PLEASE NOTE: The Google Calendar does not include the links to join. Links to join the live sessions are EMAILED to all attendees. Please check your email for the link to join sessions.

Session Details/Descriptions (Alphabetized by Session Title)

Workshop - Authentic Relating Online

Presenter: Simo Routarinne

Description: This interactive workshop explores the connection between Authentic Relating (AR) and Applied Improvisation (AI) in virtual settings. Participants will engage in a series of practical exercises that blend AR’s focus on presence, honesty, and deep listening with AI’s emphasis on spontaneity, play, and adaptability. Together we will experience how these approaches intersect and where they offer something unique to online interaction. After the exercises, we’ll open a group discussion to reflect on the synergies, challenges, and possibilities of combining AR and AI online. What can these practices teach us about building trust in digital spaces? How can they help create meaningful dialogue, spark creativity, and support collaboration across distance? You’ll leave with both practical tools for facilitating online groups and fresh perspectives on the future of connection in virtual environments. No prior experience in AR or AI is required—just curiosity and a willingness to participate.

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Interactive Co-Creation - Campfire Chronicles: Co-Creating the Applied Improvisation Magazine

Presenter: Maarten Joosen

Description: Pull up a (virtual) log and gather ‘round the campfire! At CAMP IMPROV, we’re not just sharing stories — we’re making them. Join our interactive workshop and help shape the next issue of the Applied Improvisation Magazine. The AIM is by and for practitioners like you — and we’re gearing up for our Fall/Winter issue! We’ve streamlined our process so we are geared up to have quarterly issues. Join our short, lively online session where we’ll:

• Peek behind the curtain at how the magazine comes together
• Dream up fresh content and directions
• Play, discuss, and collaborate on what you want to see next 

This short, hands-on and collaborative session is your chance to co-create, inspire, and influence the magazine that reflects our global community of applied improvisers. Bring your ideas, your curiosity, and your “yes, and…” spirit — let’s shape something wonderful together!

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Workshop - Campfire Signals: Improv for Reading Behavior and Navigating Negotiation

Presenter: Christiana Frank

Description: Picture yourself at a campfire where every flicker and spark is a signal—just like in our daily conversations. Subtle shifts in tone, posture, and language often reveal more than words alone, yet we miss these cues or respond in ways that increase tension. This session invites participants to slow down, observe behavior as “trail signs,” and practice playful improv drills that turn hidden signals into pathways for connection.

Together, we’ll explore how applied improvisation creates a safe, interactive lab for testing strategies inspired by advanced negotiation and behavioral analysis. We’ll experiment with scenes that use only statements, swap “What” for “How” questions, and try role-plays where micro-aggressions are reframed into opportunities for deeper understanding. Rather than focusing on right answers, participants will notice what shifts when they change a single word, tone, or gesture.

You’ll learn a flexible framework for decoding, redirecting, and reframing conversations—tools that can be applied directly in classrooms, corporate teams, and community spaces. You will participate in hands-on activities, engage in meaningful reflection, and acquire adaptable practices for immediate application in your own environment. Like camp itself, this session is structured yet open-ended: a chance to experiment, grow, and connect around the fire.

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Facilitated discussion/panel - Climate, Nature & Improv - A Campfire Hangout

Presenter: Osbert Lancaster

Description: Do you believe that improv can help tackle the climate and nature crisis? Do you have experiences to share - whether from the board room or the frontline? Are you looking for inspiration, encouragement and support?

Join us to hang out around our virtual campfire for a relaxed, lightly facilitated sharing and discussion. We’ll explore what improv is especially well placed to bring to the climate and nature crisis, learn about what’s working and dare to imagine what else we might do.

There's a place around our campfire for every improviser who cares about what’s happening to the planet – whether you are already applying improv to this agenda, or are simply curious about the possibilities. 

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Workshop - Collective Brilliance: Playful Structures for Inclusive Collaboration

Presenter: Bernadeta Baktashian

Description: In times of complexity, we don’t need one brilliant idea from one person, we need the conditions where everyone’s brilliance can emerge. This session is a playful, interactive exploration of Collective Brilliance, a framework that blends improvisation, emergent strategy, and liberating structures to unlock creativity and collaboration.

