PIT vs UCS vs Magnet

D

DanAbrams

Never Wears Cargo Shorts
#141
#141
One thing that may be helpful is to look at a level 4 graduation show for the various schools. By that point improvisers should be getting pretty decent, play according to the philosophy of the school and have had a diversity of instructors.

There's so many other variables to remove when looking at the house teams. So many of those people have studied other places, not even necessarily in New York. And they've likely developed their own style by then which may not reflect on the school. I'm sure a lot of us would love to be able to do what Gil Ozeri does with his voice and body, but I think that's super unique to him.
 
C

Castillo

Jaime
#142
#142
The thing also though is that you can talk to say "Student A" about a specific teacher you are interested in. They give you feedback saying that they "didn't like the class because they felt the teacher didn't clarify some concepts and appeared to just be going through the motions." Which is fine, I've heard this before. However, I've actually then had the said teacher/coach and had a completely difference experience. There are so many variables involved.

An online system like ratemyprofessor, I feel would not do anything. I remember using that in the past to find a professor I might like and ended up seeing ratings like for the same professor:

"This guy is a dick, he never explained anything, tests didn't make sense and just a horrible teacher." Then you see that that person got like a C in the class.

For the same teacher in same class you could get this comment:
"He was a great teacher, really gave us many chances to show we applied the material." And that Student got a B+ in the class.

So who do you believe?

Really the only way you will know if you will enjoy this teacher is if you take the course and experience the class for yourself. We all have different shit happening in our lives at any given point and believe it our not, our lives outside improv greatly contributes to our overall class experiences.

I correlate a theory a professor told me in grad school to this thread. He said, "Jaime, we need to find out why this client is presenting this specific issue, with you (the therapist), at specifically this point in his/her life." So, I kind of use the same logic when selecting improv courses.

"Is this course going to be right for me, with this specific teacher, at this point in my life?" What do I need in this moment from my class and my instructor in this course, so is this the best combination for me? The answer today could be yes, but in 2 months could be no.

does that make any sense? i apologize if it doesn't.
 
Last edited:
Dave B

Dave B

Bluvband
#143
#143
I didnt see or read any of this until today. Now I feel obligated to say something since I've been used as a bit.

I have studied at UCB and Magnet and have had a plethora of wonderful teachers who have taught me amazing things.

After reading Anthony's theory in print, I really do want to take another class with him. I took a 501 with him a year ago, and yes it was difficult, but I feel like I walked out of there a better improviser. Or at least had more of a drive to get better. I like what Corey said about hard classes reminding you that improv isnt always nice and wonderful and that the really hard ones that mess with your head are the ones that that really make you work harder to get better.

One thing I remember from Anthony's class that has stuck with me was "aim for impossible, so you can settle for amazing."

I also like what rubysneakers wrote about egos being stripped, because that is also what I love about improv. This goes back to Anthony saying that your scene partner is a genious, every move they make is brilliant, nothing you say is wrong, etc. This is what I think makes improv greater than most art forms, if not all art forms.

That being said,

I have a new 602 class starting up called "Jewish Object Work". It's $1025 for three weeks.
 
Rocco

Rocco

New Member
#144
#144
Hey - can we all PM Mullaney to make a sticky for "compare improv schools in NY"? In the NYC board? With newbirds constantly asking, it sounds like it would address it.

Also, if someone can hide all the quizzes on facebook, I'd appreciate it.
 
Hal Phillips

Hal Phillips

I Am Hal Phillips
#145
#145
While I have had good experiences in some of Bluvband's classes, I emphatically do NOT recommend his Jewish Object Work class. All he really did was give notes on how HE would've lit a menorah or dipped apples in honey at a seder, and his overall philosophy of Orthodox Judaism just clashed with how I've handled objects all my life as a Reform Jew. I also thought it was disingenuous of him to schedule it on Fridays if he was just gonna cut it off early at sundown.

Edited to add that my use of "HE" in caps refers in this case to Bluvband, not to the Lord our God, Adonai Elohenu.
 
Zhubin

Zhubin

Dr. Fantastic loves you
#148
#148
Having a ratemyprofessors.com-type of review system for improv teachers would also help students fight back against the LIBERAL BIAS that pervades the improv academy. WAKE UP, AMERICA, YOUR IMPROV STUDENTS ARE BEING INDOCTRINATED IN SOCIALISM.
 
Hal Phillips

Hal Phillips

I Am Hal Phillips
#151
#151
We should be able to go to ratemyprofessors.com , look up our schools, find the teacher who's alphabetically closest to any given improv teacher, and just apply that entry to the improv teacher.

Using that method for Anthony King, he gets a 5.0 for Average Clarity, Average Helpfulness, and Overall Quality, a 2.0 for Average Easiness, a Hotness Total of 0, and the one comment is "Excellent! She is so CUTE!".

For Armando Diaz: Average Clarity, 3.2. Average Easiness, 4.2. Average Helpfulness and Overall Quality, both 3.2. Hotness Total, 0. Comment: "A veritable ice storm of scholastic ineptness, and anti-vocational emotionally and physically unstable deathism: do not make eye contact, just nod and smile and legitimize her shameless misconception of feminism and god knows what else... do not correct her when she says things that are blatantly ignorant she tried to put a Santeria curse on me"

Then I got tired of this method and stopped doing it.
 
