Adult Improv Classes
FALL CLASSES NOW ENROLLING
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FALL CLASSES NOW ENROLLING 〰️
Whether you are a new improviser or a pro, you deserve proven, experienced training. That’s what you’ll get at the Philadelphia School of Improv. We’ve been doing improv for over 30 years, and we’re pretty good at it.
Improv uses the same basic skill set regardless of what format or form you are doing. That being said, each form uses a different muscle and we believe, to be well-rounded performer, you should be exercising as many improv muscles as possible. That is why The Philadelphia School of Improv (PSI) offers classes on multiple forms. Click here to see our full curriculum and philosophy. Click here to meet our Instructors.
Scroll down or click the buttons below to find which class or workshop appeals to you as a performer and start there. We’ll be adding more classes as time goes on, so be sure to sign up for our PSI Mailing List to hear first when new learning opportunities are added.
Students are required to see at least one show (either ComedySportz or a special show) during the course. Students receive comps per semester to see shows for FREE (and then heavily discounted after that during their tuition).
+ Fall 2026 Class Schedule
Mondays CSz 301 & LongForm 101
Tuesdays Scenework and Side Coaching
Wednesdays CSz 101 A & CSz 201
Thursdays CSz 101 B
COMEDYSPORTZ CURRICULUM
You want to perform improv like the Players in ComedySportz? Then this is the track for you! You’ll learn the basics and apply them to our game-based format of improv that is faster and varied in style.
CSz 101: INTRO TO IMPROV
In CSz 101, you will learn the basics of improv, focus on agreement (“yes, and-ing”), active listening, commitment, and being present in the moment. You will then start to apply these skills towards ComedySportz style improv. In this class, you will learn and play some of our favorite ComedySportz games, utilizing the basic skills and learning to trust yourself, all while making people laugh and having a lot of fun! If you’ve never done improv before, or you’d like to revisit the fundamentals of playing CSz style improv games from another perspective in an inclusive, safe, and fun environment, this class is for you. The class ends in a showcase for friends and family. No pre-requisite.
Intro to Improv A - Fall 2026
When: WEDNESDAYS, Sep. 30th - Dec. 2nd(No class Nov. 11th and 25th)
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Instructor: Nate Holt
Location: CSz Mainstage (2030 Sansom Street) (Wheelchair Accessible)
Showcase: Dec. 6th, 2p-3p
Early Bird Deadline: 9/14/26
+ Meet Your Instructor!
Nate Holt
Nate Holt is a longtime Philadelphia resident and has been performing improv for 26 years. He joined Comedysportz Philadelphia’s main company in 2005. On CSZ’s stage he has performed in Murder Manor, Detective Improv, The Blue Show, One Big Happy, Dazed & Amused 24 Hour Improv, Game Night, The Neighborhood, and many more shows! Nate's theatre resume (back in the day!) includes acting roles with the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, Azuka Theatre, Act II Playhouse, Brat Productions, Shakespeare in Clark Park, and Delaware Theatre Company. He also produced, wrote, and directed Walking the Planes; a sketch comedy-documentary web series about Magic: The Gathering, as well as Enter the Battlefield, a documentary feature (also about MTG) with a 3-year run on Netflix.
Intro to Improv B - Fall 2026
When: THURSDAYS, Oct. 1st - Dec. 3rd(No class Nov. 12th and 26th)
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Instructor: Keane Cobb
Location: CSz Mainstage (2030 Sansom Street) (Wheelchair Accessible)
Showcase: Dec. 6th, 4p-5:30p
Early Bird Deadline: 9/14/26
+ Meet Your Instructor!
Keane Cobb
Keane Cobb is an actor, improviser, standup comedian and writer from Philadelphia, PA. Keane has been writing and performing his own brand of comedy since 2008 while living in Pittsburgh, PA. Keane has hosted at the Funny Bone in Albany, Helium Comedy Club and Punchline Comedy Club in Philadelphia. He is also a member of the all POC comedy troupe NYTEShift, the comedic trio known as Black History Monthly, the improv team Not Yet Rated, and a company member of ComedySportz. He has performed in a number of comedy festivals including the Pittsburgh Comedy Festival, Hell Yes Fest in New Orleans, New York Sketch Fest, NYC Improv Fest, Cinder Block Comedy Festival in Brooklyn, Diverse AF Festival in New York, We The People Improv Festival, Philly Sketch Fest, Philadelphia Podcast Festival, and Fringe Festival. More recently, Keane has taught multiple improv classes. Keane has hosted/open for Tommy Davidson, John Heffron, Jessica Michelle Singleton, Jamali Maddix, Randy Feltface, Zach Martina, Duncan Tressel, Yedoye Travis, Darryl Charles, Setoiyo and Chappelle Lacey.