Through games, reflective prompts, and simple but powerful Liberating Structures, participants will practice “yes-and” thinking, surface hidden resources, and design resilient ideas together. Participants will laugh, share, and connect, to experience how vulnerability fuels trust and trust fuels innovation.

You’ll walk away with new connections and ideas on building trust and vulnerability within the group through practical tools and a framework of emergent strategy.

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Workshop - Connection, Community, and (Virtual) Campfires: An Interactive Belonging Experience

Presenters: Angélica Rodríguez and Mike Perz

Description: Community and belonging are at the heart of the summer camp experience. At AIN’s Camp Improv, campers will gather on Zoom from around the world to create meaningful connections through shared stories, words, and experiences. Just like an in-person camp where people from different places come together, our virtual camp brings a mix of voices and perspectives into one shared space.

Finding connections and building friendships is what makes navigating a new social dynamic both exciting and meaningful. During this session, we will sit around virtual campfires (breakout rooms) and explore what community really is and how to build it, while reflecting on what community and belonging mean to each of us.

Along the way, we will share insights on the importance of belonging in today’s world and explore the role of community in addressing the current loneliness epidemic. By the end of the session, participants will leave with a stronger sense of connection, confidence, and courage to build a supportive community in their hometown, a shared vocabulary of community and belonging, and (metaphorical) friendship bracelets.

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Workshop - Creating Interest in AI Around the Corporate Campfire

Presenter: Steve Hughes

Description: One of the challenges we face as AI practitioners is explaining what we do to a variety of people. Especially to people who can hire us. Whether you're chilling at the corporate campfire or meeting new people, the problem is we often don't know the best way to describe the impact and benefits of what we do. Thus, we miss out on opportunities to help people unlock and uplift. This dynamic, content-rich, interactive workshop shows you new and exciting ways to get people to say, "Tell me more about applied improvisation." And when they do, you'll have permission to engage them more deeply and increase your opportunities to secure more work. These concepts are natural, repeatable, and effective. Best of all, you’ll walk away one happy camper with easy-to-use tools you can apply right away.

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Workshop - Deconstruct. Reimagine. Play.

Presenters: Carolina Rodriguez Baptista and Ines Alonso Garcia

Description: Experience familiar games in new ways.

What happens when we take a classic improv game apart? In this workshop, we’ll deconstruct familiar games to uncover their core objectives, then reimagine them in new contexts. By shifting order, focus, or framing, the same activity can spark collaboration, adaptability, or resilience. Through play, reflection, and discussion, we’ll explore how small changes create big possibilities — and how you can adapt improv games for your own practice.

Together, we’ll explore:

• How to uncover the core objective of a game.
• What changes when we reorder the sequence — placing a game at the start versus at the end of a session.
• How context shapes outcomes: education vs. team-building, online vs. in-person, high-energy vs. reflective settings.
• The impact of space, senses, and framing on the way a game unfolds.

By experimenting with deconstruction and reconstruction, participants will see how the same game can take on many different lives. You’ll leave with practical strategies to reimagine improv games for multiple outcomes, making your own practice more flexible, purposeful, and creative.

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Presentation/talk - Don't Forget the Chocolate: Advocacy for Black Improvisers in Predominantly White Improv Spaces

Presenter: Daniel Lattimore

Description: This 30-minute session is a crucial conversation about building truly inclusive improv communities. Drawing on original dissertation research, we’ll explore how humor functions as a vital coping mechanism, moderating the psychological impact of racial microaggressions and supporting work volition (career drive) among Black people.

For Black artists, creative play transcends entertainment—it is a powerful act of liberation. We will discuss how to shift from merely sharing in a world to creating intentional, affirming spaces. This includes sharing the journey of establishing the Black Thought Collective, an all-Black improv team focused on communal safety and authentic play. Join us to gain actionable insights on advocacy, allyship, and ensuring that joy and belonging are central to every improvisational space. 

