David teaches : Level 2 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Testimonials
"David is a fantastic teacher. I have grown immensely as a person, and I hope an improviser. I am legitimately saddened I won't have him moving forward in classes, as I feel his theater background has been especially helpful for presenting material in an eloquent and thoughtful manner." "David will give constructive criticism with every scene you do, sometimes even stopping the scene to give corrective notes but he will just as quickly point out what you are doing well and give compliments as he sees them. David 'pushed me to failure' but I knew I had his support to continue to improve. It can be scary and uncomfortable but it made me a better improviser and a stronger person." "David is like that teacher or coach in high school who is tough but fair, encouraging but honest. What makes David great, even when he's offering criticism, is that there's never any question as to his motivation – to make you the best improviser you can be. Once you embrace the fact that he's not criticizing you, he's building your skill, it's a great experience." "David is a master improviser, and he definitely knows how to teach. He will challenge you no matter what your skill level. He is an invested instructor who is great at answering questions and would always stay late to work things through." "I couldn’t imagine a better structure for learning anything, period. From week to week, I could feel my own growth, and I got to enjoy the incredible growth of my fellow classmates as the classes went on." |
David began performing in musical theatre at the age of 8 in Philadelphia and continued throughout middle school and high school under the direction of Thomas Stretton. He attended The University of Pennsylvania where he was a member of The Mask & Wig Troupe, the oldest all-male collegiate musical comedy troupe in the United States. While in the troupe, David served as both head sketch writer and director of the Undergraduate show.
After graduating, David moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and writing professionally. He sold his first screenplay to Fox Family Films and, as a member of SAG/AFTRA, has appeared on "The West Wing", "The John Larroquette Show", "Threat Matrix", "The Line of Fire", "Sesame Street" and many regional and national commercials. He began studying improvisation at The Groundlings in Los Angeles in 1992 and spent four years in their conservatory. He then trained for over a decade with Groundlings alumni Stan Wells at his "Empty Stage Theatre" in West Los Angeles. He followed that with two years in the master class of Bill Steinkellner, the show runner for the TV show “Cheers”. He began producing and directing his own improv formats at The Empty Stage Theatre, including improvised one-act plays and improvised sitcoms, the latter of which was invited to perform before a sold-out crowd at The Friars Club in Beverly Hills. David is the Artistic Director of Fake Radio, LA’s Premier Old-Time-Radio Comedy Troupe. Since taking the reigns in 2001, he’s had the honor of working on stage with some of his comedy heroes including, The Kids in the Hall, Ray Romano, John Larroquette, Fred Willard, Marcia Wallace, Larraine Newman, Jeff Garlin, Mindy Sterling & George Wendt. After moving to Portland in May of 2014, David performed in the main ensemble and taught improvisation at Curious Comedy. In 2016, he left Curious and now performs and teaches at The Brody Theatre, the place his improv heart calls “home”. In January of 2017, David will begin teaching improv to students at St. Andrew's Nativity School in Northeast Portland, a Jesuit School serving the people of color communities. |