Our Instructors

Paul Dome started performing with ImprovBoston in 2001 with Micestro and then joined the Mainstage cast in 2002. A Cubs fan in Red Sox nation, Paul originally hails from the suburbs of Chicago. Over the past 7 years, Paul has studied under various improv gurus at theaters from across the country, including Second City, ImprovOlympic, Upright Citizens Brigade, ImprovAsylum and ImprovBoston. Additionally, he has performed throughout New England and the US as well as internationally in Toronto and Puerto Rico. Past performances at ImprovBoston include Secret Society, Writer's Block, Radio Hour, George & Martha, The ImprovBoston Holiday Spectacular, Bert, and Phys Ed with Coach Crotchky - a character-based improv show where he played Coach Crotchky. He has written for several ImprovBoston original productions and dabbled in voice over and video work. Recently, Paul became an ImprovBoston instructor and is excited about sharing his passion for the craft with others. As a final thought, Paul contends the Chicago-style hot dog is about the most perfect food.

Steve Kleinedler

Steve Kleinedler began performing at ImprovBoston in 2001 in Micetro/UnNatural Selection. He has also been an ensemble member of Secret Society, Action Comix! and Agent Spy and is one half of Steve and Dana Do It and Rennie and LouAnn's Cocktail Hour. For ImprovBoston's showcase show series, he directed Ay Diego in 2004, BackStory in 2005, and The Robert Cycle in 2006. Additionally, he has directed the Hump Show runs of One Night at TF Green, I Got Into a Fight, and Crackers In Bed. He has been involved in improvised and scripted theatre since the early 1980s. He was a founder of Spontaneous Art! at Michigan State University in the mid 80s, was in the ensemble of the very brief lived Empty Pockets in Chicago, and went through the Player's Workshop of Second City program. In 1991, he was one of the founders of the critically acclaimed Shattered Globe Theatre in Chicago, and after moving to Boston in 1996, he was a member of the cable sketch comedy ensemble Abneria. Steve is a graduate of the Player's Workshop of Second City (1987) and IB's workshop program (2001), and also has taken workshops with Del Close & Charna Halpern, Mick Napier, Susan Messing, Joe Bill, Amy Poehler, and Keith Johnstone.

Will Luera

Will Luera joined ImprovBoston in 1997 as a member of the ImprovBoston Mainstage. Within two years he joined the TheatreSports cast and also became the director of Sitcom. In 1999, he left ImprovBoston to start his own improvisational theater company called Blue Screen, where he continued to direct Sitcom but also developed and directed Secret Society and Dropkick Bandito. In 2000, he rejoined ImprovBoston as Artistic Director, directing the Mainstage cast as well as premiere productions of Sitcom, Secret Society, Blue Screen, and Quest. He has appeared at the Chicago Improv Festival, New York Improv Festival, Greater Boston Improv Festival, and Toyota Comedy Festival and has studied improvisation with ImprovOlympic, The Second City, The Annoyance Theater, The Upright Citizens Brigade, and Keith Johnstone. In addition to his work at ImprovBoston, Will has taught improvisation classes for the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), the National Fire Prevention Association, Northeastern University, Boston College and numerous regional, college, and high school improv troupes. Will continues to direct the ImprovBoston Mainstage, but has also worked with Improv Asylum, The Tribe Theater, The Alarm Clock Theater, and Another Country Productions.

David Marino

David has been with ImprovBoston since 1997. He played with ImprovBoston's Mainstage for 8 years, teaches regularly with ImprovBoston University, and directed Micetro as well as the non-competitive elimination shows Comedy in the Round and UnNatural Selection. He conceived and directed various showcase and special shows, including Archipelago, Pirate Lives, Groaners and Boners and Agent Spy, which was showcased at the 2004 Chicago Improv Festival. David has also performed in Red Herrings, Radio Hour, The ImprovBoston Holiday Spectacular, TheatreSports, Musical the Musical, and the three-year run of the fully improvised fantasy-based serial, Quest. He was in the original cast of the Rough n Tumble Theater Company's production of The Silent Movie Play. He performed in Blazing Appalachia with Theater One, Hello Dolly with the Corinth Theater Guild, and A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Cardboard Alley players. He has also worked on various projects with The Improv Asylum and The Tribe. David has studied improvisation with many of the improv masters such as Mick Napier, Susan Messing, Joe Bill, and Keith Johnstone. David is currently the Manager of the Visitor Experience at Boston Childrens Museum. Using basic theater and improvisation techniques, he has created a unique, industry-renowned visitor interaction philosophy which is used as a customer service template for children's museums around the world.

