HISTORY
38 years ago, Harvey Lembeck knew that as the entertainment world was changing, there would be fewer opportunities for actors to work at expanding their skills, particularly in the area of comedy. He had a desire to create an atmosphere where professionals could grow, perfecting their timing and talents, learning to "flex" their comedy muscles. This desire led Harvey to found
The Workshop had its beginning in 1964, when Jack Kosslyn of the Mercury Theatre asked Harvey to take over his actors’ workshop. Harvey said, "Yes, but I want to teach comedy not drama." He started working with written comedy scripts and as a tool began creating situations for comedy improvisations. He realized that the improvisational method of training was one of the best ways to develop one’s comedy instincts.
"You can’t teach an actor to be funny," Lembeck would explain. "If the humor is innately there, we will give him the tools and nourish his own abilities to grow." The improvisational method, so new in the early ‘60s, has now become the accepted teaching method.
Through the ensuing years, this improvisational structure has proven its success, establishing the Workshop as one of the finest training centers for professionals young and old alike.
While the Workshop’s students learned to increase their performing abilities, taking part in a minimum of three exercises per class, the audience would fill up with casting directors, agents, managers and directors as the Workshop’s reputation ... and that of its students ... began to grow.
Today, a list of students and alumni of the Workshop reads like a "Who’s Who" of the hottest performers in film and television. Alumni have starred in virtually every successful prime-time comedy series. The list includes Robin Williams, Penny Marshall, John Ritter, Sharon Stone, John Larroquette, Marilu Henner, Jenna Elfman, and Sally Kirkland, as well as Alan Rachins, William Christopher, Al Molinaro, Joey Bishop, Lois Nettleton and Mary Kay Place.
The Workshop has now become one of the major influences in the field of comedy, with students performing, writing, directing and producing some of the most successful product in both television and film today. The original musical, "We Open In New Haven," which was written by and starred Workshop students, aired many times on the ShowtimeÔ cable channel, fulfilling one of Harvey Lembeck’s dreams for his Workshop.
This year, 2002, marks the Workshop’s 38th anniversary and, under the direction of Harvey’s children, Michael and Helaine Lembeck, continues its traditions of nurturing and training the finest of comedic talent, always living up to the standards set by Harvey Lembeck over three decades ago.
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