The Idiot Workshop

With these classes I was able to go far beyond my prior limits of emotional commitment and absurd physicality. However, with perspective, what I primarily took away was permission. All these abilities were already present, but these classes gave me permission to bravely use them in the face of an audience. Working these skills, among others, has helped me book well-​paying stage gigs. Also, I once saw a man drink his own pee in this class.
Background: UCB advanced study, iO main stage, Actors Gang

These classes will take your performance to the next level. Whether you’re an actor, comedian, clown, musician or whatever… You’ll be challenged to give your 100% and more and it’s thrilling!
John Gilkey is a genius with a heart of gold.
Tyler Watson, his right hand man, knows how to bring out the best in his students. Watching him perform made me want to take the Idiot Workshop.
Virginia Scott is brilliant and kind but doesn’t pull any punches!
I started my comedy/​improv journey in NY and felt the LA improv community (I’m sorry if this offends) lacked that heat/​je né sais quoi so I started looking elsewhere. The MURGE (2^nd and 4^th Sundays, 9:30pm at The Clubhouse), directed by John Gilkey, is by far the most interesting improv/​comedy I’ve seen here so far.

I have been studying here for a couple years and don’t pretend to be impartial. I love it. For me, this has been the most difficult and rewarding training I’ve received as a performer. I can remember the first time I did a drop-​in. My heart was pounding just watching people go on-​stage and attempt to entertain the audience with no starting point. I’d gone through several improv programs, where the curriculum was designed around making performers feel safe or rely on numbers. This was the polar opposite. The work was designed to confront the performer with failure — and even more mysterious than that, utilize that reaction to ultimately win over the crowd. There were no manuals, rules or devices to facilitate this goal. Every single person had to navigate a completely unique path.
There is no diploma tied to this work. The reward is that you have an opportunity to really learn how to be present, vulnerable, sincere, mischievous and tap into a spirit of playfulness that connects you to an audience on a primal level. You learn to create work that’s completely original and bares your soul to the world. And, best of all, you get to take this journey with some of the most generous, kind, gifted and rebellious artists you’ll ever meet. :)

An honestly refreshing take on a comedy class. I’m an alumni of both UCB, Groundlings, and IO West and it’s honestly the most amount of attention on your actual improvisation skills. John Gilkey and others have a keen sense of what makes a good comedic performance and aren’t stingy on the advice. Great classes!

SIMPLY AMAZING. With background in acting, music, sketch comedy & improv, I can say that idiot work is what I’ve been looking for all along! I feel like everything I’ve ever done ever has come to play in this workshop. It’s a perfect combination of playfulness, stupidity, movement, vulnerability, commitment, camaraderie, and so much more… I’m fully addicted and excited every time to find out what is going to come out of me when I take the stage; there is just no way to know where it’s going to take you. There isn’t an exact format or formula, you just go up there and we «discover» what happens. If you want to develop as a comedian, performer, or just a person, get into this world! Expect to laugh your ass off the entire time!

The Idiot Workshop has SUBSTANTIALLY freed me to perform with confidence in front of a live audience… even if I have NO material, and I mean absolutely NOTHING. For those experienced in the high-​wire art of «saving the show,» you will feel at home, and you’ll get to try stuff. For those with less experience, you will be given numerous opportunities to learn and grow in a supportive, creative environment. In my opinion this class is indispensable, especially for live performers, but really for anyone who wants to convey spontaneity in their work.

HERES THE REASON WHY THIS IS SIMPLY THE BEST: I’ve been following the work of these Idiots for two years and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. Simple. So I joined classes in September 2015 and haven’t stopped because it’s so fun and So perfect. Simple. This is the best thing you’ll ever do and I highly recommend it. John is a one of kind teacher that caters to your special traits and talents and make a big ol dumb dumb outta you RIGHT QUICK. I can’t explain it, but I can risk my life and everything I have in swearing to you that this is the only improv, comedy, stand up, therapy you’ll ever need if you’re an LA actor. Everything else is fine and great, and yes try them (traditional improv) but you’ll always need the idiot workshop no matter what ya do, so why waste anymore time? It’s 2016, live your life. Sign up for idiot classes NOW and watch your self be so happy. Yeah!

Best comedy classes ever. I took a lot of classes (like 9) at UCB and always felt like I was ‘not quite getting something’. So many rules to remember that get in the way of feeling free. That’s what makes Idiot Workshop so wonderful is that there is only one rule: be funny. There are also lots of performance opportunities with this school as well which is nice. Lot’s of shows at the Clubhouse and such. After a year of working with the IW and John Gilkey I finally feel like I have found my ‘comedic voice’. John Gilkey is an amazing teacher. In the words of Chad Damiani «Free jeans jackets to the first 600 attendees of the Idiot Workshop». Chad, I couldn’t agree more.

I’ve been taking class at The Idiot Workshop for nearly 3 years and have yet to discover exactly what it is we’re doing. This work is elusive, challenging, growth-​inducing and far out (in all the best ways). No rules and yet built on a series of ethics of what it means to be a performer/​actor/​comedian. The class asks for you to be vulnerable, committed, physical, open and playful. Can’t recommend enough!

This is like writing a review on my family, because there is really no way I could describe my deep and complex love for this class in a Unilocal review. It’s my home, it’s where I’ve made my closest of friends, and it’s the place I go to find myself.
John Gilkey and his uniquely challenging workshop teaches a performer who they are, how they fit in, and the endless well of material available by embracing just that. I found my voice as a performer and writer through it’s methodology, comprised of equally strange and genius exercises, employed for one simple purpose, to forget who you think you are and to start being who you really are onstage. Because of this workshop, I feel more powerful and confident onstage than ever before.
I realize this is a pretty dramatic love letter to the Idiot Workshop, but, don’t forget, this place is also the most hilarious place I’ve ever been. This class is funnier than most comedy clubs. I’ve laughed until my stomach hurt, I’ve smiled until my mouth gets stuck in smiling position, I’ve laughed until I cried, I’ve spit water out of my mouth, my nose, I’ve even pee’d a little before, but don’t tell anyone. It’s a fun, challenging and wonderfully wild place to learn.

John Gilkey is a kind-​hearted genius. I’ve been working with him for over two years now, and his class has changed the way I look at comedy and changed me as a performer (in a good way). Class can feel unstructured, but that’s the work of the clown performer. Go on with nothing, face your fears, and find your most human, most beautiful self. Gilkey will help get you there. Because of him, I am a much stronger, much more confident and physical performer. He sees in you what no one else will, will push you to your potential, and be there with you every step of the way.
If you’re interested in comedy and improv, take this class. Your education won’t be complete without it.

These classes will push you past the limits you didn’t know you set for yourself. This work wastes zero time getting to the core of who you are. It teaches you how to fail and succeed in the right ways.
I never knew that I could feel as free as I do on a stage with an audience. If you give it a fair shot, your mind will be blown and you’ll feel like a superhero. I recommend this to all my performer friends. Don’t think about it too much. Ok bye bye!

I’ve taken a number of acting and performance classes, and a degree in acting and directing, and this is by far the best acting class I’ve ever taken in my life. Honestly half the work is confusing and difficult, actors who I tell about the class are horrified. You have to go onstage with nothing and save the show? The quintessential actor’s nightmare, and to be quite frank, I feel like I’ve seldom done better work in my life. If you can wrap your head around this class, and tough it out, you’ll be able to save any show, or you’ll fail miserably and the audience will love you for it.
Get ready to fail, and find your funny.