Ali Farahnakian to teach SNL Writing and Improv Workshop!

#1
Hey Chicago Peeps:


With the recent hirings at SNL and MadTV, Ali Farahnakian, former SNL writer and member of IO's house team 'The Family,"
is offering to come here from New York for two workshops to debunk the process of submitting a profolio for television and the improv audition that often goes along with it.


The workshops would be two days - Saturday, March 6th and Sunday, March 7th. From 12 - 3 on both days will be the improv workshop to get people comfortable with auditioning and taking their improv to the next level that the auditioners look for.

From 3 - 6 will be the sketch writing workshop demystifying the submission world. The sketch workshop would consist of participants bringing a commercial parody the first day and a 2 person/5 page sketch the second day. Participants will be able to see what an SNL sketch looks like, what they are and aren't looking for, and walk out with and SNL proof copy.

Each workshop will be $150 or $250 for both.

Ali is awesome and this is a great and unique opportunity.

Contact Katie at flashroxy@yahoo.com or 773.719.2914 to sign up!

Here's Ali's Bio!
Ali (SAG, AEA, WGA, AFTRA) studied extensively with Charna Halpern and Del Close in the '90's at ImprovOlympic and was a part of two groundbreaking shows: "Three Mad Rituals" and "Dynamite Fun Nest" (dir. Del Close) where the forms The Movie and The Deconstruction were created. He was on the legendary IO house team, The Family, and was also a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade with whom he helped to create the critically acclaimed show, “Virtual Reality”. At The Second City he was part of the Jeff-nominated show The Revelation Will Not Be Televised (dir. Jeff Richmond) for which he also received a Jeff nomination for Best Actor in a Revue. His one-man show Word of Mouth was an official selection to the US Comedy Arts Festival 2001 in Aspen. He was a writer on Saturday Night Live during its 25th anniversary season and received a Writers Guild Award. In 2001 he starred in the independent film The Misanthrope, which won the Special Grand Jury Prize at the South By Southwest Film Festival. This past summer he played Dr. Qari Shah in Tony Kushner's Homebody/Kabul (dir. Frank Galati) at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Television credits include Law and Order, Criminal Intent, Special Victims Unit, All My Children, Third Watch and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He has worked for Miramax, The VH1 Fashion Awards and script-doctored for John Leguizamo. He has been performing and teaching improv for over a dozen years and has taught in NY, LA, Chicago and China :up: :up:
 

proofred

Son of a Beach
#2
Ali is the real deal. If you are serious about going this route, his knowledge and experience could really give you a leg up.

Todd Rice
ProofRed
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Remembering the Thanksgiving dinner at the UCB's Virtual Reality show in the early 90's (they took the audience outside in the cold and threw a soccer ball from street corner to street corner symbolizing the turkey).
 
#5
Hello All. Ali here. I'm looking forward to coming to Chicago to dymystify the packet submission process. This is my fist time posting, so even that's exciting. I think there are a few spots left. I promise that you will have a memorable experience and reciee a world of knowledge in both the Improv and Sketch Workshops. I don't know when I'll be back in Chicago, so if you're on the fence, get off and pull the trigger. Because as soon as I get back to NYC, we start shooting a new Comedy Central Pilot and then I go into rehearsals for Tony Kushners new play Homebody/Kabul at The Brooklyn Academy of Music. Saturday Night I'm going to see Pasquesi's play Great Men of Science diredted by Tracy Letts and Sunday I'm gonna try and see the Mainstage show at SC, then most likely the Alehouse, for old times sake. If you're eer in NY, please stop by the PIT to say Hello.
Take it Easy,
But Take it
Ali
 
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