About Mike as an Instructor:

Mike Funt is an actor, director, and teacher in Los Angeles. He has a BFA in theatre performance and has worked with theatres across the country. Physical Theatre training includes work with teachers from The Dell’Arte School and Ringling Bros. as well as extensive Lecoq training. Improv training includes SAK Comedy Lab, iO, and ComedySportz. Additionally, Mike has performed and taught workshops at countless improv and comedy festivals across the country. He also is a former instructor at the San Francisco Comedy College and is the current head of the Theatre Department for the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program.

What Former Students Say:
~“Mike strips the pretension away from acting and allows you to focus on the craft of entertaining without fear.”
~"The most fun I've had in a long time."
~“Mike’s classes tested my physical and mental capabilities, and inspired me to become a better, more well rounded performer and improviser!”
~“In this class you to let go of your conscious control and really open yourself up to true improvisation.”

The Classes:

Mike is available to teach any of the following classes in workshop form at universities, corporate functions, or at festivals. Email mikefunt [at] hotmail.com for more information class schedules or to schedule a workshop.

PHYSICAL IMPROV at iO West:

Students will gain better control and awareness of their physical presence onstage and learn how to utilize movement and gesture to enhance improv acting. This class explores mime, clowning, slapstick comedy, Commedia dell’Arte, and the work of everyone from Viola Spolin and Jacques Lecoq to Charlie Chaplin and Looney Tunes. You will also learn Mike's signature format Kinetic Mischief. Get pushed from your physical comfort zone in this fun and playful class, while working towards more vivid and creative improvisation. For more information or to register for the class, visit west.ioimprov.com.

CLOWNING Classes:

An exploration of your inner clown designed to help open you up to your true potential as a performer. When we loose our fear of failure, connect with our audience, and re-explore the world with the clown-like sense of primal naivete, we grow as performers and as people. This class will explore the theatrical clown work of Jacques Lecoq, Philippe Gaulier, and others as well as traditional and modern circus clowning as well. This is a fun and exploratory class that will help you hold onto your sense of play.

CLOWNING for KIDS!:

This is similar to the CLOWNING class only scaled down for children ages 6-11. Children are natural clowns, and focusing that clown energy can create really fun results. Kids will learn some traditional circus clowning skills like juggling and tumbling as well as some of the sillier and more mischievous theatrical clown games. A great class for your little clowns.

CLOWNING for the Camera:

The comedic landscape of film and television is littered with clown performances like Kristen Wig, Will Ferrell, Steve Carell to name just a few. This unique class teaches you to tap into your inner clown and utilize it to your maximum benefit when performing in front of the camera. We will study the screen clown techniques from Chaplin and Keaton, through the Marx Brothers and Lucille Ball, all the way to present day clowns like Will Forte and Tina Fey. This class is extremely fun and playful and will help you find subtle (and not so subtle) ways to help you showcase your clown and connect with your audience on screen.

Georgia Governor's Honors Program:

The Governor's Honors Program is a six-week summer instructional program designed to provide intellectually gifted and artistically talented high school students challenging and enriching educational opportunities not usually available during the regular school year. Activities are designed to provide each participant with opportunities to acquire the skills, knowledge and attitudes to become independent, life-long learners. Mike is currently the head of the Theatre Department in which students learn advance techniques in the areas of  performance, script analysis, and design. Mike's acting students study a broad spectrum of performance skills, such as mask work, mime, French movement theory, improvisation, and more. For more information about the Georgia Governor's Honors program visit http://admin.doe.k12.ga.us/gadoe/blogs/ghpblog.nsf/DailyBlog.