Rocco

Rocco

New Member
#153
#153
Maybe what we need is another thread including which school is better and be sure to include all the other theaters like Gotham City Limits.
 
DougMoe

DougMoe

Actual Size
#157
#157
Evaluations

Jenns brought up something that has been not emphasized enough, I feel. At the end of a UCBT course, students are asked to fill out an evaluation sheet on the class. Putting your name is optional. This is a chance for you to evaluate the teacher and the class. It is reviewed by the UCBT Training Center staff. It's an excellent quality-control method that gives students a voice.

It's not the same as telling your pals that you liked this teacher or that teacher, but it is important in its own right. If the Training Center got evaluations back from 16 people in a class that Teacher X yelled at everyone and was a general d-bag, they would talk to that person. There are disciplinary procedures. You are not helpless.

On the other hand, if YOU report that Teacher X yelled at everyone and was a general d-bag, but the rest of the class had a good time and thought he was great, then the Training Center staff would likely conclude that YOU are the d-bag.

In my above example, if you couldn't guess, I am Teacher X.

The point being: sometimes students and teachers don't mesh well. Very occasionally, students don't find me as immensely charming as I expect them to. Sometimes they don't agree with my philosophy that all improv "is a banana peel's dream in a monkey world." I can't get into it right now.

Also, if you have a specific problem during the class, sometimes talking to the Registrar can help. I had a guy one time who really felt like I made fun of him in a first class. He dropped the class, he talked to the Registrar, he got in a different class and I got a call about it. It really was a misunderstanding, but I'm glad he moved on to another class where he felt more comfortable. Also, he had a big stupid head that was really weird looking. You would've laughed too! (I'm kidding about that last part. It was his weird ears!)

Anyway, my point is that the UCBT Training Center really is run like a real school in a lot of ways. You have recourse for feeling unhappy. I get paid per laugh, so I'm always trying to keep my students happy but not all teachers are as desperately poor as me.

The internet's a free place. You could start a RateMyProfessors type thing, but I doubt you would get reviews you could trust without accountability for your comments. It would be like Epinions or the Amazon Reviews where people who LOVE it or HATE it chime in and the vast majority don't. The evaluations really do hold us teachers accountable for being tyrants or push-overs. If Anthony got a lot of complaints, I'm sure he would be disciplined. If I got lots of compliments, I'm sure I'd get candy. It's a system!
 
drewtarvin

drewtarvin

hooray my own title
#158
#158
Anyway, my point is that the UCBT Training Center really is run like a real school in a lot of ways.
Click to expand...
except at this school (as is the case with the PIT, Magnet, etc), EVERY class you take can make you better. even if the instructor isn't great, if you have a positive attitude and work on your own skills, you will get something out of the class--at the minimum it will just be the valuable experience of repetitive "stage" time.

granted some classes will help you grow more than others, but don't be that guy who says they hated their class because everyone else in it sucked or were terrible. part of being a good improviser is being good with anyone. i'm sure i'd look awesome if i did a scene with delaney, but can i still do the same with someone who doesn't listen or understand game/character/magical word that everyone can agree on because it's really the same thing? that's when you know you're good.
 
saintlennybruce

saintlennybruce

agent of Contact
#160
#160
Castillo said:
An online system like ratemyprofessor, I feel would not do anything. I remember using that in the past to find a professor I might like and ended up seeing ratings like for the same professor:

"This guy is a dick, he never explained anything, tests didn't make sense and just a horrible teacher." Then you see that that person got like a C in the class.

For the same teacher in same class you could get this comment:
"He was a great teacher, really gave us many chances to show we applied the material." And that Student got a B+ in the class.

So who do you believe?
Click to expand...
Your response made sense, and I agree with the rest of the post. However, I do think that an online system would benefit people, esp. ones not already acclimated to the NYC improv scene, or interested in a new school. It's not like students would be griping about how unfair grading policies are.

RMP does serve a purpose, if you take into account that all the reviews are subjective, self-reported, and likely to come from the most gruntled and disgruntled students. It's an exercise in critical thinking just like any type of data analysis (the news media is a good example). If the NewsHour, Fox News, CNN, and the NYT report on the same story very differently, are you paralyzed by befuddlement?

RMP came in very handy during my college career. Some professors got the same specific positive/negative remarks semester after semester. Some reviews had details about their teaching style, and what methods of assessment were used. Of course, everything was taken with a grain of salt, but it was still useful.

For improv, I'd be interested in the frequency of side-coaching, whether they are more a cheerleader or a critic, how well they structure time, the amount of general and individual notes they give, whether they follow a strict curriculum or are more adaptive, and how available they make themselves to their students via email or after class (or practice). Plus room for descriptive notes about style. It could be qualitative, rather than quantitative, more a system for reviews than ratings.

Just an idle thought. Student feedback forms and internal reviews do little good in informing the general public.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top