Comments & Endorsements

Comments by Seabury Hall Students 

Following a 4 Day Improv  ‘Winterim’ Comedy Camp

with Director/Coach Dan Weisman

 

“Dan, So glad you were able to do this . . . your impression is a lasting one and I thank you!”

Marsha Kelly (Seabury Hall Faculty Member)

*

• “I had such a wonderful time doing improv. Let me know if you start classes! Thank you so very much.”                    Morgan Malkovich (Junior)*

• “Thanks for teaching us so much and all the while letting us have a lot of fun. Really great work!”                                              Tatiana Bradley (Senior)

•  “Thank you so much Dan. I had such a fun time and learned to be funnier and less shy. It was well put together. Thank You.”  Lukas Kramer (Soph)

• “Thank you Dan! I had a blast! So fun and entertaining. Learned a lot.”                                                                                             Ariel Lynch (Senior)

• “It was awesome! Thanks!!! Renny Richmond (Freshman)

• “Thanks so much for giving us such a good Winterim!” Lauren Bailey (Junior)

• “Thank you very much for teaching us all to become better at improv.” Kristina Brown (Soph)

• “Hey good job. Thanks for all the laughs!!!!”    Brandon Crowe – (Soph)

• “Thanks for the good four days of laughing.”

                                                                               Regal Deene Jackson (Freshman)

 

• “Thanks for all the laughs!” 

Kailea Tracy Visentinaire (Soph)

• “Thanks Dan. You’re the MAN!”  Forrest  Dean  (Senior)

• “I had a really fun time doing improv. Thank you for a fun week!”  Mele Smallwood (soph)

• “Thanks Dan, It was FUN!”  Jack Webber (Senior)

• “Thanks Dan. I had so much fun!” Brendon Wilson (Soph)

• “Thank you! I had a bunch of fun and I’m really glad I was stuck in a room with you for four days!”  Ashley Cooper (soph)

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•    I has been a wonderful 15 years working with you at LAC.  We have accomplished much together.  From winning the ‘Best New Comedy Group’ on ABC-TV to Venice Beach shows to ‘Make Me Laugh’ to 3-Time Champs ‘Best Improv Group’ 07-08-09 on MyFoxLA Hotlist.  We created great improv and sketch comedy shows and a great working relationship. I will miss those times and my dear friend’s company.
                                   -LA Connection Comedy Theatre Founder Kent Skov                                                                                                                                            
•    Dan Weisman – You have been a dream come true in the form of a great teacher, supporter, mentor and someone who has come to be a dear, dear friend that I love very much.                                                                                          -Actress Jan Gass

•    Best of luck in Maui. What a great place to live!  I hope your improv business is very successful. Chandler just told me you were always one of his favorite teachers.
  His early years at L.A. Connection with both you and Kent have definitely made a lasting impression on him!      -
                                  -  Jim Turk  Father of 10 Year old student Chandler

• •    This letter is a recommendation for Dan Weisman as an improv instructor.  I have had experience with Dan as both a student, and also as the parent of a child whom Dan instructed.

   Last May, 2009 my son, John joined the kids improv class at The LA Connection Comedy Theatre in Sherman Oaks, California.  Enjoying the class so much, and being a friendly child, John would chit chat with the adults coming in for the next class.  Being an inquisitive child, John soon found a welcoming ear in Dan Weisman and soon after wanted to stay after class each week to get his questions answered by Dan.

•    After getting to know John a bit, Dan later invited John to rehearse and work with the adult class on several occasions.  This not only benefited John, but wise Dan saw how working with a child also benefitted the adults as well in allowing them an opportunity to support a much less experienced student.

•    Now enter John's mom (me).  I found the classes so much fun to watch and would spend most of my son's kids class, as well as Dan's adult class, laughing my head off.  The improv exercises so intrigued me, however I'd never been on a stage in my life.  Watching Dan each week being so encouraging to not only my son, but to the adults in his class as well, gave me the courage to risk taking classes from Dan myself!  I'm of the opinion that encouraging a fearful adult is, in many ways, much tricker than encouraging a child.  Yet each week I took the class I was able to do the improv exercises in front of people which I never thought I could do!
    My son, John still asks about when Dan is coming back.  I only took Dans' class for as long as he was in town (after he moved to Maui I moved back to being just mom again).  Dan is a unique man, combining the qualities of firm discipline with loving encouragment wrapped up in years of personal experience in the craft he so loves to teach and share with others.  
 