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Workshop - Drawing in the Moment: Applying Improv Principles to Visual Thinking

Presenter: Daniel De Miguel

Description: A hands-on session where participants explore how core improv principles—acceptance, building, no error, and mindful repetition—can unlock spontaneous visual expression. Through guided drawing exercises, attendees will practice saying “yes” to their lines, expanding ideas through simple gestures, and discovering how small, deliberate marks can evolve into expressive drawings. Practical techniques will be shared to make sketches look more intentional and alive, regardless of skill level.

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Workshop - Facilitation Campfire Clinic

Presenter: Kat Koppett

Description: We will share stories of our stickiest challenges (ooh, scary!) facilitating applied improvisation. Then, together, like a brave band of explorers in the woods, discover how to diagnose and address those key issues. Informed by insights and tools from Kat's applied improvisational book, "Training to Imagine" and her book on facilitation skills, "The Facilitation Advantage" this session will tap into our collective experience and wisdom to expand our awareness and range of options as applied improv facilitators.

The focus will be determined by the needs of the group and may include:

• How to choose the most effective activities
• How to debrief in alignment with your goals
• How to establish trust with new clients
• When to change things up for yourself
• How to adapt to new, unfamiliar environments

Wherever you are in your practice, come warm yourself by the fire and expand your facilitation and design range! (BYOS- "Bring Your Own Smores) 

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Workshop - Fool Expression

Presenter: Christie Animas

Description: Fool Expression is an embodied improvisational journey into the art of being fully alive in the moment. Inspired by the archetype of the Fool—the one who steps into the unknown with curiosity and courage—this practice invites participants to let go of plans, drop into their bodies, and allow spontaneous expression to lead the way.

Through movement, voice, and emotional exploration, Fool Expression transforms improvisation into a tool for self-discovery. It’s not about performing or entertaining, but about listening deeply to what wants to emerge now. Participants engage in playful and intuitive experiments with sound, gesture, and presence, revealing the surprising, poetic, and raw dimensions of their inner world.

In this space, mistakes become treasures, vulnerability becomes creativity, and each impulse is honoured as part of the greater improvisation of life. Together we practice attunement—to ourselves, to others, and to the unfolding mystery between us.

Fool Expression bridges improvisation, embodiment, and inner work, inviting us to reclaim our spontaneous nature and trust the intelligence of the moment.

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Workshop - From Cringe to Connection: Warming Up Groups without Icebreakers

Presenter: Jan Keck

Description: You know that moment before a session starts: the nervous laughter, the crossed arms, the awkward silence? That’s the ice.

Most facilitators try to smash through it with “fun” games or quick icebreakers. But what if, instead, we melted it. Slowly, intentionally, and in a way that feels safe for everyone - even introverts?

In this interactive session, you’ll experience and explore "Ice Melters": The small, intentional actions that warm up the room, build psychological safety, and invite real connection. Drawing from improv principles and the Campfire Method, we’ll experiment with ways to help participants open up, even the quiet ones, and co-create a sense of belonging.

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Workshop - From Stuck to Shift (Experience STORI Improv Mapping) - Untangling stuck states through play, story, and movement.

Presenter: Alison Gitelson

Description: What gets in the way of us actioning on our intentions? How do we get stuck in dealing with challenges? Why and how do our clients get stuck?

We will explore our own patterns in dealing with challenges - gaining fresh perspective and finding ways to work through stuck states - using applied improvisation and STORI Improv Mapping (SIM). This immersive experience will introduce you to Moving Stories, a STORI Improv Map which you can use both for yourself, and with your clients. STORI Improv Mapping (SIM) is a structured approach that uses the STORI narrative framework in combination with ImprovSense to guide individuals or groups through a process of change. The STORI Improv Maps are the practical, movement exercises and protocols that we use.

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Performance - Hurry Up and Slow Down!

