| ASTRONAUT UNIVERSITY Four Improvisors, Four Astronauts... Think Armageddon/Bad Ass space epic journey meets long form improvisational comedy! Everything you want to see in improv and SPACE! |
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KACI BEELERWORKSHOP: Romance and Intamacy Onstage
Kaci Beeler is an extremely prolific actor and artist from Austin, Texas. Kaci a company member with Parallelogramophonograph as well as the Director of Design at the Hideout Theatre where she also teaches, performs and directs improvised theatre on a regular basis. She has performed in hundreds of shows and productions in Austin and has toured to more than 25 North American cities, 2 Canadian provinces, dozens of improv festivals, and most recently Edinburgh, Scotland to perform and teach.
MANDY BUTLERWORKSHOP: Meisner in Improv
Mandy Butler holds a BA in Theatre Performance from Georgia College & State University and an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has taught Meisner in Improv master classes at many improv festivals and studios. As an adjunct faculty member at VCU, she taught undergraduate classes in Meisner, Acting, and Longform Improvisation. Mandy has been studying the Meisner Technique for twelve years and earned her Meisner teacher certification through Larry Silverberg's True Acting Institute at Willamette University. She is currently working on turning her thesis, Meeting Sanford Meisner: An Investigation of the Origins, Development, and Practical Application of the Meisner Technique, into a very nerdy book.
DAVE DENNISONWORKSHOP: Beginning the Improvised Stage Play Format
Dave's love affair with improvisational theater began at BATS Improv in 1993. He has been a member of the Mainstage Company at BATS since 1998 and served as the Artistic Director from 2005-2008. Dave has played with a number of improv troupes including Scratch Theater, The Particulars and Star Trekkin and as a guest with True Fiction Magazine and the Secret Improv Society to name a few. In 2003, he developed the Family Drama 3 act stage play format at BATS. Dave and Lisa Rowland developed the Awkward Dinner Party format in 2008. He has been teaching Improv for five years at BATS and Stanford University, working with beginning, intermediate and advanced students.
KIT FITZSIMONSWORKSHOP: Break Open the Monkey Barrel
Performer, coach and DJ Ninja at the DSI Comedy Theater in Carrboro, Kit FitzSimons has been performing, coaching and teaching improv since 1999. He performs with Murder Science (at this year's BBCF), Banana Breakup, Heartbreaker, Maximum Power and more. Always more. His current official job title is Digital Media Dynamo. He's got business cards to prove it. Boom.
JOEY HASSIDWORKSHOP: Intro to Improvised Singing
Joey Hassid is a musician and improviser in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has played well over 100 shows with BATS Improv, Big City Improv, and Secret Improv Society. Highlights have included playing on the main stage of the San Francisco Theater Festival, closing the opening night of the SF Improv Festival, and that one night at Secret Improv when he got to act in a scene and he was an astronaut that farted. When not improvising on stage, Joey teaches piano, goes to school, and makes music for his band, Courage (facebook.com/couragesongs).
ROY JANIKWORKSHOP: Dramatic Improv
Roy Janik is a co-owner and the Artistic Director of The Hideout Theatre in Austin, Texas. He is the creator and director of Austin Secrets, The Hideout's wildly successful show inspired by PostSecret. Roy is also a company member of the internationally touring, award-winning improv troupe Parallelogramophonograph, whose forays into dramatic improv include Villainy (villain-centric stories) and Eris 2035 (psychological science fiction).
SHANNON JENKINSWORKSHOP: Purposeful Characters, Impactful Storytelling
Shannon Jenkins received the bulk of his improv training with Dad's Garage Theatre Company and Jackpie Theatre Workshop in Atlanta. His performances have been seen at local venues such as Relapse Theatre, Village Theatre, Dad's Garage and The Earl, which hosts the monthly improv competition Catch 23. Shannon has also performed on stages in Austin, Charleston and Nashville. His is an associate producer of the Black Box Comedy Festival and is currently a long-form instructor at Relapse University.