Tuition
$275 • $325 • $350
Enroll earlier and save more!
Check out our Diversity Scholarship.
Multi-class discount eligible.
Take 15% off additional classes in the same semester.
Email or call us for details.
+ Meet Your Instructor!
Jessie Preisendorfer
Jessie has been doing improv on stage for a looong time. She has taught all levels of improv classes and served as CSz's Education director twice. Onstage, she's performed in This Week Sucked, I'll Have What She's Having, Murder Manor, and Roll Play. She did sketch comedy with Bad Hair and Thirteen Skirts and performed her one-woman comedy show "To Kate Jackson, With Love" at the Philly Fringe. A former public school teacher, she is a now a writer who has published two young adult novels.
CSz 201: SCENEWORK STUDY
This course introduces you to the building blocks of scene work, giving you the tools to create honest relationship-driven scenes on stage. A few of our most popular games will be used to strengthen your listening, teamwork, and scene-building muscles as you become a stronger, faster more bionic improviser. Prerequisite: CSz 101, equivalent from another improv school, or permission from the Education Director, siobhan@comedysportzphilly.com
Scenework Study - Fall 2026
When: Wednesdays, September 30th - December 2nd(No class on Nov. 11th and 25th)
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Instructor: Jessie Preisendorfer
Location: CSz Green Room (2030 Sansom Street) (Requires a flight of stairs to access)
Showcase: 12/6/26 from 2p-3p
Early Bird Deadline: 9/14/26
Tuition
$275 • $325 • $350
Enroll earlier and save more!
Check out our Diversity Scholarship.
Multi-class discount eligible.
Take 15% off additional classes in the same semester.
Email or call us for details.
+ Meet Your Instructor!
Michael Levine
Michael Levine is a Philadelphia-area comedian with eight years of improv training and performance experience. Michael was the director of the Philly Fringe 2024 show “SUSpacious”. In addition to being a ComedySportz company member, Michael performs regularly with “The N Crowd”, and indie teams “Remain Dog” and “Just Friends”. Michael has also appeared in CSz shows such as “But Wait There's More”, “Puppets Here & There”, and “Improvised Star Wars”.
CSz 301: CHARACTER AND RELATIONSHIPS
This class continues to build your scene work ability through establishing characters and a strong understanding of relationship. You will explore how character work can push a scene/game forward utilizing a character’s want, need, and drive. Prerequisites: CSz 101 and 201, equivalent from another improv school, or permission from the Education Director, siobhan@comedysportzphilly.com
Characters and Relationships - Fall 2026
When: Mondays, September 28th - November 30th (No class on October 12th and November 23rd)
Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm
Instructor: Michael Levine
Location: CSz Green Room (2030 Sansom Street) (Requires a flight of stairs to access)
Showcase: 12/6/26 from 12p-1p
Early Bird Deadline: 9/14/2026
Tuition
$275 • $325 • $350
Enroll earlier and save more!
Check out our Diversity Scholarship.
Multi-class discount eligible.
Take 15% off additional classes in the same semester.
Email or call us for details.
+ Meet Your Instructor!
Happy Huggin Quokka
The instructor for this course has not been announced yet. Peruse the Meet the Instructor page in the meantime to learn more about our teachers, and we'll update this spot later with your instructor.
CSz 401: PRINCIPLES OF PERFORMANCE
Now that you have a strong understanding of scene work, character, and relationship, we will push you toward directly applying them into your performance ability. Direct critique and side coaching will allow you to begin exploring who you are personally as an improviser and especially as a performer. Prerequisites: CSz 101 through 301.
Principles of Performance
CSz 401 will not be running this Fall, we’re sorry to leaf you with that news
Tuition
$275 • $325 • $350
Enroll earlier and save more!
Check out our Diversity Scholarship.
Multi-class discount eligible.
Take 15% off additional classes in the same semester.
Email or call us for details.
LONG FORM CURRICULUM
Long form improv is a series of scenes, based on a single suggestion, that are loosely connected and come together to make a cohesive, satisfying show. In our long form improv classes, you will learn the improv basics and apply them to scene work. As you progress, you will start to incorporate other techniques of the form.
LongForm 101: FUNDAMENTALS
In Long Form 101 you’ll start with the fundamentals of improv: agreement (“yes, and-ing”), active listening, emotional commitment, playing characters, making your scene partner look amazing, and being present in the moment. You will then start to apply these skills to scene work. No prerequisite.
Longform 101 A
When: Mondays, September 28th - November 30th (No class on October 12th and November 23rd)
Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm
Instructor: Karen Getz
Location: CSz Mainstage (2030 Sansom Street) (Wheelchair Accessible)
Showcase: 12/6/26 from 12p-1p
Early Bird Deadline: 9/14/2026
+ Meet Your Instructor!