Don Schuerman

Don Schuerman has been performing with ImprovBoston since 1997, after four years with My Mother's Fleabag (Boston College). He is a member of ImprovBoston's Mainstage and appeared in the original casts of Sitcom, Musical! the Musical, Election! and Secret Society. He was director of ImprovBoston's ongoing production of TheatreSports from 1999 to 2004 and directed ImprovBoston's 2001 showcase show productions of The ImprovBoston Holiday Spectacular and Red Herrings, which was selected as a feature performance at the 2002 Chicago Improv Festival. He has appeared at the Comedy Connection, the Comedy Studio, the Chicago Improv Festival, the Toyota Comedy Festival and Montreal's Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. Don has studied improvisation with ImprovOlympic, The Second City, The Annoyance Theater, The Upright Citizens Brigade and Keith Johnstone. He can be seen on Canadian television in the Comedy Network's World Improv Championships, where he was twice named Most Valuable Player. Don is the Director of Programming for ImprovBoston.

Elyse Schuerman

Elyse Schuerman has been performing with ImprovBoston's Mainstage since the spring of 1999. In addition to Mainstage, Elyse has been a part of such showcase shows as Boston Creem, Writer's Block, Commedia dell'High School, and BackStory, and has performed and written for the Holiday Spectacular and GoreFest shows. She performed in the Del Close Longform festival and The Scene, both in New York and at the Chicago Improv Festival. Elyse graduated with a BA in Theatre and Education from Flagler College in Florida. Directing credits include ImprovBoston's Micetro, UnNatural Selection, Radio Hour, and Misunderstood. She has also directed scripted theatre in Boston and in Florida. Elyse has taught adults at ImprovBoston and ImprovNashville and young students throughout Massachusetts. Elyse has studied improvisation with Mick Napier, Susan Messing, Joe Bill, and Keith Johnstone.

David Totty

David Totty joined ImprovBoston's TheatreSports cast as a full-time member in 2004. He has studied and performed improv, stand up, and sketch comedy in and around Boston since 1999. As the Artistic Director of The Mystery Café, David has written, produced, directed, and acted in many Boston area dinner shows. He is an instructor in ImprovBoston's training program and helped design the improv course at The Boston Center for Adult Education. He is a licensed general contractor and puts his background in mechanical systems and industrial controls to work as ImprovBoston's Technical Director.

Erik Volkert

Erik Volkert has both directed and performed in the UMass Amherst chapter of Mission: IMPROVable, and has appeared in two independent films. He has been a member of the cast at ImprovBoston since 2001, and during that time has been in the Blue Screen, Writer's Block, Seasons 1 through 3 of Quest, CyberQuest, Action Comix, Pirate Lives, Holiday Spectacular, and Commedia dell'High School showcase shows, as well as Space Mission 5000 with The Tribe. Erik is currently a member of the cast of TheatreSports.

Robert Woo

Robert Woo's improv comedy experience includes training at ImprovBoston and workshops with various improv gurus including Armando Diaz, Asaf Ronen, Susan Messing, and Joe Bill. He has performed in showcase shows with IB and also as a cast member of the Family Show, which was formed from a group he co-founded called Wrong Kind of Funny. He has also performed with Tribe Boston in various capacities including Sister/Brother, The Rumble, The Woo Crew, the two-person show Botched, The Mainstage Tribe Players, the Dream Show, and as producer/assistant director of Sea Mission. Currently, he performs as a member of IB's TheatreSports . He is the director of a Boston-based short form improv group Flaming Awesome, and teaches improv at the Boston Center for Adult Education as well as ImprovBoston. He is also busy writing, filming, and acting in video sketches with his production company Hard Left Productions (www.youtube.com/hardleftprod).