MICHAEL JOPLINWORKSHOP: Vin Diesel Improv
With a degree in Theater from The University of Texas @ Austin and over 14 years of professional improv experience, Michael Joplin has paid his dues in the improv world. He is also a heavily trained in shakespearean acting and drama. He has performed in improv festivals and college campuses all over the country. He is a member of the Available Cupholders, The Knuckleball Now and Dusk: Improvised Twilight. He is an improv teacher for Merlin-Works in Austin, Texas.
PAUL MARKSWORKSHOP: Sell Yourself Short
Paul began doing improv 6 years ago with the idea of forming his own troupe. Having run a successful business for more than 20 years, Paul was eager to start a 2nd business and formed Over The Counter improv 2 years ago. Since that time Over The Counter improv has gone on to have record sellout crowds at every show for the past year. Every instructional class has sold out too. Paul wants to share his unique improv style and entrepreneur skills to help other troupes. OverTheCounterimprov.com
SHANA MERLINWORKSHOP: How To Save a Scene that Sucks
Awarded "Best Improv Teacher" and "Best Female Improviser" by the Austin Improv Collective, Shana Merlin has been a professional improviser since 1995 performing in improv festivals in Amsterdam, Calgary, Seattle. Shana performs in the improv troupes Girls Girls Girls Improvised Musicals, the winner of "Best Improv Troupe" in Austin Chronicle, the Austin Critics Table Award winning duo Get Up and directs and performs in Dusk: Improvised Tween Erotica, a Twilight Parody on national tour in 2010.
JAMIE MOOREWORKSHOP: Back to Basics 707
Jamie has been acting since birth. Improv is his first love and he has trained and worked with the likes of Second City, UCB, and The Groundlings. He has appeared in numerous films and television shows including "One Tree Hill", "Army Wives", "House of Payne" just to name a few and nearly 100 commercials. He has been teaching for 15 years in the areas of stage, film, improvisation and much more. He is as diversified as he is talented.
JAY REVISWORKSHOP: Discovery vs. Invention
Jay Revis is half of the Improv duo "Revis and Zeiss", which performs weekly at Relapse Theatre in Atlanta and around the country on the festival circuit. Jay was formerly the Associate Director of education for Jackpie Theatre Workshop. He specializes in realistic improv, and has studied improv and acting with numerous teachers from around the country. Sometimes he's funny.
LISA ROWLANDWORKSHOP: A World in an Instant
Lisa began improvising in The Devil Mountain Improv League at her high school in Walnut Creek, CA in 1997. She moved on to become an active member of the Stanford Improvisers at Stanford University and then joined San Francisco's BATS Improv Company in 2005. At BATS, she has directed shows, taught improv classes in dialect and Shakespeare, as well as leading corporate improv trainings. She coaches high school improv teams and is also a regular guest improv coach at Stanford University. She and Dave Dennison developed Awkward Dinner Party in 2008.
REGINA SAISIWORKSHOP: Keep It Simple
Regina Saisi has been a professional actor/improvisor and teacher for 25 years. Her theatrical experience includes work with such directors as Maria Irene Fornes, Jose Rivera, Darrah Cloud and Gary Leon Hill. The focus of her work throughout her career has been improvisational theatre. She has been deeply involved in the fertile San Francisco improvisation community, helping to start several improv companies including Riot Squad, Improv Theatre, Pulp Playhouse, and her current company True Fiction Magazine. She is currently the Dean of the BATS School of Improv.
BOB WOODWORKSHOP: Improv as an Art Form
After seven years of paying his dues at Whole World Theatre, Bob left in November 2004 to found Relapse Comedy Theatre in Midtown Atlanta. He credits teacher and best friend, David Webster, creator of Whole World, as the inspiration for his style of improv - organic, free-flowing, and centered on what is truly real and in the heart.
