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This post upsets me. I’m sorry, I can’t imagine anything more insipid than a UCB 201 class where the majority of students were software engineers. It’s yet another example of nouveau-rich tech workers obliviously ruining something with their money.

Most NYC improv classes before the end of the pandemic crept up to around 450 dollars for a class which met once per week over the course of 8 weeks plus two shows. This is terrible value and flat out unaffordable for aspiring comedians who decided to move to NY. For them to be priced out by software engineers who see improv as some kind of corporate public speaking training is kind of devastating, not least of which because I considered the UCB (at least in the era of the Chelsea theatre) to be a sort of hallowed ground growing up, where I could go see some of the funniest people in the country for free at the 9PM Sunday ASSSSSCAT after waiting the entire afternoon in line.

The pressures of financial mismanagement and the enormous amount of demand from well-paid professionals who wanted to give comedy a go ruined improv comedy in NY. The fact is many of your peers probably “passed” the 201 “graduation“ requirements, despite not having a single funny thought most days, because of the tantalizing incentive of getting these people to pay for more classes. A “school” where some of the greatest comedic minds were once gathered became a cult where people paid tithe, and the result is some of the worst live theatre the world has ever produced.

I sincerely hope the UCB never comes back, and that if improv ever rises again, it does so in more sensible cities like Las Vegas, Atlanta or Miami. What happened in New York was senseless. Also, maybe software engineers should think a little bit about how their money shapes their local economies.

2 comments

I don't think that the $450 classes designed for people outside of the comedy/improv world are taking away opportunities for those who moved to NY to enhance their career in comedy (performing in main stage of improv troupe, writing for television, etc.)

I wouldn't really know though unless UCB is really only sourcing its main-stage talent from their classes, which I highly doubt. because if they were, that'd sound like a pay-to-play type of thing, which happens/happened a lot in places like L.A. for musicians trying to break in a long time ago, and that would be super lame, and likely not lead to their main stage being very funny.

Besides, they probably have massive rent to pay , why not offer classes to the dilettantes/hobbiests who want to try and experience different things and work on their social skills and confidence? Also, I have to assume that they offer classes in rooms that aren't the main stage, and all that. They're just utilizing space and time for revenue.

> I wouldn't really know though unless UCB is really only sourcing its main-stage talent from their classes, which I highly doubt. because if they were, that'd sound like a pay-to-play type of thing

This is exactly what was happening. You have to understand, this is not a one-off $450 dollar class but a “curriculum” (101, 201, 301, 401). There were requirements after graduation from 201 and 401, where to pass 201 you pretty much had to prove that you didn’t shout racist profanities on stage, and after 401 you had to prove that you were able to carry a bit, and there was a weird tiered culture where improvisers would only associate with people who had attained specific levels.

Once you went through these four classes, you had the opportunity to audition for improv house teams which performed every Tuesday night in a marathon 4ish hour block. I remember there being like 6-8 house teams with 8 members each, but even then competition was incredibly fierce. Sometimes, at the highest levels, comedians who were established elsewhere would be brought in, but talent was mostly internally sourced. I remember being somewhat shocked to learn that the house team members were not only unpaid but also had to pay monthly dues.

It was an incredible opportunity to get on these house teams and there are a lot of wonderful comedians on the national stage who cut their teeth at UCB. I took classes on and off from like 2007-2017ish and remember them being around 200-ish dollars at the start, and I don’t regret any of it. Nothing will ever beat the experience of being in a groove with your fellow improvisers and bringing down a house. I’m also incredibly thankful that I got to meet all the instructors, who are all hilarious comedians in their own right.

I apologize to the OPs; I don’t really know how funny they are or what their classes were like. I just had the sudden image of being a kid who moved to NY for comedy, trying to climb the UCB ladder and saving for classes, only to be in a room where most people literally made five times what you made, sitting and watching two “senior software engineers“ do two person scenes in tinnitus inducing silence, listening to them try to get rise from the room with references to things like Amazon EKS as they pantomimed scrubbing dishes next to each other, and then having to listen to as many minutes of notes on this scene from the instructor. Truly bleak.

I accept your apology, but I did take offense to your gatekeeping and suggestion that the composition of my class is somehow the cause of UCB's decline. I got a lot of benefit out of my 101 and 201 classes, and then stopped because I got what I was looking for and was not interested in continuing that track.

In the past, I said the experience was the social equivalent of joining a pickup soccer game thinking you were in shape, and wheezing while out of breath in the first ten minutes. The classes taught me the importance of active listening, the magic of groupthink, and the difference between sincere expression and artificial performance. My own experience leads me to believe learning improv can help the average person practice empathy and understand themselves better. I think the world would be better if improv were approachable to everyone (even those outside of LA and NYC who do not have $450 to blow).

Because I understand the scene better, I consider UCB, especially its "professional track", to be an exploitative clique that mortgaged its reputation for quick growth. Regardless of mission statements or guidance, it has always been obvious that a specific mold of performers are granted any opportunity. Still, there is no way the "old UCB" would have survived the past 20 years, and it is reassuring to hear startup theaters can spread the good word.

There's a lot to unpack here.

I agree with your critique of the "curriculum" gatekeeping setup that a lot of theaters have, and it does give off a weird moneygrabbing vibe. _However_,

- space costs money

- shows are almost always absurdly cheap (and btw, it's not like you can just take two classes and do a show sponsored by the theater. Magnet had a particularly arduous process to get on a house team.)

- don't know about UCB but Magnet held free open improv sessions. PIT charged something small to participate

- it's not heavily advertised but Magnet/PIT will come up with scholarships/volunteer opportunities in exchange for tuition.

I also think it's ridiculous to gatekeep software engineers out of improv (one of the most accepting communities I've been a part of btw), as if we're only allowed to churn out code 8 hours a day, go home, and do nothing that could possibly allow ourselves a creative outlet. While I enjoy some aspects of my job, I don't find it totally stimulating, and I like having creative outlets of expression such as improv. To some end, yes, the money I make as an engineer does fuel my ability to participate in my hobby. I'm not "trashing a local economy". I'm enjoying my fucking hobby. A hobby I have some higher aspirations in, granted, but I'm not expecting to quit my job tomorrow and pivot to comedy.

For all this guff you're making about software engineers being unfunny, I find it incredibly _unfunny_ that you're just declaring who can and can't participate in what is effectively two people telling a story on the fly.