Improviser
and Improv Instructor
Teaching Kinetic Improv for IN Studios, NYC, 2013
I am a performer and teaching artist. Improv is my specialty - and my passion! It was an interesting journey for me leading up to being an improviser. I was a dancer in my youth, did musical theater during my young adulthood, but then in 1997 I took an improv class and was seriously hooked. I was creating! Making people laugh! I was a “lead player!” My days in the chorus were over.
I also discovered a love of teaching when I started as an improv instructor for Gotham City Improv in 2000. I have been teaching improv to kids and adults of all ages since then both in NYC and NJ, and I absolutely love sharing the joy of improvisation with others.
In the fall of 2017 I founded ROCKET IMPROV, New Jersey's only performing arts school dedicated solely to the teaching and performance of comedic improvisation.
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO SEE INFO ON CLASSES FOR KIDS OR CORPORATE WORKSHOPS
Bio
Director and Head Instructor of Rocket Improv, 2021
In November of 2013, I was featured in an article about How to Be in the Moment in REAL SIMPLE MAGAZINE.
Montclair Improv Comedy, 2019
Lulu French first took improv classes at Gotham City Improv in 1997 and has been improvising ever since. In addition to her study at GCI she has also studied with Upright Citizens Brigade members Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, and Matt Walsh, and various other Chicago improv alumni including Armando Diaz, Kevin Scott, and Todd Stashwick. She has also had the privilege to take workshops with improv greats such as Dave Razowsky, Michael Gellman, and Aretha Sills.
She has appeared in numerous improv shows including SurvivorProv, Gotham Beyond, Off the Top of Our Heads, The Strange Box of Dr. Oddbody, Duvall, and both performed and co-produced for Happy Birthday from the Huntleys, Pod, Lazy Susan, and her two person improv show, Beilis and French. TV credits include Yearbook:1983 on the Discovery Times Channel and various roles on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Corporate industrial credits include performing for companies such as Pfizer, Cephalon, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck.
She was seen in the JCPenney viral campaign, "Return to the Doghouse,” and wrote and performed in video segments called the “Mommy Minute” for the parenting website, Parent Society. She co-starred in a video short for MTV.com with current SNL member Pete Davidson. She was featured in the Are You the One? promo for MTV's The Science of Love, Nest Obsessed for CafeMom.com, the webisode Teacher Problems, and was also seen playing opposite Rachel Dratch in Gun Sense on the Line for Everytown for Gun Safety. She is a cast member of the improv group, Gary Austin’s The Classroom which is currently performing at the PIT in NYC and Montclair Improv Comedy which performs in various venues in - you guessed it - Montclair, NJ.
Before becoming an improviser, Lulu was a musical theater performer. She started dancing when she was six and danced with the Appalachian Ballet Company in her youth. She also received various voice scholarships while a Music Major at The University of Tennessee and eventually graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. She has numerous stock and regional theater credits performing in musicals such as Into the Woods, Tomfoolery, Nunsense, and Karaoke the Musical and the national tours of My Fair Lady and She Loves Me.
Here’s an excerpt from a review of my former improv team, Ransom Family (the Magnet, NYC) in Improvisation News...
“And, there were memorable moments. The haunting images that stick with me most from this show were both delivered courtesy of the same performer, Lulu French. ... I have to say, on both counts, it's great to see someone go there.”
I was a guest coach for an NYC improv team, and one of the members blogged about it...
“Lulu not only ran ‘my kind of practice’ but she's also ‘my kind of coach.’ Lulu was smart, cool, and most importantly, knew how to get down to business without being a jerk. Many MANY coaches could stand to learn that from her. Right off the bat I was worried. The Improvisation News Team can be quite a bunch of Chatty Cathys, and when we all get whipped up into some fun playtime joke, its hard to get us focused again. Not for Lulu, she cracked the Improv News Team nut like Hilary Clinton. She was able to keep us under control without any serious strains on productivity; that's the kind of lady I want taking the reigns of my improv practice.”
Testimonials
“Finding an instructor who fosters an environment that allows you to feel comfortable and encouraged is crucial in any stage of improv and that is exactly the type of atmosphere Lulu provides! Her style of focusing on the positive while giving specific, constructive advice on how to improve kept me motivated and gave me the confidence to continue performing. Whether you’re a first-time improviser or seasoned pro, Lulu will take your skills to the next level.”
“My daughters loved the Improv class with Lulu French and will continue to take the class as long as they are able. In fact, I think this class should actually be a requirement in schools and would benefit anyone young or old. It not only teaches the basics of Improvisation, essential for acting, but the skills taught in this class are essential for LIFE! My daughters learned to be receptive to the ideas of others; they learned to say ‘yes,’ instead of ‘no;’ they learned to go into the unknown with a positive attitude and most importantly, they were given a safe environment to let all different parts of themselves live and be celebrated! ”
“I will always accredit some of the best core tools in my improv toolbox to Lulu. Lulu taught me that a physical improviser is an interesting improviser. Abandon the talking head. Remember stage levels, and crawl, reach up. Embrace object work. Step inside personal space. Touch. And if the scene needs it, never, ever be afraid to lick your scene partner.””
“I didn’t realize until my son Daniel took Lulu’s class what an important skill it is to be able to do improv. Being able to think on your feet and collaborate is helpful both on the stage and in life. Lulu’s class was great, and I highly recommend it. Daniel loved playing the games which taught him how to think on his feet. Lulu really gets the silliness of children and is able to harness their energy into a fun class where they learn valuable skills that will benefit them during every stage in life.”
Contact
Pod, Gotham City Improv, 2002 - 2003, directed by Kevin Scott
Also pictured: Alex Brewer, Adam Nowak, Mike Gold, and Brad Barton