Presenter: Colin Skelton

Description: This session will invite participants to slow down and turn inward, to become curious about the internal landscape of imagination and how our bodies can creatively choose to respond to imagined stimulus in the form of imagery. Without directing movement and sensation, we will allow our bodies to become what we imagine. The work is slow, deliberate, and highly sensory, drawing on Japanese butoh theatre scripting techniques. We will first explore experientially and then reflect in conversation.

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Presentation/talk - Improv for Advocacy

Presenter: Lynn Dietrich

Description: Improv = Change!

We will explore the connection between improv tenets/skills and state-level advocacy by considering two workshops held for two groups of early childhood experts in Mississippi. Using improv games such as the Name Game, Passing the Clap, 1-2-3 Status, Roll the Dice, and Half Life, workshop attendees practiced making personal connections to build community,  navigating power dynamics to embrace their role as experts, and refining their messages to prepare for advocacy interactions with their state legislators.

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Workshop - Improv for Dating and Relationships

Presenter: Tiffany Crotty

Description: This workshop demonstrates how to apply basic improv principles to help people with their dating and relationship experiences. The goal of such application is to make dating easier and more fun as well as to strengthen existing romantic relationships. Key topics include:

• Being more spontaneous.
• Feeling more positive and confident.
• Listening better.
• Avoiding freezes when answering questions.

In addition, the session covers how to structure a dating and relationship workshop that is supportive, fun, and effective. Key topics include:


• Adapting existing AI games within the context of dating and relationships.
• Addressing the need of both singles and couples.
• Organizing a workshop that transitions from easier to challenging exercises.
• Managing time for optimal flow and content inclusion.

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Workshop - Improv in Business Education: Surprising Reactions and Ongoing Discoveries

Presenter: Hyunsun Kim-Hahm

Description: I am a business school professor, and this semester I introduced improvisation into my teaching for the first time. On the very first day, I set the tone by sharing the basic “rules of improv,” such as “no script” and “make your partner look good.” At first, I assumed students would find improv too challenging, but I soon discovered that when I gave them scenarios and clear roles, they found it easier than presenting theory. Performing in character reduced the burden of theory and allowed students to quickly experience concepts such as leadership, motivation, teamwork, and decision-making. I also collected short survey data: many students reported moving from initial anxiety to finding the activities fun and enjoyable. Most surprising of all, I found my own teaching satisfaction was higher on days when students fully engaged in improv and I could share in the magic and joy with them.

I want to share these experiences and discuss them together. 

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Workshop - Improv Negotiations for Anxious Students

Presenter: Brooke Oehme

Description: When using improv in the classroom, non-theatre students often begin at a place of high anxiety. "I can't do this!" "I'm not good at improv!" "I don't want to appear foolish".

The good news is, negotiation strategies are built into improv. In this workshop, we will learn and practice some common improv negotiations to help anxious students relax and engage with improv games that can help them in any number of classroom situations.

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Workshop - Improv Scenes for Everyday Chinese — No Chinese or Improv Experience Needed! (A beginner-friendly workshop combining culture, language tools, and playful improv scenes.)

Presenter: Xuan Zhao

Description: Dive into everyday Chinese culture through fun and accessible improv scene work - no prior Chinese language required! This workshop invites participants to step into common life situations, such as ordering at a restaurant or casual social greetings, where cultural expectations often differ from what English speakers might expect.

Through a combination of brief cultural context explanations, essential Chinese phrases and expressions, and guided improv practice, attendees will gain hands-on experience communicating across cultural boundaries. The focus is on learning by doing—playing with language and culture in a safe, supportive space - rather than on perfect grammar or vocabulary.

Whether you’re a beginner curious about Chinese culture, or simply looking for a fresh way to connect and communicate, this session offers practical tools, lively scene work, and lots of laughs. Get ready to improvise, explore cultural nuances, and build confidence to navigate real-life situations with ease!

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Workshop - Improv to Improve Your Communication

Presenter: Elaine Lung

Description: When you're not in control of everything, you need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You can use improv theater skills to develop your ability to deal with uncertainty.

