Our improv comedy classes are instructed by 18 year Chicago improv comedy veteran, Keli Semelsberger, and CCT vets Drea Leonetti & Will Spann.  Our classes, as featured on NPR and MTV, offer the skills and philosophies of comedy & performance professionals of many trades.  No experience is necessary.  Past students have studied improv for a foundation in comedy performance, writing, improv, sketch & stand up. Others have taken it to get over stage fright and improve public speaking skills.  Some have taken improv to be better instructors, or just to re-capture their playful spirit.  We have taught people of all walks of life including; actors, models, radio/TV personalities, pastors,  professional athletes, military service members, healthcare professionals and more.  Classes are inspiring and hands on as students join in group exercises and games that get the mind and body working in a new and freeing ways.  We work on the basics of comedy, scene work, character development, being in the moment, saying YES, and, agreement, team work, heightening, exploration and much more.

Class is laid back and so much fun you won't realize how much you are learning and growing from week to week.  Our students build new friendships as well as new skills (that relate to everyday life) in a community that is encouraging and supportive.  AND there is no failure in improv, just opportunity for exploration and laughter.  So stop taking yourself and the world around you so seriously and come play!  Our classes run in 8 week sessions, back to back.  Each 8 week session is $200, payable the first night of class in cash or check.  Our students also get free admission to our shows which are held every Sat at 8, & Sunday at 5 and 7pm.  Students generally study 2-3 sessions in our Sunday classes before going to advanced classes or qualifying to perform with our resident cast.  Students become performers as determined by the instructors. 

The hardest part of our classes is getting the courage to come to the first class, after that it will become your favorite night of the week!  We limit our class sizes so be sure to e-mail improvkeli@yahoo.com to register in advance to hold your place in class. 

If you see other improv classes offered in town, be sure to ask the insructors experience. Ask if they have every been on cast or teaching staff at the industries top improv theaters such as ImprovOlympic (IO), Annoyance, Second City or ComedySportz. If the answer is no, and you want the best training for your money, CCT is the only local choice in improv technique that was taught directly to our Director from the masters or this art form, and where our reputation was earned through years of experience on the most famous improv stages in the nation.

WE HAVE MOVED OUT TRAINING CENTER to the COMEDY ZONE, 900 seaboard st, Charlotte NC in the NC Music Factory. 



Directions to the new Comedy Zone:  Take 277 and exit the Graham St exit heading away from town and turn left on to Seaboard St.  Once you enter the NC Muisc Factory Campus, there is ample parking and multiple events going on most of the time. Comedy Zone is located under the SALOON Bar with a separate enterance on the road side of the building. 

Keli Semelsberger has been performing, directing and instructing improv comedy for over 18 years.  She originally took improv comedy to improve her corporate training techniques. She fell in love with the art form and has been doing it ever since.  Keli was fortunate enough to learn from the legendary masters of the art form in Chicago; Del Close, Charna Helpern, Amy Poehler, Susan Messing, Joe Bill and Mick Napier, to name a few.  She has performed at IO, the Annoyance, ComedySportz and was a founding member of the notorious tour company "Guilty Party".  She founded the Charlotte Comedy Theater (originally known as ExtremeImprov) in 2001 where she has run back to back shows and classes for a decade in Charlotte. 
 
Keli has been featured in numerous publications for her improvisational instruction techniques and has been on MTV, NPR and TruTV.  Along with improv classes, Keli continues to conduct corporate training, incorporating the playful aspects of improv.  She also incorporates team building workshops with high adventure outings such as white water rafting and canopy tours.  She is a certified class V white water raft guide, life coach, with 20 years of corporate training under her belt.  Her teaching style is fun, vibrant, down to earth, and inspiring.  "I'm just a conduit.., I let the art form work thru me to help others discover the exhilaration of living in the moment and the freedom of play!" quotes Semelsberger, "This artform changes you, it makes more amused by the world around you and less upset.  There is an inner courage and childish delight that become everpresent in this kind of work.  I can't imagine who I would have been had I not become an improviser!"    Improvkeli@yahoo.com

Will has been with CCT for 4 years as a performer and host and a stand up comedian before coming to CCT.  Will has an amazing understanding of comedic performance, and is un-flappable on stage.  His object work alone makes him one of the most feared improvisers in Charlotte, that and his man-bag.  When Will is not on stage he works a 9 to 5 harassing his "normal" peers and putting the lid to the copier down becuase "no one else seems to understand it needs to be done!"

Drea has been with the CCT for over 7 years and has been instructing for many of those years.  As a host, performer and instructor, her energy is bounding and she will have you laughting while you learn.  Drea is also a corporate manager and pug owner, though don't get her started on how cute her dogs are.  Drea teaches our advanced classes and manages the majority of our shows.  She is a stellar performer and inspiring instructor!