Improv 101
Rec League

Alex is a passionate educator who has been with Seattle Comedy Theater since 2016. As an instructor, he’s taught Seattle Comedy Theater ‘s 101 classes, CSz Rec League, Improv for Gamers workshops, Eat Seattle’s mixology and cooking classes, and ran University of Arizona’s Computer Science undergrad teaching assistant program. Beyond Seattle Comedy Theater, Alex leads the developer education program for Microsoft’s Office Platform and makes player-focused tabletop games under the publishing company Cherry Picked Games.

Improv 101
Summer Camps Ages 6-8

Hope Koon has a huge passion for play and believes deeply in its power to help all humans grow with confidence and joy. She has spent over ten years teaching preschool and has found the power of play not only in her work with young children but also through her love of improv. Hope performs regularly at Seattle Comedy Theater and, in recent years, launched her own small business running an afternoon drama program in the Seattle area. She loves being silly, thrives in classroom chaos and can’t wait to adventure with a new group of campers.

Improv 101
Loop Coach

Phoebe has been performing with Seattle Comedy Theater since 2012. Her love of theater started young and she discovered improv in college while attending Evergreen State College. Phoebe began teaching improv in 2017 and finds so much joy in spreading the positive lessons of creativity, team building, active listening and trust. Phoebe teaches the 101 at Seattle Comedy Theater.

Improv 201

Chloe joined the Seattle Comedy Theater cast in 2021. Her New Year's resolution in 2019 was to take an improv class, and she has been hooked ever since. Chloe loves the community, creativity, and joy that improv fosters. Outside of Seattle Comedy Theater, she has taught undergraduate biology and chemistry courses.

Improv 201
Improv for Anxiety

Danielle has been on the Seattle Comedy Theater Cast since 2017. She teaches the Improv 201 and Improv for Anxiety classes at Seattle Comedy Theater. She co-produced Dubious Advice for three years, has represented Seattle Comedy Theater in four Worldwide Championships and facilitates Improv & Anxiety Workshops for Improvisers. Danielle does it all -  perform, teach, referee, host, run the tech booth, photograph and bartend at Seattle Comedy Theater.  

Improv 301

Ian has been involved with Seattle Comedy Theater since 2016. He's been teaching the Improv 301 course since 2022. He has been known to sing, rap, do accents and beatbox. Sometimes all-at-once. Ian also helps coordinate events and facilitate logistics within the theater as Facility Manager.

Intro and Advanced Armando

Daniel Kinamon is a performer and instructor at CSz Seattle. He has been part of Seattle’s improv and sketch comedy scene since 2014 and joined the CSz mainstage cast in 2017. Over the years, he has performed and produced numerous indie and CSz-based sketch and improv shows. When he’s not teaching or performing, he enjoys building things, playing tabletop RPGs, and finding new and exciting places to hide CSz Seattle’s creepy ventriloquist dummy.

Unstructured Long Form

Drew Simchik started his improv career with CSz San Jose in 2002 and was traded to CSz Seattle in 2017. Over the years he's performed in a wide variety of short-form and long-form improv shows, from Armando-style montages like Full Disclosure and Dubious Advice to narrative long-form shows like Vision Euro and Much Improv About Nothing. He currently directs long-form shows B-Rated! and Tales of the Weird. Drew has taught scenework, long-form skills, and genre at CSz San Jose, CSz Seattle, and the ComedySportz World Championship. He co-developed and teaches the Unstructured Long Form course at CSz Seattle.Description goes here

The Harold

Mark is a performer, coach, and teacher at CSz Seattle. He tried his first improv class back in 2016 and never looked back. Since then, Mark has performed in more shows than he can count, as well as coached and directed dozens of improvisers. He describes his improv style as "whimsical and highly caffeinated".

Summer Camps Ages 6-8

Josh Padilla is a teaching artist and educator in Seattle who specializes in improv, imaginative play, and the musicality of performance. He has worked with students for over a decade in various theatres and schools in the Seattle area. Josh received his BA in theatre arts from New Mexico State University where he caught the teaching bug at the Mesilla Valley Children’s theatre, and he hasn’t looked back since. When not teaching, you can catch Josh performing around Seattle.

Improv 201
Improv 301
Musical Improv 101
Rec League
Teen Summer Camps

Erika is the Artistic Director at Seattle Comedy Theater. She holds an M.A. in Education and has over a decade of experience teaching improv in Vermont and Washington and over two decades of experience performing improv in California, Vermont and Washington. Improv team building experiences she's led with Seattle Comedy Theater include clients such as the Washington Department of Services for The Blind, Amazon, X-Box, Google, and Microsoft. She's been coaching Rec League for four years and previously taught the 201 and 301.

The Loop Head Coach

Mary (she/her) Mary is Head Coach for the Loop at CSz Seattle. She has a decade of performing improv comedy in Portland, OR, London, UK, Pittsburgh, PA, and currently in Seattle, WA. She has appeared at comedy festivals in Richmond, VA, Edinburgh, UK, and Pittsburgh, PA. In addition to her performance experience, Mary has taught improv comedy at various improv theaters and has been on the Faculty at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama and Point Park University Conservatory of Performing Arts. 

Improv 101
Armando
Teen Summer Camps

Ben has been teaching and performing improv since 1998. He teaches the 101 and Armando, as well as Teen Summer Camps. He has a particular love for working with teens for their exuberance and sense of humor. He founded and has been coaching the Garfield High School improv club since 2012. Go Bulldogs!