Improv (short for improvisational theater) skills are known for making you funnier. Did you know that these skills can be applied in everyday life to make you more effective at communicating, team building, and networking? In this fun, interactive session you will learn and practice easy improv exercises which improve your listening skills, creative thinking and ability to be “in the moment”. No lines to memorize, just come ready to improve your communication skills and become more comfortable being uncomfortable.

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Facilitated discussion/panel - Improv Your Parenting

Presenter: Jeremy Strozer

Description: This will be a discussion of how improv is useful in parenting, caregiving, and any interaction with kids. I will ask a group of participants to sit on this panel to share their experience with how improv influenced their parenting/caregiving/kid interaction journey and what lessons may be gleened from improv to help become a better partner to the kids in our lives.

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Workshop - Improv-Infused Sports Teams

Presenter: Emily Todd

Description: Improv can do wonders for team spirit as it focuses on connection, trust and playfulness: all things sports teams need to thrive! Based on experience with sports teams, and working with individuals with disabilities, Emily Todd brings interactive exercises and games to enhance team morale. Explore how improvisation techniques can elevate teamwork and adaptability in sports teams.

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Presentation/talk - Improvising Wellness: Applied Improvisation as a Tool for Psychosocial Support and Peacebuilding in Nigerian IDP Camps — A Case Study of the Playing for Resilience Project

Presenter: Oluwadamilola Abdulai-Apotieri

Description: This presentation explores the transformative role of applied improvisation in psychosocial support and peacebuilding among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Nigeria’s Benue State. Centered on the Playing for Resilience project, the session shares a case study of how applied improvisational techniques have been adapted to address trauma, foster emotional healing, and build community leadership within IDP camps.

Through creative play, storytelling, and participatory drama, displaced women, adolescents, and children engage in safe, culturally grounded spaces that encourage emotional expression and resilience-building. The project empowers participants to become facilitators and advocates, promoting local ownership of healing processes and advocacy against gender-based violence.

Attendees will gain insights into the practical application of applied improvisation as a tool for psychosocial intervention in conflict-affected communities, with reflections on the challenges and successes of implementing trauma-informed, community-centered programs in resource-limited settings. This session offers valuable lessons for improvisers, facilitators, and social change practitioners seeking innovative approaches to applied theatre for healing and social transformation.

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Facilitated discussion/panel - Intergenerational Fireside Gathering: Improv Across Generations

Presenter: Zilu Wang

Description: Improvisation is inherently inclusive, playful, and full of possibility. In my own journey, I’ve shared classes with people of all ages and cultural backgrounds, and I’ve seen how the principles of improv—especially the practice of saying “yes, and”—can spark imagination, deepen connection, and bring joy into daily life.

This session invites participants to imagine how improv can be woven into community centers and intergenerational gatherings, fostering routines of listening, support, and creativity at home and beyond. Together, we will reflect on how improvisation can help us navigate everyday scenarios, conflicts, and dilemmas with more openness and playfulness.

Through a facilitated discussion, participants will share stories, ideas, and experiences of “playing together” across generations. Like gathering around a fireside, we will explore how to build, preserve, and carry forward the warmth, happiness, and connection that improv can create in our communities.

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Workshop - Intro to Improvised Shakespeare

Presenter: Rick Steadman

Description: Shakespeare is arguably the most important writer in the English language. As a style, it can also be wildly fun to improvise. Learn to play in the genre, not at the genre! No previous Shakespeare experience necessary. We’ll cover physical and vocal choices, language, emotional content, major tropes of the genre, and even a little (fun, easy to digest) history.

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Workshop - Living Stories

Presenter: Angelina Castellini

Description: Come warm yourself by the campfire with some storytelling. This workshop is for anyone who wishes to learn how stories live in everything we have and do, and how our narrative changes when we share our stories with each other. Especially if you believe that you haven't the slightest clue where to begin to tell a tale, this is a great place to start. And if you're a seasoned storyteller, you know there's always another path yet to be discovered, as there is no story that ends all stories. Throughout this session, you will be gently encouraged to follow your curiosity. Discover the narratives that live in your body, mind, the objects that surround you and your relationships. In the words of Nora Bateson: "How does your story change my story?"

