After a Two-Year Break from In-Person Classes Due to the Pandemic, The Groundlings Theatre & School Re-Opens on April 18th
Los Angeles, CA (March 22, 2022) – Los Angeles’ famed institution The Groundlings Theatre & School is reopening the legendary classrooms on Melrose Avenue. Known for training some of the leading comedy talent in Hollywood, The Groundlings School announced a new curriculum of in-person and online adult classes will begin on April 18th with open enrollment beginning today.
The school offers an Intro Track, Core Track and Lab Track program, including two new classes this year. Improv Lab (formerly Advanced Improv) focuses on expanded character development and advanced scene work through improv and writing exercises and culminates in an improv performance on the Gary Austin Stage. Another new addition, Continued Core Workshop, is designed for students who want to continue their online improv training beyond intermediate, focusing on improv, character creation and scene work. Intro Track Classes and Core Track Classes will be offered online and in-person. Lab Track Classes will happen in-person only. Proof of vaccination and weekly testing will be required for in-person classes.
“We are so excited to reopen our school. We want to thank everyone for all the support with our virtual classes over the past several months and cannot wait to see everyone’s smile and laugh in person. It is true that laughter is the best medicine, and we look forward to laughing with you in a post-pandemic world!” said Managing Director Carrie LaFerle Gergely.
“We learned a lot over the past 24 months, and in many ways, the pivot to recreating our training online opened up new avenues of creativity and expression,” added LaFerle Gergely. “It also brought in students and an audience from around the world, which we hope to build on as we reimagine our curriculum. But nothing replaces the thrill of working shoulder to shoulder with teachers and students, so we are extremely grateful for this return.”
For information on the new school schedule & enrollment, visit www.groundlings.com.
About The Groundlings Theatre & School Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives
The Groundlings Theatre and School is committed to nurturing a diverse community of students, staff, and board members and believes that everyone, regardless of race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or physical ability should be given the same opportunities within our program. The Groundlings Theatre and School has several diversity and inclusion initiatives including outreach workshops with local colleges and high schools, a scholarship program, and an annual Diversity Festival. For more information, please go to www.groundlings.com/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity.
About The Groundlings Theatre & School
The Groundlings Theatre is an improvisation and sketch comedy theatre that has been entertaining LA audiences since 1974. They are a non-profit organization founded by Gary Austin. The Groundlings School has been the foremost comedy training ground in Hollywood and the springboard for countless careers including comic geniuses from film and television such as Melissa McCarthy, Phil LaMarr, Jennifer Coolidge, Ben Falcone, Will Ferrell, Ana Gasteyer, Kathy Griffin, Cheryl Hines, Chris Kattan, Taran Killam, Lisa Kudrow, Jon Lovitz, Paul Reubens, Maya Rudolph, Mindy Sterling and Kristen Wiig, among others. You can catch Groundlings and recent alumni on shows such as Saturday Night Live (Heidi Gardner, Mikey Day), The Righteous Gemstones (Edi Patterson & Tony Cavalero), Community (Jim Rash), Man with a Plan (Matt Cook), A.P. Bio (Lyric Lewis), Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (Andrew Leeds), Insecure (Leonard Robinson), Veep (Emily Pendergast), Call Me Kat (Julian Gant), and much more.