The Stella Adler Studio of Acting Launches New Comedy Division
Matt Gehring Appointed as Inaugural Comedy Division Director
New York, NY — August 13, 2025— The Stella Adler Studio of Acting is proud to announce the launch of its new Comedy Division, a groundbreaking actor training initiative dedicated to exploring, developing, and elevating comedic performance for stage and screen. The division will be led by prolific director, writer, and educator Matt Gehring, appointed as its inaugural Comedy Division Director.
The Comedy Division will serve as a hub for exploring the history, structure, and techniques of comedy—while providing a laboratory for artists to devise, develop, and perform their own work. Students will engage with a range of comedic forms, from stand-up and sketch to improvisation and solo performance, while cultivating their unique voices as writers and performers. With a focus on truth, commitment, and collaboration, the program will encourage creative risk-taking and the practice of “de-centering the self and re-centering the writing” to create more resonant comedic storytelling.
“The world needs comedy now more than ever,” said Artistic Director Tom Oppenheim. “It is a pleasure and an honor to provide training and nurturance for it, and to offer a program of this caliber in the landscape of actor training throughout the city, the country, and the world. Matt Gehring’s approach to sketch comedy harmonizes perfectly with our mission, vision, and values.”
Gehring brings a wealth of experience to the role. A director, writer, and former Just for Laughs New Face, he has helmed over 100 shows, including Pop Roulette’s Amazing Earth featuring Bowen Yang and Diane Shangri-La: Not Dry Yet with Chrissy Shackelford. He has performed on The Tick, Set It Up, and The Characters with Tim Robinson, co-created SHIZ: Broadway Meets Sketch Comedy with Tony Award winner Shaina Taub, and developed work for Comedy Central and Netflix. An educator at NYU and UCB, Gehring also co-founded CAMP, the Comedy Artist Makers Program at Ars Nova, a residency supporting comedians in developing new work.
The Comedy Division builds on the Studio’s growing history of comedy programming, which has included the popular Stand-Up Comedy for Actors workshop with Rick Crom in partnership with the Comedy Cellar and improvisation workshops with Andy Schneeflock, both of which have sessions enrolling for this September. The division’s first major program will be the Devised Comedy Winter Immersion, running January 5–16, 2026, led by Gehring. This two-week intensive will blend writing, performance, and collaboration, culminating in a final presentation of original comedic material.
The Studio’s alumni are making waves in stand-up and comedic television and film. Artists like Casey Wilson, June Diane Raphael, Chloe Fineman, Morgan Jay, Rachel Sennott, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Jane Levy, Nelson Franklin, Matt Cox, Nick Kocher, Devin Delliquanti and Natalie Cuomo are a few select standouts. The Comedy Division will continue equipping the next generation of artists with the tools, perspective, and craft to thrive in today’s comedic landscape.
For more information on the Stella Adler Studio’s Comedy Division and upcoming programs, visit https://classes.stellaadler.com/classes/comedy/