Jaime Church

Jaime Church (Director) Past credits include several operas and musicals, but her heart is in the improv. She started in New Jersey where she took workshops with Victor Vernardo and Susan Messing and performed with a troupe called Mixed Signals. Although it was hard to leave the rockin NJ improv scene, she came to Boston three years ago to expand her horizons and has since gone through the IB University program and performed with groups Wrong Kind of Funny, Day Job, and Sosnys. When not on stage, Jaime is improvising getting her Masters in Education and is a private voice and piano teacher. She is very excited to be a part of the Family Show.

Bobby Smithney

Bobby Smithney is a comedian and puppeteer in the Boston area. He is also 6'6", so if you require a giant for anything, he is your man. Bobby has been on the comedy scene in Boston since 2000, performing at stand up and improv comedy clubs up and down the east coast. He has been a regular performer with ImprovBoston in Cambridge since 2002. He is currently a member of the Mainstage cast and performs on Saturday nights at 8:00 and 10:00. In addition, he is the director of the Friday Night Face Off on Friday nights at 10:00. He has taught improv classes at ImprovBoston for the last four years. Bobby's comedic style is to tug at your heart strings while you die laughing. His fierce honesty and quick wit onstage have gained him a following of students and theater goers in the Boston area.

Jeremiah Jordan
Jeremiah is the owner of Clyde Media Productions, a video production and editing company. While living in Los Angeles, he worked on tv shows and films, including ‘The O.C.’, ‘Without A Trace’, ‘High School Musical’, and others. He is the producer and editor of the feature film ‘Joshua’, which is available on Netflix and in Blockbuster. Jeremiah has been performing improv for 16 years with ImprovBoston, IO West, ComedySportz and more – having trained with Del Close and many other great teachers along the way. He is currently on Plan B and has directed and performed with Rondo, Between Jobs, and This Improvised Life. He is IB’s Assistant Artistic Director of Talent Development and Head of the Harold Department. Jeremiah moved to the Boston area about 3 years ago with his wife, Jennie, and their dog, Clyde. Jeremiah hates writing bios.

Brian Perry
Brian has been performing improv for over 10 years which unfortunately makes him relatively old. His involvement with ImprovBoston began in 2007 as a cast member with Neutrino Video Projects: Boston and also with Rondo, ImprovBoston's first house Harold cast. Since its inception Brian has continued his involvement with the Harold Program at ImprovBoston as the director of Marjean, an instructor of Harold classes, and most recently as a cast member of Maxitor. Brian has also been involved in a long list of projects in the New England area as a writer, director, and performer including Unexpected Company, Uniprov, Dos Personas, BrotherlyProv, The Wasteland Comedy Hour, and Between Jobs. Brian also once spent 16 hours in a Home Depot. In the future he hopes to come up with a quirky fact for his bio that is just as memorable, but stirs up far fewer painful memories.

Jeff Perry
Jeff Perry has been performing at Improv Boston since 2007. He is a cast member of Marjean and the director of Plan B, two of the Harold teams that perform at Harold Night. Jeff has also performed as a cast member of Neutrino Boston and Unexpected Company. He created and directed 'Channel Surfing,' and also co-created and performed in 'Greenwich & Studebaker Present: The Future Of Comedy,' and 'Brotherly Prov.' ///// Jeff has studied at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City and at Improv Boston and is an instructor, teaching the Harold at IB. He has been lucky enough to perform in festivals in Austin, Carrboro, Gainesville, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence and Toronto, among others. You can also catch him doing the occasional stand-up set in Boston or Rhode Island, his home state. For more info, check out jeffperryishere.com.

Patrick French

Kevin Harrington
Kevin Harrington joined Improv Boston in May 2001 as a member of the Micetro/Unnatural Selection cast, and currently performs with TheatreSports and Bostonnews.net. Kevin started improv at Boston College as a performer and writer for the murdery mystery comedy troupe The Committee for Creative Enactments. In addition to his current work at IB, Kevin has played in many showcases: Radio Hour, Play Book, Luv Boat, Pirate Lives, Real Puppets Real Problems, In The Garage, Dream Show, IB Sketch, and Henchmen. In 2004, he performed with Dirty MuthaF#%&ing Puppets at the Bass Red Triangle Comedy Festival, (where they won “Audience Favorite” Award) and was a finalist for Pax TV's Boston round of World Cup Comedy. Kevin is also an instructor at Improv Boston, teaching in the Somerville school district. Outside of Improv Boston you can find Kevin writing and performing standup throughout the area, or at his day job— performing a one-man educational theatre piece about the life of Ben Franklin in schools througout New England. Seriously, that is his day job... well one of many.

Sasha Goldberg
Sasha Goldberg joined IB in 2001, performing with the Micetro cast. Since she has been a member of many casts including Micetro, Theatersports, Unnatural Selection, The ImprovBoston Mainstage, Neutrino, and Rondo, a harold team. Sasha is currently performing with Maxitor and The Immortals and also teaching in the workshop series and the harold program.

Hannah Foell
Hannah Foell has performed with various ImprovBoston casts since 2007. She is a founding member of Martin French Presents and sketch troupe The Dowry, and recently performed in Showcase Shows Henchmen, Ocean's 2 and Crime Solving Bear 2. Currently you can see her on stage in IB's Mainstage Cast, with Harold team, Marjean and her two person show, Jackie & Hannah: Under The Stars. With her ridiculous amount of spare sittin-around time she produces and hosts ImprovBoston's legendary Rock Band Night every third Thursday. Hannah manages indie video store Hollywood Express and would like you to remind you that local video stores not only continue to exist, but continue to be awesome.

Dave Sawyer

Sketch Writing Instructors

Brian Adams

Laura Clark

David Mogolov

David Mogolov has been hanging around ImprovBoston in various capacities since 2002 when he performed his one-man show "One Night at T.F. Green." The show was selected to appear at Chicago's SINGLE FILE festival and was referred to by at least one attendee as "quite funny." Since then he has written and performed another one-man show, "I Got in a Fight", two oddball "Ameriprov" shows with Steve Kleinedler, and numerous other shows as part of the Sgt. Culpepper Jamboree and "The Artistic Director Presents..." He co-wrote and performed "Diptych" with Sara Faith Alterman in the fall of 2008, and is currently a writer and actor in IB's sketch troupe, "The Ruckus." He teaches in the ImprovBoston comedy writing program, and will occasionally be spotted performing standup.

Neil Reynolds

Neil Reynolds hails from New Hampshire, a Boston suburb. When not playing on ImprovBoston's Mainstage, Neil tours with Code Duello: Hamilton & Burr, and writes/produces for screen, stage, and radio. Recent projects include internet audio play The Chagoon Conspiracy and postmodern variety show The Wasteland Comedy Hour with T.S. Eliot! He also teaches improv and sketch writing workshops at ImprovBoston.

He's an aspiring screenwriter. He has a website.

Dave Sawyer

Dave Sawyer has been a sketch writer and performer for over seven years. He joined ImprovBoston in 2005 and is currently a member of the Mainstage cast as well as the new ImprovBoston sketch troupe. His two-man sketch comedy show, Sawyer & Hurley, has been performed in New York and in Boston where it became a winning act in the Tribe's World's Best Variety Showdown in 2005. He was a writer and performer with the Boston sketch troupe, The Uncommonwealth. He was also a writer for Comedy Bronze, the sketch troupe of the Tribe Theater. Other past sketch credits include The Tijuana Bible Beaters in Boston, and The Troubled Shores Comedy Lab on Martha's Vineyard. He is the producer and co-writer of the showcase, Laugh Track, which was performed at ImprovBoston in January and Feburary 2008. He is currently appearing in Off Book, a sketch comedy showcase at ImprovBoston in March and April 2008. He is a graduate of The Second City conservatory where he studied improv, sketch comedy writing and performance.

Deana Tolliver

Deana Tolliver joined ImprovBoston in 2005 as a member of the ImprovBoston Family Show.  In addition Deana has also performed in various other IB shows including Up With Family, Save the Date, What the Dickens, and French Kiss Me Kate. Deana attended Emerson College where studied Radio and Comedy Writing.  While there she was a member of the critically acclaimed sketch comedy troupe The Swollen Monkey Showcase.  She was a founding member of the sketch comedy troupe Sissies and has written and performed in several live radio comedies.  Deana has taught improv techniques to students all over New England ranging in age from 3 to adult.  She has developed targeted workshops for children with special needs, adolescents struggling with self-esteem, and elementary school teachers looking for ways to draw out the best in every student.  A graduate of the ImprovBoston University Workshop Program, Deana has also studied with Mike Bent, Susan Messing, Zach Ward and Joe Bill. Deana Tolliver is the Associate Managing Director & Director of Training and Sales at ImprovBoston.

Matt Mosher

Matt Mosher is an instructor at ImprovBoston.

Stand-Up Instructors

Dana Jay Bein is a comedian originally from West Springfield, Massachusetts. There, in 1997, he began doing stand-up comedy and developed a cult following who dubbed him the Bastard Son of Comedy. He has performed stand-up comedy at venues throughout New England and is the director of the stand-up comedy curriculum at ImprovBoston. You can take a stand-up class under his guidance at ImprovBoston or across the Charles where he is also an instructor at the Boston Center for Adult Education. ImprovBoston has known Dana since 2001 where he began performing in the Micetro/UnNatural Selection cast on Thursday nights. He has been a cast member in ImprovBoston Showcase shows such as Quest, Action Comix, Felt, In the Garage, GoreFest IV, Dana and Steve Do It, Law and Puppet and Fort Awesome (which was selected to perform in comedy festivals in Toronto and DC). You can find Dana in all of his graces at ImprovBoston on Friday nights at 10PM in the TheatreSports cast or in this fall's Gorefest V - Blood on the Bayou. Check out his website - www.danajaybein.com.

Maria Ciampa

Maria Ciampa has been writing, performing, and directing comedy since 2002, after being told by her Harvard Acting professor that she should be on Saturday Night Live.  As co-director and creator of the ImprovBoston Women in Comedy Festival, she performed with Jackie Kashian (Last Comic Standing) and Maria Bamford (Comedians of Comedy, HBO).  Twice nominated Best Stand up Comedian by The Boston Phoenix, Maria is an alumna of Improv Asylum's Mainstage, where she wrote sketch comedy and performed improv and sketch 5 nights a week, did corporate shows and training, and taught improvisational comedy at the Training Center.  A 2007 Comic in Residence at the Comedy Studio in Harvard Square, Maria was also a featured comedian at the 2009 North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival and the Boston Comedy Festival in 2005, 2007, and 2009.  She has performed her original material in nationally touring storytelling shows like Stripped Stories and Mortified. 

Maria regularly appears in TV and web commercials in comedic roles with clients including Bertucci’s, Maine Lottery, iParty, and Nuance Voice Control, and she does regular print and industrial/corporate work, with clients including SunLife, Northeastern University, Red Bull, Millipore, Weiss Asset Management, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, and more.  Maria was female lead in the iTV Festival featured sitcom pilot Our Living Blue Planet, and has won awards 4 years in a row for her comedic roles in the Boston 48 Hour Film Festival.  Maria plays the female lead in the upcoming indie film "Lost in Boston". She writes, directs and performs in a comedic web series called Interviews With My Husband with husband and local Boston music producer and DJ Justin Carr.

In addition to a busy stand up comedy performance schedule at clubs, fundraisers, and colleges, Maria writes for The Comedians Magazine.  She wrote, directed and performed her comedic solo show, Family Shmamily, to audiences in Boston and New York. 

Maria teaches Stand Up Comedy: Level 2 and the Ongoing Stand up Workshop at ImprovBoston, directs New Tricks, the only over -50 improvisational comedy troupe in New England, and teaches improv to teens as part of Boston Casting's Media Performance Institute.  For video clips of her live comedy, video sketches, and more of Maria’s writing, visit:

http://www.mariaciampa.com 

http://interviewswithmyhusband.blogspot.com

Maria lives just east of Boston, in a place called East Boston.  She and her extremely good looking husband live in her Grandma’s house, rest her pope-loving, fudge-making soul, and they have the best landlady ever: Maria's Mom.

Josh Gondelman