Karen Getz
Karen Getz is a Philadelphia-based performer, choreographer, theater-maker and teacher. She’s been improvising for 40 years and teaching improv since 1990. Karen began performing and teaching with Comedysportz Philadelphia in 1994. Her improv training began with TheaterSports and The Groundlings in Los Angeles and she has studied with Mike Abdullah, Keith Johnstone, Joe Bill, Jeff Wirth and Jill Bernard. She has a degree in Acting and Dance from Binghamton University. She was a co-founder/director of Tapestry Theater, Philly’s first female-centered theater company - where she produced The Female Funnyfest- a national theater festival premiering new, boundary- bending comic works by female-identifying artists. She was a member of the 5 member, long-form ensemble Lunchlady Doris during its 12 year life span,13 Skirts (Philly’s first women’s improv ensemble) and the fully-improvised musical, Choosical. She created and performed (with Kelly Jennings) the award-winning, improvised, immersive theater-experiment- Cecily and Gwendolyn’s Fantastical…throughout the U.S. and, since 2012, she and art-partner, Dawn Falato, have been performing The Gorgeousity-an immersive, audience-centered, improvised musical-theater party. Karen has garnered three Barrymore Awards for her theater choreography and her three, original, comic-actor’s ballets (featuring many members of Comedysportz Philly.)Karen began her career as a movie and video dancer. You can see her 23 year old -dancing (and gum-chewing) self in the movie, Dirty Dancing.
Longform 101B
When: Thursdays, October 1st - December 3rd (No class on November 12th and 26thrd)
Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm
Instructor: Nick Elmer
Location: CSz Green Room (2030 Sansom Street) (Requires a flight of stairs to access)
Showcase: 12/6/26 from 4-5:30p
Early Bird Deadline: 9/14/2026
+ Meet Your Instructor!
Nick Elmer(as a pufferfish for now)
Nick has performed improv comedy for ten years and can currently be seen with The N-Crowd, No Diggity, and Breeders. He has taught all levels of improv classes at The Lab and Philly Improv Theater (PHIT). Besides that he also has years of experience coaching and directing independent improv projects including the recent Lab bunker team 1235, the PHIT Harold team Main Dog, the improvised sitcom Smoke Break, and others. More than anything, he is excited to help improvisors find what they are great at and keep falling in love with the art form of improv comedy!
Tuition
$275 • $325 • $350
Enroll earlier and save more!
Check out our Diversity Scholarship.
Multi-class discount eligible.
Take 15% off additional classes in the same semester.
Email or call us for details.
+ Meet Your Instructor!
Welcoming Panda
The instructor for this course has not been announced yet. Peruse the Meet the Instructor page in the meantime to learn more about our teachers, and we'll update this spot later with your instructor.
LongForm 201: SCENE STUDY
In 201, students will dive deeper into scene work, explore second beats, explore tag-outs and callbacks, learn different openings, and practice different approaches to improv, such as finding, playing, and heightening the game of the scene. Students will get to perform what they have learned in a class show for family and friends. The class ends in a showcase for friends and family. Pre-requisite: Long Form 101
Longform 201: Scene Study
There’s no Longform 201 this Fall, but we Autumn get it to ya next semester
Tuition
$275 • $325 • $350
Enroll earlier and save more!
Check out our Diversity Scholarship.
Multi-class discount eligible.
Take 15% off additional classes in the same semester.
Email or call us for details.
+ Meet Your Instructor!
Mustached Cat
The instructor for this course has not been announced yet. Peruse the Meet the Instructor page in the meantime to learn more about our teachers, and we'll update this spot later with your instructor.
LongForm 301 - The Harold & Other Forms
In Long Form 301, students focus on the Harold, the most renowned long form structure, developed by Del Close. In this class, students will learn about this long form structure and why it works, how to play group games, how to do a great run, and how to put the whole thing together. Students will get to perform the entire Harold for their class show. Prerequisite: Long Form 201 or permission of Education Director. Please contact the Education Director before you sign up if you have not recently taken the Long Form 201 class.
Longform 301: The Harold
There is no Longform 301 this Fall, we just couldn’t rake in our students
Tuition
$275 • $325 • $350
Enroll earlier and save more!
Check out our Diversity Scholarship.
Multi-class discount eligible.
Take 15% off additional classes in the same semester.
Email or call us for details.
INTENSIVES
You have completed a number of classes. Or you are an experienced improviser with some years of performing under you belt. You now have the tools to take your skill set up a notch in PSI’s Improv Intensives. These classes are intense which means you hit the ground running and don’t stop until the final showcase. Get ready to work and have fun.