•    If you have any questions please feel free to contact me by phone or email:
                                                                                           janemonday@verizon.net
                                                                                                                     805-390-4100

•    You are a mentor, father figure and best friend.  You opened up many new aspects of comedy for me which allowed me to break out of my shell and just have fun on stage.  I will always be deeply grateful for all that you taught me.                        
                                                                                                       -Actor Ricky Rincon

• •    Dan, I need to thank you for the best start in comedy improv that anyone could have As a teacher you walked the fine line between criticism and encouragement and kept me on the first step until I was truly ready for the next step. Without your support during that first year I would never have had the confidence to benefit from the other teachers that followed, or to take the opportunities that came my way to work with both the over 65 souls and high school kids,  sometimes at the same time. You are a prime example of a team player not only on the stage but off stage , doing lights, the sound board, and any thing that the company needed including graphics . You are missed....                                                                – Actor Ulf Helgesson

•    When I returned to Los Angeles as a working stage actor from New York City, I auditioned for Dan's Improv. group, The L.A. Connection.
I was a highly trained actor from Broadway and a graduated of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
I was trained and funny already....
But, Dan taught me the nuts and bolts of comedy Improv that took my comedic skills to a higher level. I never bombed because of his training.
He has become a lifetime friend, a co-performer in a comedy troupe that we formed later and, more importantly, he introduced me to my future wife, Kathleen Conklin.
We are joined at the hip and I still, to this day, call him for advice.
Gee, I should have charged him for this!
I love Dan, his dedication to his students and for his gift for performing and teaching his art.
He is truly a funny guy!"                     
                                                     - Broadway, Film & TV Actor Michael Cutt

• •    Joel and I are behind you 100% and we want to help you succeed in whatever you wish to do. Hopefully it will indeed include comedy/improv/sketch/theatre as it would be unfair for Hawaiian performers not to be exposed to your wealth of knowledge and positivity.                     
  

                                                     – Actress and Improv Teacher Deven Green

•    Dan is a wonderful director and instructor of improv. I studied with him for over eight months and he has a natural gift of patience and creates a safe environment for students to express and stretch their imagination. His students learn to tap their creative impulses without censoring themselves. Further, he teaches spontaneity, listening, and improvising within a team approach. He stresses that self-improvement and group performance are mutually important. Dan encourages and truly wants his students to succeed while having fun in his class. As an improv instructor, he's a positive, constructive role model whose techniques for expanding a person's imagination, listening, and building self-confidence are hallmarks of his success.
Beyond his instructor talents, Dan is a production maestro of improv and comedy shows. He provides technical support that makes shows SIZZLE through his staging of lighting and music selections, setting the mood and giving his performers many opportunities to succeed and saving them from the abyss. He arrives first and leaves last at a show anticipating, planning, coordinating, and executing it without any hiccups. Dan is a huge plus to any organization!"                                                                          -                                                                                               - Actor Charlie Meany
                                                                                        

• •    You definitely taught me a lot during my tenure at LA Connection.  All your hard work was definitely appreciated from my time with you as a rookie, to when I was a part of Sunday Funny Sunday, and also as a part of 8 Ball.  I always knew I was in good hands, even when "God" spoke.  The LA Connection Theatre will definitely not be the same without you.  All the best for you on your new adventure.

                                                                                                      - Actor Kevin Carrao

•    You were an absolutely wonderful teacher - I grew so much in your class and I watched so many others blossom under your care.  You will be greatly missed.  I heard you were going to start up a school, or teach classes, or something along those lines?  I know you will do well and I am sending good vibes your way!  Have a wonderful life in Hawaii with your family.                                       – Actress Sara Anderson

•    I just want you to know that I appreciate all the guidance and direction that you gave me during my time at LAC.  I had so much fun while I was there. Lindsay said the show was the best she's ever seen at LAC so that's pretty awesome.
                                                                                                        - Actor Dave Collins

• •    WOW!   WHAT AN INCREDIBLE STORY!   I had no idea, and am SO EXCITED for you (and terrifically jealous).  Way to live the dream, and you DEFINITELY put your heart and soul into LAC.  You were so inspirational and loving and accepting that it made the place safe for me to discover myself.  THANK YOU FOR THAT!                                                                       - Actor Rick Hupp   
  

                                                                      
•    Dear Dan: Thank you for all you have done for me. I have mixed feelings about your leaving. I am sad to not be able to see you each week and perform under your tutelage.  Yet, I am very happy that you will be with your family.  I know that in all you attempt you will be successful. Break A leg.                                          - Actress Sally Ben-Tal

• •    Oh Dan,   Ugh - sad but happy for you.  YOU WILL BE MISSED.  Im so glad I got a chance to be in your class.  You created such a safe environment for growth and for that I will forever be grateful.                                            – Actress  Rainy Kerwin

