychodrama methods at Duke University and other some of which informed her work in her Masters in Cognitive Neuroscience and her M.Ed. in Instructional Design. Her mission is to unblock shame & fear to tap into every player’s inner genius.