Theaters & classes in L.A.?

[FizzGig]

(I'm not sure if this post belongs in this area so apologies if it's OT.)

I'm a sketch comedy writer and I moved to L.A. about two weeks ago. Since I didn't come with an intact troupe, I'm looking for a way to get myself noticed and hopefully meet people who are interested in forming a troupe.

I know I can't just walk in to a theater and say, "Hey, I wrote sketch in Boston. Put my shit onstage!" so I'm thinking I need to do what I did in Boston to get involved - take a writing class at a local theater.

I know a lot of people are against comedy classes for various reasons, but I'm not a stand up and I'm not really looking for a "how to" session but I'd sit through a few if it meant meeting great people who share my sense of humor.

Anyone here ever take a class at one of the local theaters? I'm currently looking at UCB and IOWest.

Also, does anyone know of any great writing groups in the area? (There are so many websites online for writing groups it's hard to figure out which ones are good.)

[P-Dub]

http://www.thecomedyacademy.com/

I hawk Craig's class whenever I can, 'cause I've been taking it for a year and a half and it rocks. It is mainly an acting class, but it is popular with stand ups and improvisers, as it will help you immeasurably with your writing and so forth. Plus you'll get to work with tons of AST-approved comics.

Tell him Large Marge sent 'ya.