We Coach
Posted by Plague
Hire USS Rock N Roll to coach your improv team
USS Rock N Roll has over 15 combined years of improv coaching under their belts. Our players are some of the best coaches in the business having coached teams in Chicago at iO Chicago, Second City and The Playground and in Los Angeles at iO West, Second City LA and MI’s West Side Comedy. Players on this team have been recognized with the Del Close award “Coach of the Year.”
What you can expect from a session with a USS Rock N Roll coach.
On USS Rock N Roll we strive to create complete, thematic, comedic works of art every time we take the stage. We place a strong emphasis on group work and honest, grounded scenes. That said we understand and use all tools at our disposal as the piece calls for them. We coach what we practice. Every session with a member of USS Rock N Roll at the helm of your rehearsal will be one where you will come away feeling strong, not only as an improviser, but as a member of your own troupe.
We can be hired out to coach your improv team remotely or on location. We are willing to negotiate pricing with any team. It’s more important to us that the work happens than the money.
Services:
- Location Coaching – One member comes to your team to coach for a single rehearsal
- Remote Coaching – One member gives your team notes based on a pretaped show via SKIPE. Session will include exercises to take home, question and answer session and follow up.
- Location Workshop – Several members come to your team/school/theater department for a day/2 days of improv instruction
- Location Workshop & Show – Several members come to your team/school/theater department. We will perform for you/with you and then provide a day/2 days of improv instruction
For any questions about coaching, pricing, workshops, or to hire USS Rock N Roll to teach you contact us here: coaching@ussrocknroll.com
Coaches
Mouth
Annie Hoff – Annie has been performing improv since 1997. She helped found the children’s improv touring group, Smarty Pants Theater Company and has been a part of many long and short form teams over the years. Annie trained with iO West and these days you can see her performing with the house Harold team, USS Rock N Roll as well in the show Singles Bar. Annie teaches Level 5 – Edits, Transitions and Tempo at Mi’s Westside Comedy Theater. She has coached several teams over the years and currently coaches the Harold team Kitty Porn, as well as the independent group The Latchkey Kids. Annie also helps coach the student program The Lottery at Io West. She gets totally jazzed off about improv and yes that’s how she talks.
The Touch
Riki Kalil – Riki first took the stage as an improviser in 1998 with his college short form team – Smile and Nod. Since then he has gone on to manage said team as well as coach several others improv teams in the greater Los Angeles region. His training is in both short and long form improvisation and his schooling includes iO West and UCB. He currently performs with USS Rock N Roll on the iO West mainstage and is involved with several other improvisation/sketch projects that keep his mind focused on the craft.
The Dandy
Levin O’Connor – Levin began his improv career in Chicago studying at iO (Formerly ImprovOlympic) and The Second City. He has been fortunate enough to learn from some of the great minds in this craft and works hard to pass that along. Improv is more than a means to an end for Levin, it is a life philosophy. This Del Close Award winning “Coach of the Year” has lived in LA for the past four years and performs weekly at iO West with USS Rock N Roll and The iO Repertory Company.
Forms: Harold, JTS Brown, Concept Album
NICE QUOTES ABOUT WHAT WE DO:
Thanks for a truly inspiring workshop. You guys did such a great job even with a huge crowd. You really packed it with great information and exercises. It was the best one I took at the festival!
Canon Wing from Annie and Levin’s Festival workshop: Harold 201
Hey I just wanted to let you guys know your workshop whas probably the highlight of my year. And we just went to improvathon at UCSB and ended up doing an Armando. I was doing the monologue and took to heart all of the sweet info you gave us and it went simply swimmingly. Everyone said how much they enjoyed it. It was great. Thanks again. Hope you can come back for more next year.
Josh Conrad of Smile and Nod @ Cal Poly
“We had our long-form show tonight with the kids from the workshop… and it was fucking great! Both Harolds were incredible, the audience was only confused for the explanation, but were right there for the execution… seriously, we got the best audience response we’ve had all year tonight… it was an amazing experience. Clear theses (from “vanilla paste” we got relationship/abandonment issues and from “fighter pilot” we got emotional/physical/self/sexual abuse), callbacks, abstractions of theme across the beats, the group games were varied and supported… all the makings of great improv. Seriously, thank you for coming across and up… we all wished you could have been there tonight.”
Dan Dirks of The Peapod Squad @ Clark University
Thanks for the mental and physical workout!! Lost 3 pounds of weight and gained a ton of knowledge. Awesome!! I just wish we could have had more time considering the large turn out. Other than that it was great. Liked the fact that we had two great improv minds showing us new tricks and new ways of working within the Harold format. Biggest note for me was that it gave me a better view of what an opening should be and keeping it simple by establishing the tone of what your Harold is all about.
Lief La Duke from Annie and Levin’s Festival workshop: Harold 201
I absolutely loved the workshop! I appreciate the fact that Annie and Levin focused so much on working as one unit. I feel that is one factor that often gets overlooked in the iO curriculum, and separates a good team from a great team. The parts that really inspired me and made me want to play (and I don’t mean just play, but have tons of fun while doing it), were when you talked about how you don’t have to have an agenda when you walk into a scene, to trust that what you’ve created is the perfect move, and that the theme will naturally find its way in your Harold. These ideas immediately comforted me. I admit that I’ve heard them before, but the way you guys explained it really resonated with me. I had so much fun in this workshop, and I can’t wait to work with you guys again. Thank you so much!
Katie Dodson from Annie and Levin’s Festival workshop: Harold 201
“Our workshop with USS Rock & Roll gave us a fresh perspective on our weekly shows, and it got us thinking about new approaches to long form and, even better, got us doing it!”
Jeremiah Jordan, ImprovBoston; Assistant Artistic Director.
“USS Rock n Roll’s work shop truly changed the way I looked at improvisation. As any of the member of USS Rock N Roll could attest, honesty serves as a key aspect in all improv scenes. I don’t know how they did it, but USS Rock N Roll managed to teach my team mates and I how to play truthfully, infusing honesty in the characters, scenes, and moments that came to life during the 2 hours we had with them. The supportive environment created by these amazing teachers took away any fear that you had to make a good impression on these professional improvisers, and allowed us to play with them like we’d known them for years. Thank you USS Rock N Roll”
Andrew Schlager, Philips Andover Academy