Scene Work & Side Coaching
+ Meet Siobahn O'Hara
Siobhan O’Hara is the Education Director of ComedySportz Philly and has been a Philly-based comedian performing improv for 10 years in New York and Philadelphia. In addition to performing in ComedySportz, Siobhan worked as a cast member of The She-Quel and Dun-Dun: Improvized Crime Unit. Siobhan has performed at ComedySportz Philadelphia, Philly Improv Theater, Crossroads Comedy Theater, This Week Sucked at The Lab in Ambler, and is a member of the indie improv teams: Daddy Issues and Tchotchke. She is also the co-author of The Comedy Improv Handbook.
Up Your improv on the spot
Looking for specific notes and scene work growth? Then this class is for you!
This 8-week intensive is all about digging deep into scene work with the support of side coaching. Together we'll pinpoint specific habits, lock down on game, and create sustainable scenes with specialized feedback along the way!
“Scene Work and Side Coaching” gives students the opportunity to hone their improv strengths while fine tuning other areas of performance.
If you’ve ever felt in need of mid-scene direction, this class will give you the chance to focus on successful game moves, support moves, and character development. Come ready to play and sharpen your improv instincts!
When: Tuesdays, September 29th - December 1st(No Class on November 3rd and 24th)
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Instructor: Siobahn O’Hara
Location: CSz Green Room (2030 Sansom Street) (Requires a flight of stairs to access).
Showcase: 12/6/26 from 4p-5:30p
Early Bird Deadline: 9/14/26.
Prerequisite: CSz 301 and LF 301
Tuition
$275 • $325 • $350
Enroll earlier and save more!
Check out our Diversity Scholarship.
Multi-class discount eligible.
Take 15% off additional classes in the same semester.
Email or call us for details.
WORKSHOPS
You’ve taken lots of classes or you’re ready to dip your toes in for the first time. Workshops are the perfect way to spend a weekend afternoon or weekday evening with a quick injection of improv education that’s over in a couple hours, with skills that last you lifetimes.
The 4th Rule of Improv
+ Meet Joe Spence
Joe Spence is a graduate and former house team member with teaching or coaching experience at the Second City Hollywood, iO West, Nerdist School, and ComedySportz LA, and has also studied at UCB and with Groundlings founder Gary Austin. Joe is also a member of the teaching staff at Gary Spatz’s The Playground, the only bonded young actor’s conservatory in Los Angeles where, until recently, was in charge of the teen acting program. Joe has been teaching improvisers from age pre-K to post-90 for almost twenty years and enjoys the ability of the art form to take an artist places they never knew they could go.
and How it will give you your improv breakthrough
So you’ve taken a couple improv classes, and you’ve learned that there are a few guidelines that everybody tries to follow when they improvise. Then you saw a couple shows and you noticed that everyone appears to be following those “rules”, but there is something different between the shows that your teachers put on and the showcase your friends invited you to…and you can’t quite put your finger on it.
This workshop spotlights an approach to improvisation that will allow improvisers of any level to conquer that feeling of “trying to keep up” and give any improviser with some amount of training the confidence and ability to hold their own and play with anybody. The 4th Rule of Improv will erase the fear and mystery of how to survive in an improvisation…with anyone.
This workshop is for both newer improvisers and also veteran improvisers looking for a refresh. This should not be your first ever improv participation, but players of all levels with any amount of training will find this to be a very valuable experience.
When: Tuesdays, September 29th
Time: 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Instructor: Joe Spence
Location: CSz Mainstage (2030 Sansom Street) (Wheelchair Accessible)
Tuition: $35
Prerequisite: Participants should have completed one or more levels of improv training from any program anywhere.
Details You Need To Know
SAFETY PROTOCOLS
PSI and CSz Philadelphia have implemented Safety Protocols to protect employees and patrons. Please read our Safety Protocols before enrolling in a class.
In-Person
PSI offers in-person classes at our theater on 2030 Sansom Street.
TUITION
Prices are listed on the enrollment page. Just click the ENROLL NOW button next to the class. (Don’t worry, you won’t be enrolled by clicking.)
Sign up by the Early Bird Deadline and you’ll receive the biggest discount. If you sign up after that date, you’ll still get a discount, but not as big. If you sign up on the day of the class, you’ll pay full price.
You can also put a $100 deposit down and pay the difference on the first day of class! Please Note: The deposit is non-refundable.
Sign up for more than one class per semester and you’ll get a 15% discount on all secondary classes (discount cannot be combined with Scholarship classes).
Email or call us for details before you purchase a class.
DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP
CSz Philly is proud to offer scholarships to the diverse population of Philadelphia. In addition, we have partnered with the Black Improv Alliance. If you would like to apply for a Diversity Scholarship, please click below.
FAQ
Have a question not covered here? Try our FAQ page. Learn more>
If you have any questions about our online classes, please email the Education Director.
