About Comedy Intensive
The Comedy Intensive is actors’ “boot camp.” It demystifies the process of acting and auditioning for film and television, familiarizes us with your individual strengths and challenges, and provides you with a community.
We focus on technical and organic aspects of both single and multi-camera situation comedy, as well as other genres such as drama, action, adventure, romantic comedy, etc. In addition, we explore issues relating to auditioning, on-camera acting, marketing and the business of the business (including Lesly’s beliefs and practices with regard to creating a successful acting career in film and television).
| Offered: | Monthly, days and times vary |
| Meets: | Once a week over three weeks |
| Length: | Five or more hours |
| Group Size: | Six to approximately 14 actors, directors, writers, per group. |
| Rehearsal: | Mandatory |
| Material: | Assigned to include past audition material from sit-coms and other comedies |
The Knitting Factory
From Kelly B.‘s intensive hosting report:
This quote from Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure sums up my feelings on the [Intensive] process thus far: “Your mind plays tricks on you. You play tricks back. It’s like trying to unravel a giant cable knit sweater, but someone keeps knitting. . .and knitting. . .and KNITTING.”
“Welcome to LA, Bitch.”
First Week of Intensive Hosting Notes from Sammy O:
SAMMY: We worked on all three scenes, alternating roles. We had peanut butter, banana, and nutella sandwiches for snack. Meeting adjourned right at 4, as a realtor knocked on the door to inform me that my property is being foreclosed.
LK: Seriously?!
SAMMY: Yes, turns out the guy we’ve been paying rent is no longer the owner…realtor is saying to stop paying him, old owner says he’s fighting for the title and we should still pay him or else he will kick us out, a bank representative wants to cut us an offer to vacate by the end of the month, homeowners association says they don’t know who to trust, everyday someone new knocks on my door with a new story. It’s become a multi camera sitcom, high stakes, and all characters are doing a great job of daring to suck. The name of the show is ‘Welcome to LA, Bitch.’
The Placemat Exercise
I was teaching Intensive with the fabulous Kim Wimmer when she stunned us all by suggesting this amazing exercise from Abraham-Hicks called The Placemat Exercise.Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees, Abraham-Hicks is a little woo-woo. But it works. So check it out.
The story goes that Esther Hicks was sitting in a diner one day with her husband talking about how overwhelmed she felt over all the tasks that she had to accomplish within the upcoming days. She received a message from Abraham (woo-woo) to turn over the placemat that was sitting in front of her and draw a line down the middle of the paper and a line across the top so it resembled the letter “T.” She was to write Me on the left side and Universe on the right side. She did. (Click on charts below to enlarge them.)
On the left side of the paper Abraham (woo-woo) suggested that she write down all of the things that she was inspired to accomplish that day — the things she was ready and willing to take action upon immediately — the tasks that felt right and clear to her. On the right side of the paper she was to write down all of the things she wanted Universe to take care of for her. Things she wasn’t exactly clear on, felt any kind of resistance to doing, or items she hadn’t even figured how to start accomplishing yet.
The point of this exercise is to help you get clear about exactly what it is you are wanting and, to allow and know that it is going to happen.
Following are a few more examples from the class. I think you’ll find them fascinating . . . some people are asking for the bare minimum, some people want the Universe to do for them what they can do for themselves and vice versa . . .
Shamelesly Self-Promotion
I just got this letter from BL — obviously, it made me feel great. Hopefully it will inspire you to JUST DO IT! ‘CUZ IT WORKS!!!!
Dear Lesly,
I have to be honest and say that after your Comedy Intensive I wasn’t totally sold on what I thought I had learned, and if any of it was going to come in handy….until last night. At 5:45 pm my agent sent me an email for an audition for LIE TO ME for a role the following morning at 11:15am. Immediately I panicked and thought there was no way I’d feel totally confident and ready by the next morning. WRONG. I used so many of the tools you taught in the Intensive starting with just getting cozied up on my couch and reading through the scene. I was able to pinpoint what the writer intended for the scene based on everything that was included in the scene (which was only one page). I played the role as smart as I could, read the punctuation, kept focus on my GAT’s and had clear and specific thoughts for every line. THANK YOU.
No Ego
I received these letters during the first and second weeks of the Intensive from a wonderful actor (I’ll call him Mr. N) currently on a tv show. I was so impressed by him and the letters. I thought you might like ‘em too.
“ . . . before starting the class I prepared myself to go about it with absolutely no ego, no resume, no past, no presumptions and none of my usual burning urges to compete. In fact, I wanted to allow myself to be horrible going into the class. Knowing myself, I figured that was the best, if not the only way, to truly become better.
And now, a week into it, I’m so damn content with coming to you – I can’t believe it took me a year and a botched producer session to do it, but I’m finally enrolled and contentment is the best way to describe how I feel about it.
I came into your class completely open and completely vulnerable; essentially naked. I’ve never done that with anything in my life that I can recall. But because of that, I’m learning so much from you. I’m fortunate to be able to rely on strong instincts, but that, I’m learning, has a way of working against me.
The way it’s been for me with acting is that every time I advance, career or otherwise, it’s like stepping up, sure footed, onto a higher plateau, yet being socked in by fog, and with every step up I take, the fog gets thicker. Just by listening to you for one evening so far and then applying those ideas for only one week, I feel so much more clear, like the fog’s beginning to blow away.
Today was my first day back on set after hiatus, and I’ve never been so confident… no, not confident, but secure in myself on the set and with the material. I can’t fucking wait for my next audition. I really can’t.
And I’m having so much fun rehearsing. Applying this stuff gives me the same exact feeling I got when I’d play with a new toy when I was a kid.
