2022 Instructors
Killing My Lobster instructors are not only teachers, but active artists crafting original comedy with KML on a regular basis. Read up on these trusted purveyors of sketch comedy artistry, see which classes they're teaching, and find the right course and teaching artist, for your needs.
Alvin Lee (they/them)
Alvin Adrian Lee is a writer, stand-up comedian, and stage manager based in San Francisco. They have been with KML for the last two years and have written for "To Bard or Not To Bard" and "Model Minority". They also work in tech and on political campaigns.
Alvin’s Upcoming Classes:
Elaine Gavin (she/her)
Elaine is a writer/actor/director who has worked with KML for almost 6 years. She has a BFA in theater and has been a playwright and performer in The Bay Area for a really long time. She has also worked as a copy writer and editor- now she tries to make kids laugh at the preschool where she works and has an impressive chapstick collection.
Elaine's upcoming classes:
Jen Marte (she/her)
Jen Marte is an actor and writer based in San Francisco. She has been seen onstage at Killing My Lobster, Half Moon Bay Shakespeare Company, Troupe Theatre and Shotgun Players, and behind the scenes at the San Francisco Playhouse and Cutting Ball Theater. Previous roles include Gruesome Playground Injuries (Kayleen), In The Next Room or the vibrator play (Annie), and Company (Marta).
GINA BARDI (she/her)
Gina is a writer/instructor. She has taught sketch writing to all ages, been head writer for multiple shows and even had a sketch podcast, if you can believe such a thing. She is a librarian by profession so she will answer your comedic questions in a quiet and dignified manner.
Melanie Marshall (She/her)
Melanie is a jack of all lobsters: actor, writer, choreographer, Giving Tuesday coordinator, and lobster pant owner. She has been with Killing My Lobster for over six years working on shows like "Game of Nerds," "Queering My Lobster," and "How Does That Make You Feel?" She completed the KML Writing program in 2020, wrote for KML digital content, and is now a teacher of future lobsters...someday this could be you!
Melanie’s upcoming classes:
Mike Ottum (he/him)
Mike is a writer and teacher, and he has been creating comedy since 2014 when he took a class from Killing My Lobster that changed his life. He loves taking comedy seriously, making audiences laugh, and helping students develop their comedy voices. Above all, he finds it difficult to write personal bios. Is this supposed to be funny? Is this not supposed to be funny? Is anyone still reading this?
Mike's upcoming classes:
nicole odell (she/her)
Nicole (she/her) is an actor, writer, improvisor, and instructor of all of the above in her native Bay Area. She is a graduate of San Francisco State and received the bulk of her comedy training at Second City in Hollywood. She loves vintage clothes, horror films, and gluten.
Nicole’s upcoming classes:
Rebecca Pierce (she/her)
Rebecca Pierce is a writer and filmmaker based in San Francisco with work ranging from documentary films to sketch comedy. She's written for KML shows like Y2K, Romancing the Sketch, The Jane Austen Extended Universe and Paranormal Hotline. Her favorite part of being a KML TA is encouraging her students to get weirdly specific with their writing, like a mama bird chewing up little nuggets of specificity and feeding them to her chicks.
Rebecca’s upcoming classes:
