Portfolio Archives: USA

Dianah holds a Masters of Fine Arts from Lindenwood University. She has worked as a professional improviser and instructor for over 30 years, beginning her improv career in New York City before moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to manage a non-profit theater company. She performed with ComedySportz-Milwaukee for four years before bringing ComedySportz to Houston in 1990. Dianah is a sought-after performer and improv teacher, most notably for the Texas Thespians State Festival.

Seán Patrick Judge

Seán has two Bachelors Degrees from The University of Iowa Drama and French departments respectively. Upon graduation, he worked extensively in theatre in Chicago for 5 years, before moving to New York and working in theatre 4 more years before settling in Houston in 2004. Seán’s Corporate Role Play experience began in Chicago in 1995. He’s worked primarily with oil and gas companies, such as BP, British Gas, Shell and Exxon, Seán supplements his income as the assistant to New York Times Best-selling author and neuroscientist David Eagleman.

Sara Gaston

B.A. in Drama from the University of Texas at Austin, with extensive improv study with Second City. Sara has extensive acting credits, and has taught acting and communication skills since 2007. Her experience includes role-playing for corporations in Houston, Boston, Chicago and Atlanta with law schools and medical facilities and is also a Teaching Assistant, training, role-playing and giving feedback with medical students.

She has worked both administrative and human resources capacities. She has created and conducted her own acting classes and workshops, coached people on speaking in front of groups and having enrolling conversations. Sara is one of our key people in Texas. Learn more →

David Matranga

With a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama, he began his career in theatre, TV, film and voice acting in NY and was in Occupy Texas and Be Not Afraid. He has voiced over 100 roles, including Appleseed, Appleseed Ex Machina, Appleseed Alpha, Halo legends and Starship Troopers: Invasion.

David teaches acting at Sam Houston State University, the Alley theatre and Stages Repertory Theatre. He has worked as a trainer and standardized patient teaching assistant since 2009, working with UT Medical School and Baylor College of Medicine. His corporate training and role-play industry experience ranges from the oil industry, Shell, to Houston area law firms, helping facilitate mock depositions and trials to working directly with the energy industry during a stint with UK based company, Impromptu. Learn more →

Michael Brusasco

Degrees from Willamette University it Salem, Oregon and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. An inaugural company member at the Great River Shakespeare Festival and member at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. He has directed/coached at universities including New York’s Stella Adler Conservatory as well as Willamette University. In the corporate world Michael has worked in executive assistant and analyst positions with Marsh & McLennan Companies, Estee Lauder, Warburg Pincus, and Kaiser Permanente serving as the assistant to the head of National Media Relations, as well as in the academic sector at UC Berkeley. He also is a New York State Licensed Real Estate Salesperson associated with Bohemia Realty Group.

Chiara Motley

Master of Fine Arts from The National Theatre Conservatory in Denver, CO and BA from Stanford University. Chiara has been trained to teach voice, speech, public speaking, and storytelling in both her undergraduate and graduate training. She has led workshops for Seattle Shakespeare Company as well as the Denver Center’s Education program. Chiara has worked with chefs and restaurateurs on their ability to speak passionately and eloquently about their food and restaurant concepts in order to solicit possible investors. She recently worked for Peers and Players at the UBS Staff Training Sessions.

Jonny C Kaplan

Jonathan has a Bachelor’s of Arts from Stanford University. After graduating, Jonathan moved to NYC where he has worked extensively on Broadway, off-Broadway, and Regionally. Jonathan’s Corporate Role Play experience includes several years of real play scenarios for organizations such as Morgan Stanley and Columbia Health, as well as creating and running a program with Jewish Theological Seminary. An experienced improviser, Mr Kaplan regularly performs at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Jonathan has worked with Peers and Players on a number of projects including GSK, Citi Bank and UBS.

Bethany Caputo

Bethany has worked extensively on stage as well as film and TV. Bethany has performed corporate industrial work for Barclay International, Northwestern University, Domaine de Canton, and on camera industrial work for Indiana State Tourism Board. Bethany has been a standardized patient for Rush University, Loyola University, and The University of Chicago, and she was asked to develop and participate in an instructional video for the training of standardized patients by the University of Chicago. Bethany is certified as an Open Space Facilitator, and has participated, in a Master of Arts in Conflict Transformation, with Karuna Center for Peacebuilding.

Nate Starkey

Nate has been performing, writing and producing for stage and screen since 1990. He performs at comedy improv theaters. He creates original content for movies and series. Nate spent 15 years in NYC, as an award winning comedian and the most tenured improv teacher at the People’s Improv Theater. As a corporate improv workshop instructor, role player and team builder, Nate’s list of corporate clients include P.W.C., Morgan Stanley, Johns Hopkins, Google, Disney, and the U.S. Olympic Team. Before working full time as an actor, corporate trainer, coach and teacher, Nate worked as a film maker where he produced corporate films for clients such as IBM, PODS Moving and Storage, the Philadelphia 76ers and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Jimmy Akingbola

Jimmy is an award-winning UK actor/producer and Co-Founder of The TriForce Creative Network, an organization set up to promote equal opportunities in the entertainment industry. Jimmy works in Los Angeles and London producing and managing TCN events, creating business relationships and expanding the TCN brand in the USA. Jimmy has acted in film, television and on stage in the UK/USA since 2002.

Jimmy has performed Corporate Role Play work since 2006, working with Actorshop, RoleplayUK, Metropolitan Police, Soho Theatre, Round House, CPS, Halifax HSBC, Natwest, Santander, NHS, Guys Hospital, and Newham Schools and College.

Sohm Kapila

Sohm moved to Los Angeles from London in early 2017 and has been acting since the age of 14. She has a BA Hons in Acting from Italia Conti Academy, and also studied Film Making at the New York Film Academy and Comedy Sitcom at Lesly Kahn in LA. Sohm speaks Hindi and Punjabi. Her business experience spans over 15 years, and she has had a long career in sales and marketing. Her extensive roleplay work has been mainly in the UK, with clients that include the NHS, Centrica Gas, Tower Hamlets Council, and the Ministry of Justice. She is experienced in multiple workplace scenarios, responding with sensitivity and relevance to each individual, challenging when needed, providing practical and personal feedback.

Katrina Morris

Katrina has studied and performed audience-suggested improvisation for over ten years, beginning with short-form game playing and moving on to long-form team performances. Her team, Cage-Free Humans performed regularly in Miami, as well as at the Del Close Marathon in New York. Katrina is the owner of Improv South Miami, an independent improv theater in South Miami, Florida.

Katrina developed a program called Improv for Human beings, which focuses on natural communication, emphasizing authenticity and respectful listening. She has taught her program at Improv South Miami and at regional improv theaters, as well as at FilmGate Miami, and her one-on-one clients have included lawyers, business-owners, students, and administrators.

Kate Drummond

B.A. in Drama from Washington University in St. Louis, Kate developed a specialized interest in Shakespearean verse. After graduation, Kate completed the Seattle Children’s Theatre internship with the Young Actor Institute, and Teaching Apprenticeship.

Since moving to Seattle, she has performed with Jet City Improv, Unexpected Productions, and several independent improv groups. Kate has also produced and directed several improv shows. As a freelance Teaching Artist, Kate teaches for many organizations in and around Seattle, including the Seattle Children’s Theatre, Bainbridge Performing Arts, foundry10, Salmon Bay School, Youth Theatre Northwest, and Seattle Shakespeare Company’s Short Shakes program.

Evan Mueller

Evan has a Master of Fine Arts from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and a BA, Duke University. He is the Co-Founder and Artistic Associate of New York’s Strange Sun Theater Company, as well as an actor, educator, and director. As a Professor of Voice and Speech for actors, Evan has brought the actors’ skills of communication to the corporate and medical world through private coaching and role play, working with such organizations as Kaiser Permanente, NYU Langone Medical Center, and coaching for professional leaders within Wells Fargo, The United Nations, and others. Currently based in the Seattle area, where he is also an Assistant Professor at Western Washington University.

Philip Geurin

Phil has his degree in Physics and worked as a game theory researcher for the National Science Foundation at Keck Graduate Institute. He’s developed multiple web applications and is a full stack software engineer. He has taught and role-played for nurses, doctors, medical students, and social workers at the OU Medical Center, the TU School of Community Medicine, and the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work. He also traveled across the Midwest role-playing bullying scenarios for kids in Somebody’s Hero. Phil has taught roleplay to L.A.R.P.E.R.S at anime conventions across the country.

Bradford Farwell

Brad received a BS degree in Mathematics from the University of New Hampshire and did his graduate work in classical drama at The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. He has performed in over 150 stage productions all over the world and was a member of acting company at the Stratford Festival in Canada for three years. Since moving to Seattle he has performed at ACT, Seattle Repertory, 5th Avenue, Intiman and many others in the Seattle area. Bradford’s corporate experience goes back to Chicago where he acted and helped facilitate moot court role-plays for some of Chicago’s largest law firms. Since moving to Seattle, he has performed in countless industrials and instructional videos for firms ranging from Boeing to Microsoft.

Sunam Ellis

Sunam has a MFA in Acting and dual BA in Human Development and Theatre Performance. She did graduate work in Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, and in Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Friedrich-Schiller Institute in Germany. She has extensive experience on stage, television, and film, performed training videos for Penn State’s College of Nursing, and is most passionate about using engaged theatre for education and creating meaningful change in people’s lives. She trained professionally in improv with ComedyCity in Green Bay, WI, has taught at both Penn State and the University of Washington, and done graduate research on interventions for improving relationships and interpersonal communication. She has experience workshopping trust building skills with youth in detention, roleplay work for training emergency medical responders, critical conversation mentoring and coaching, and has done training videos for Penn State’s College of Nursing.

Alex Grindeland

USABy pandp 9 February 2017

Alex has a Bachelor of the Arts in Theatre Education, is a CSzWW Senior Practitioner of Applied Improvisation and CSzWW Certified Education Architect. Alex has been an improviser, actor, comedian, and teacher for over 14 years. During that time, he has performed in over 1,000 live improvised shows. Alex also oversees 40 people in his role as the owner and general manager of CSz Seattle, which is best known for their flagship show ComedySportz. Alex works extensively in the corporate sector, training teams in the skills of Applied Improvisation, team building, and communication. He has designed and facilitated workshops for various departments in companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, and more.

Andrew McMasters

USABy pandp 3 May 2017

Andrew is an actor, director, teacher, entrepreneur and keynote speaker, as well as Artistic Director and co-founder of Jet City Improv. Originally from Philadelphia, he received his undergraduate degree in theater from Temple University and relocated to Seattle in 1990. He attended the University of Washington to receive his MFA in Drama as well as a Certificate in Arts Administration. He is actively involved in community building in the performing arts, and serves as board co-chair of his local business improvement area. In addition to running a non-profit organization, Andrew is an internationally renowned speaker and trainer, providing experiential learning sessions for organizations in team communications, leadership development and innovation.

James Seol

An Executive Coach with professional experience in the United States and abroad. He has worked with IT companies, firms, law firms, and financial institutions. With aa emphasis on practicable, experiential learning in group and one-on-one, he guides clients at all levels of management towards more facile, specific and dynamic communication. Based in New York, he works in presentation strategy and execution, influencing skills and cultured, effective and efficient interviewing and transformational feedback delivery. Learn more →

Leigh Williams

USABy pandp 3 February 2017

Leigh possesses a B.A. in theater arts (magna cum laude) from Cornell University, including a semester at British American Drama Academy in London. She has an M.F.A. in acting from The Case Western/Cleveland Play House Graduate Acting Program, and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA. Leigh has been a professional actress based in New York City since 1999. In addition to her extensive theatre résumé, she has appeared in a number of national and regional commercials for brands including Pillsbury, Time Warner Cable, Stop & Shop and Dunkin’ Donuts. Leigh has years of management experience in the retail world, with a specialty in training employees on customer interaction and client relationships.

Kelli Ruttle

USABy pandp 3 February 2017

A graduate of the Cleveland Play House Master of Fine Arts Acting program, Kelli is a New York based actor and speech coach who has worked and trained across the country. As well as theater, film, television, and commercials, Kelli has been using her skills of drama and communication to help others further develop in educational and corporate settings. In hospitality and retail, she designed and implemented training programs for managerial teams and staff. With better training guides and the facilitation of role-play simulations to improve communication skills, companies saw significant increases in product knowledge, efficiency, and sales.

José Restrepo

Some of our Team, USABy pandp 8 January 2015

As an actor José has worked primarily in theatre, while also appearing in TV and film. He has worked extensively on Broadway, Off-Broadway and regionally, most recently he appeared in NYC in the Tony Award winning show “Peter and the Starcatcher”. Corporate: José has held positions with D2GB School Arts Coordinator for R.Evolucion Latina and Performance Plus, and has done role-play work for Morgan Stanley, Kaiser Permanente (LA), NYU Medical Center, and the Clinical Competence Center of New York, which includes the Arizona Clinical Interview Rating Scale.