•    Hi Dan!  I just wanted to take this time to tell you how much I've enjoyed working with you.  You've always been an open and most professional person to talk to about improv.  I very much appreciate your guidance and advice and wish you all the best in Hawaii.                                                                            - Actress Heather Horton

• •    Danny - I am reallyyy sad that you are leaving LAC.  You have been the BEST teacher and have really inspired me.                                                         -Teen Actress Dorrie Lippman

•    Dan is my inspiration, coach, and mentor.  Dan plays a major role in the development in the art of improvisation.  He inspires, motivates and passes on his knowledge.   The following famous quotes pertain to Dan Weisman:  It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge
~Albert Einstein  . . .and “The great teacher is not the man who supplies the most facts, but the one in whose presence we become different people.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson                                          - Actress Sunday Burke

• •    I just wanted to say...  How thankful I am for the experience of being able perform under your 'teachings'. As I briefly mentioned the other night I had come from a theatre where the teacher took our safe place to explore as actors and turned it into a place to criticize no only our work but also our personalities. I was nervous, scared and looking for a safe place to practice my art and I found that with you at the La Connection.    I had an extremely tough couple of months (personally) during my time there at LAC and (although I didn't always make it) I grew to consider your class not only a place to learn and have fun, but also a place to go and feel at home. It helped me get through the times I thought I couldn't survive out here.  And for that I can't thank you enough. Thanks to your teaching style, you gave me the confidence I needed in order to be comfortable and perform my best on stage. Again, I can't thank you enough for that. I will continue to think back to advice you gave and will always hold a dear spot for you in my heart. It is easy to get lost out here in LA and you have given a home to so many new comedians/actors. I will also aim to be as creative as you as an improv performer as I stated the other night, it amazes me the way your mind works.    There is much to be learned from you and thank you for offering it all up to the many students at La Connection. Thank you for your realness and caring for us, the students, it's a wonderful change of pace from all the other bullsh*t out here. You deserve all the best as that's what you have given us.

                                                                                                                                                     

•    Dan is an amazing teacher! He gives clear and honest feedback to his actors. He also happens to be a very, very funny person so that makes it even more fun to be taught by him.                                                                                       - Actress Amanda Leak

•    Dan is a creative, hard-working, and very talented. He has been my teacher, fellow performer, director, co-creator. A more solid and trustworthy individual you will not find.                                                                                          -Actor Bart Sumner
                                                                                                                  

• •     You can not find a more supportive and enthusiastic improv teacher than Dan Weisman. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him at the LA Connection in Los Angeles."                                                       -Actor Singer Steve B. Green

•    Dan was a great improv teacher. He was very skilled at getting his message across while being respectful and kind. I always looked forward to the class and shows. I have taken numerous acting and improv classes before and I still learned new things from Dan's class. I highly recommend Dan as teacher/coach/director of Improv comedy."
                                                                               -Actress / Scientist Diana Woody

• •    Ohhh Danny boy...  your presence will be greatly missed at LAC.  Your     commitment to the theater, your friendship and your funny bone has been a mainstay since I have joined.                                                                         – Actor Glen Takijian

•    "Dan is a great teacher in improv and comedy. He taught me everything I need to know about improv and performing. I performed over 20 times at the L.A. Comedy Connection under Dan's direction. Since I have been able to ace any auditions that require improvising."                                                                     - Actor Mark Nochenson


May 8th 2001
   I have been waiting for about two months to tell you this. Now that I have completed my first level of improvisation, I can finally let you know how I felt during the last ten weeks.
•    I have never in all my years of schooling had a teacher as patient, caring, and totally devoted to his students, by giving them both confidence and respect, like Mr. Dan Weisman.   Dan has a tender way of instructing  his students and critiques them in a respectful and effective manner.  This being my first attempt at improv I was somewhat insecure and did not know what to expect.  Right from the very beginning, Dan’s special way of coaching made me look forward to attending his class.
    Because of him many students have continued on to the next levels. I know because I am one of them.
                                                                              - Rolando Millet LAC Student

•    "Dan Weisman is an excellent improv/comedy teacher that taught me basics of comedy improv. His patience with the students in a non-judgemental atmosphere is what allowed myself and thousands of others to develop their skills and hone their talents to become highly skilled artists at short and long form improv. His teaching method increases confidence and develops a second-nature of comedy that becomes such a part of you that its like breathing! Dan's long standing experience enables students to learn faster and have more fun in the process. He is highly recommended and an asset to anyone he works with. Sincerely,               Chris Rodrick The Camarillo Kid"