I’m definitely learning, on so many levels, and of course enjoying myself. It was great to literally act all day long today – from 7 AM until 9 PM – including rehearsal time.”
“ . . . Our improvement from the start of last week was glaringly apparent. The way we now regarded the material was similar to the way a sixteen year old gets behind the wheel after a few weeks of driving opposed to the way he did it in the first few days. . . . Like I mentioned last week about the fog clearing … the visibility is much higher now.
. . . It occurred to me that I forgot a detail to my whole “Fog” metaphor. As I said, the higher and higher I stepped up, always sure footed, the denser the fog became. But after understanding your concepts and applying them, the fog began to clear. So imagine having climbed a pretty big mountain in the fog, and that you’re standing on a flat ledge of granite. Although you can’t see very far, you’re still secure. Yet when that big gust of Lesly wind comes and blows all that fog away, you see all around you and it’s like, “Holy shit, I’m way up here,” and you experience a faint sense of vertigo, or uneasiness, and suddenly you don’t feel so sure footed. Yet you know you are. And it just takes a little time and acquirement to feel that strength in your footing again. But I imagine when you do, you can climb like a beast.”
Signed!
This one is from a girl who just finished Intensive. YAY!
Miss Lesly, you juuust might like this 
SO! Yesterday I had an interview at Diverse for Theatrical representation. Robin Nassif (the agent I auditioned with) didn’t say to prepare a scene to read with her . . . So I get there and she comes out and gives me a scene to read COLD…dan dan DANNN! Guess what genre it was?? COMEDY!! Oh yes it was! I got like 15 mins to look it over and I was like, “Oh yeah that’s a reversal. Mm hmm that’s an ‘Oh’. Yeah I got this. I got this.”
I went in and read for her and she said I passed with flying colors and signed me! 
. I walked out of her office with an audition for this morning. Coached with Kristina before it. Went to the audition and got a call back for monday!! Woooo!!!
Hehe just thought I would share. – L
Rehearsal Junkie
From an intensive hosting report:
“I came into this thinking I was at the Kahnstitute to sharpen my acting tools and continue growing and learning about my “acting”. What I had no idea was that I was also going to grow as a person. This process has forced me to tear down my huge walls and let people into my heart and my soul. To let people affect me and me affect them. I can not at this point express the outcome of this process, as I am in it very deeply and can not yet see the forest through the trees. But what I can share at this moment is that I am so full of love and gratitude for everyone – in a way I have never experienced before. . . .
. . . when the intensive ended, I wondered if I would really keep up with the frequent rehearsals and really make it a part of my life. Tonight as I was sitting here, I actually realized that rehearsing this much is my new normal. Rehearsing feels far more fulfilling to me then being alone and reading a play or working on sides by myself or watching a movie. And yes while I still LOVE to do those things alone, I can not believe how quickly I am a rehearsal junkie. CRAZY! And although there are times in this process that I am uber uncomfortable, I now know that I am uncomfortable because I am growing as an artist, a person, a friend!” – MM
Notes From Intensive Hosting Reports – Suzy H
From Suzy H’s First Week of Intensive Hosting Reports
Lesly’s comments are in CAPS
. . . We kept questioning whether or not our character thoughts were the right ones – or at least the ones that would instigate a rhythm and get a laugh.
YA’ CAN’T WORRY ABOUT THAT KINDA CRAP. YOU JUST WANNA LOOK AT WHAT WAS JUST SAID OR DONE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THAT. IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR NEXT LINE, YOU’RE F’D.
. . . Finally I think we got over ourselves and stopped apologizing and judging ourselves and questioning everything and got into the MAGICAL THOUGHT ZONE. Which I would like to think is a term I just made up but I’m sure you say that all the time.
LOVE IT. MAGICAL.
. . . We also found that breaking the scene down into annoyingly teensy pieces and really hammering them out and finding the funny was the most effective way to tie the whole thing together. Like a big mosaic!
Notes From Intensive Hosting Reports – By Rachel Q
From Rachel Q’s First Week of Intensive Hosting Report:
LESLY’S COMMENTS ARE IN CAPS
. . . A lot of our focus was on how big to go with it, how big is too big, etc, so we tried it every which way. We went from huge, over the top, and almost uncomfortably exaggerated, to very minimal. Dana was worried about being too big and ridiculous looking. I personally thought her big ones were more interesting, and the minimal ones were a bit boring. We rediscovered that the stakes absolutely have to be high for it to be funny, and even if you think you look like a clown, you probably don’t. You don’t know where “Too Big” is until you try it. Dare to suck!
YES, AND “BIG” IS A MISNOMER. THERE IS NO “TOO BIG” IF YOUR CHOICES ARE TEXT BASED AND GROUNDED IN THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION. IF I’M CLEANING UP THE HOUSE FOR COMPANY AND BOB LEAVES HIS SOCKS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR, I’M GONNA FUH-REAK OUT AT HIM. IF, ON THE OTHER HAND, IT’S A NORMAL DAY, AND I HAVEN’T BEEN RUNNING AROUND LIKE A CRAZY PERSON COOKING AND CLEANING, AND THEN I SEE HIS SOCKS ON THE FLOOR, I’LL JUST PICK ‘EM UP AND PUT ‘EM IN THE LAUNDRY BASKET, AND PROBABLY SMILE WHILE I DO IT. FOLLOW? STAKES AND TEXT BASEDNESS AND REALITY. MAKE SENSE?
. . . With June, we explored how big can she be and conversely, how small/straight can she be compared to Caitlyn, trying it a bunch of different ways.
I WOULD LOVE YOU NOT TO THINK IN TERMS OF RESULT, I.E., BIG AND SMALL.