Amber Gainey Meade

BS, Theatre. Amber studied improv with Second City Chicago and trained at The Gaiety School of Acting in Ireland. Amber spent six years as a paralegal and executive assistant at a civil rights law firm, worked for the Chicago Mayor’s office for the Gallery 37 Biography Project, and was national product specialist for Nissan. She appeared in A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey, and several independent films and television episodes. Amber is the director/creator of an original musical The Book of Esther which was shown all over California. She is based in Los Angeles.

Carrie Paff

B.A. in Theatre Arts and Women’s Studies with honors from UC Santa Cruz and a master’s degree in Educational Theatre. She works nationally and internationally as an actress, educator and arts education activist. Her role-play experience includes The Lawyering Project at New York University School of Law and The Creative Arts Team. She is cofounder of StageWrite: building literacy through theater with inner-city elementary schoolchildren, and has taught theater for empowerment in the Bay Area, New York City, Greece, and Seoul, Korea. Recently, worked with Peers and Players for the California Rural Legal Assistance, and also with the Top 500 Poland Group at Stanford exploring innovation and design thinking.

Celia Shaefer

Celia has acted in New York City and toured with Chicago City Limits Improv. Film and TV: As The World Turns, Convictions-Indiscretion and Young Teamsters. Theatre: The Atlantic Theater Co, Ensemble Studio and The New York Theatre Workshop. Corporate clients: Mattel, Bon Appetit, Volkswagen and Absolut. She has coached with Graceworks, New York State and Avon. Celia has also worked in events planning for the American Stock Exchange, done administrative work for Morgan Stanley and currently teaches for Labyrinth.

Eddie Allen

BS, Theatre Arts. Eddie has been acting for over thirty years. TV includes Crossing Jordan, NYPD Blue, Just Shoot Me, Judging Amy and Seinfeld. He creates tailor-made corporate shows, corporate entertainment and seminars. He is an experienced improviser and teacher of improvisation, having trained with the Viola Spolin School. Eddie has acted and improvised his way around America, toured and lectured on Commedia dell’Arte and performed in his one-man show.

Eleanor Handley

With a Masters in Fine Arts from The New School for Drama, Eleanor was a business development manager and advised on the board of a financial advising company. She has worked in theatre extensively in NY and regionally. Her extensive roleplay and coaching experience in Australia, where she joined Peers and Players, and in New York, includes work with financial, accounting, legal and IT companies. She teaches Shakespeare skills, and as a private coach and trainer in communication skills. She is in demand as a senior member of the NY team. Learn more →

Gigi Guizado

Bachelor of Arts – Drama. Film and TV: Colma: The Musical and MTV. Commercial and industrial clients include Univision, Hewlett-Packard, Guthy-Renker, Safeway, Lippincott-Raven Publishers, and the State of California. Gigi has role-play experience at Stanford University, UCSF, UC Davis, and Touro University. She is a consultant to the West Contra Cost Unified School District and executive assistant for the Leonard and Beryl Buck Foundation.

Li-Leng Au

With an NLP Master Practitioner qualification, her role-play and facilitation experience is extensive, across the UK, Australia, US and Netherlands. She has expertise in Diversity Issues, Performance Management and has facilitated Presentation Skills workshops. A prior Youth Group Coordinator for UK Theatre programs, currently she is the facilitator for the Directing Program at San Francisco’s Bindlestiff Theatre Company. Learn more →

Michael Satow

As an actor with a BA, he has worked extensively in theatre and on screen. In the corporate setting, Michael has held positions ranging from executive level assistant to guest relations for corporate events. Based in NY, Michael regularly participates in corporate roleplay and high level coaching for financial advisers, tech team members, medical students the military and works with international communication skills providers. Learn more →

Rob Leo Roy

Rob is a veteran actor in film, television and on stage in New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. As a Solution Consultant he provided document management software solutions, business case analysis and technical training. Skills include Management and Leadership coaching, Administration and Communication Skills coaching. He teaches film acting, and has coached business leaders on presentation skills performed medical role-play and critical conversations, as well as creating and facilitating roleplay sessions and playing senior roles. Learn more →

Sean Patrick Hopkins