Improv coaching can be one of the most effective and rewarding ways for teams and players to improve their level of play. We highly encourage players & students to form practice and indie teams and get regular coaching. In fact, if your team would like to play The Indie Improv Show or General Main Stage Shows at Comedy Café Berlin you are required to get regular coaching from an approved coach* (more info on performing here).
The following coaches are all either instructors at The CCB Training School, and/or former or current members of House Teams at CCB, and have therefore met our standards as coaches. Additionally, they have all agreed to the Community Code of Conduct and Student & Teacher Code of Conduct.
Coaches
- Nicole Ratjen (CCBTS Instructor, DE, EN), [email protected]
- Josh Telson (CCBTS Instructor, DE, EN), [email protected]
- Noah Telson (CCBTS Instructor, DE, EN), [email protected]
- Jakob Wagner (House Team member, DE, EN), [email protected]
- Matilde Keizer (CCBTS Instructor, House Team member, DE, EN, IT), [email protected]
- Antonia Bär (CCBTS Instructor, House Team member, DE, EN), [email protected]
- Andrew Blumhagen (House Team member, EN), [email protected]
- Carl Clancy (CCBTS Instructor, House Team member, EN), [email protected]
- Caroline Clifford (CCBTS Instructor, House Team member, EN), [email protected]
- Michele Guido (CCBTS Instructor, House Team member, EN), [email protected]
- Steindór Grétar Jónsson (House Team emeritus, EN, ICE), [email protected]
- Janina Rook (CCBTS Instructor, House Team member, DE, EN), [email protected]
- Trevor Silverstein (House Team member, EN), [email protected]
- Peter Talbot (CCBTS Instructor, House Team member, EN), [email protected]
- Ivana Verle (CCBTS Instructor, House Team member, EN, SP, PT), [email protected]
- Alice Schmid (CCBTS Instructor, House Team member, DE, EN), [email protected]
- Bernd Grether (House Team member, DE, EN), [email protected]
- Eli Wentzel-Fisher (CCBTS Instructor, House Team member, DE, EN), [email protected]
- Billy Mason Wood (House Team member, EN), b[email protected]
- Georg Kammerer (House Team member, DE, EN), [email protected]
- Lisa Gelbhardt (House Team member, DE, EN), [email protected]
- Kevin Napier (House Team member, EN), [email protected]
- Lauren Sedger (House Team member, EN), [email protected]
- Richard Killiam (House Team member, EN, FR), [email protected]
If you have any questions regarding coaches or getting coaching please get in touch or email us.
If you have any concerns or issues with coaches, we encourage you to address them with the coach personally. If your concerns/issues have not been heard or addressed, please get in touch with CCBTS co-directors Josh Telson or Noah Telson; you may also address your concerns with one of our Community Liaisons.
If you’re interested in becoming an approved coach and you’re not a member of a House Team, you’re welcome to get in touch with us but please be aware that unless we know you (and you know us!) quite well, it is extremely unlikely we’ll recommend you as an approved coach. We recognize that this can be frustrating for seasoned improvisers who have recently moved to Berlin, but we ask for your patience and understanding. Come to jams, shows and get to know the folks in the community and it’s likely you’ll be able to build a trusting relationship with us that will lead to a bigger role for you.
*We require teams playing in The Indie Improv Show and General Main Stage shows to practice regularly with an approved coach for two very specific reasons:
- Regular practice is vital for getting better at improv and for team cohesion. However, in order for teams to play at a high level, they must address specific individual and group shortcomings and the only way to do that is with an objective “3rd party” – someone who is not in the group. Attempting to give each other notes and address shortcomings internally can often lead to a toxic environment for teams that are unprepared for the emotional toll this can take. A coach can address areas for improvement and guide a team through warm ups and exercises in a positive way and act as a mediator when internal issues pop up.
- We require teams to use CCB-approved coaches because we as an institution can vouch for them and their experience. As regular instructors and experienced performers at CCB, we trust them and their judgement and therefore we trust them to impart our ethos (encapsulated in our Code of Conduct) on to teams/performers they’re coaching.