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Workshop - More Playtime With The Potatoes: A Spudfest of Fun Games

Presenters: The Potatoes (Ilene Bergelson, Bobbi Block, Staci Block, Bruce Honig, April Jaffe, Marc Levine, Ellen Schnur, Tracy Shea-Porter, and Matt Weinstein)

Description: Some games work best in person, and others work best online. But some games work well in both environments! Come join the Potatoes to learn our favorite “hybrid” games that can be played both online and in person. Be prepared to have some serious fun!

This session is co-facilitated by The Potatoes, an ongoing AIN Mastermind group whose members include Matt Weinstein, Bruce Hoenig, Staci Block, April Jaffe, Ellen Schnur, Bobbi Block, Marc Levine, and Tracy Shea-Porter, Ilene Bergelson.

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Workshop - Permission to Be Too Much: What Clowning Teaches Us About Leading Bravely

Presenter: Panayiota Katsamentidou

Description: What if your inner clown held the key to courageous leadership? In this playful, interactive workshop, we’ll explore how clowning—yes, clowning!—can unlock powerful leadership capacities like vulnerability, presence, and resilience. Inspired by a transformative clown exercise involving complaining and sudden emotional shifts, participants will experiment with expression, receive peer feedback, and reflect on how holding back limits their leadership. No clowning experience required—just curiosity and a willingness to crack something open.

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Workshop - Playful Leadership: Sustaining Change through Authenticity and Engagement

Presenter: Jim Ansaldo

Description: Adaptive leadership is critical to sustaining team engagement in the hard work of change. Play-based facilitation methods create the safety and transparency necessary to address complex challenges. This experiential workshop supports educational and other leaders to chart the path in authentic and fun ways!

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Workshop/Presentation - Playing Detective: Improv Games for Investigating Intersections of Power, Gender, and Invisible Disability in Medical Care

Presenters: Gabrielle Sinclair Compton, Amy Baldwin, and Jennifer Marks

Description: In this interactive workshop, participants will use the tools of improvisation and the classic whodunit genre to investigate the characters, tropes, narratives, and power dynamics that shape the healthcare experience. Whether you've been a patient, provider, or caregiver, join us as we collaboratively investigate how narrative, character, and embodied games can shed light on the hidden assumptions and systemic challenges within the medical field. Along with this workshop, we will share our findings from The Malady Mysteries, a grant-funded, interdisciplinary performance-as-research project at UGA with students and faculty in the medical school and theatre department that began in fall 2024.

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Presentation/talk - Playing Doctor

Presenter: Kasey Davis

Description: In this presentation, I will share my journey to incorporate applied improvisational exercises into team training, resilience engineering, and patient safety curricula at Texas Children's Hospital. I will also share how I worked with medical school faculty at Baylor College of Medicine to design and implement an Advanced Communication Curriculum built into the first year courses. We will review challenges faced, lessons learned, and future opportunities.

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Presentation/talk - Reframing Value: My Journey Leading an Improv Company’s Digital Transformation

Presenter: Hsiao-Hsien Wu

Description: As both a mid-career creative and the founder of a 20-year-old improv company, I found myself at a turning point. Our art form hadn’t changed—but the world had. People learn, connect, and buy differently now. This session shares my personal journey of leading a digital transformation: reframing what we offer, how we work, and who we serve. It’s a story about redefining value in the digital age—and about designing a “second act” for both myself and the organization I’ve built.

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Workshop - S'More Laughs Around The Campfire 

Presenter: Mary Clare Coghlan

Description: Participants will learn the tenants of Improv, starting with Yes, and. This interactive experience  is about using about curiosity, listening and risk taking through play. We will go through  small games where participants can experience and apply the relationship of applied improv into teams.

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Workshop/talk - S’more Than Games: Improv as a Tool for Joy, Belonging & Growth

Presenters: Olivia Szczurko-Walton and Linsey Reardon

Description: At the SPAC School of the Arts (SOTA), our first goal is joy — creating playful, creative spaces where every participant can thrive. Improv, woven into our summer arts camp and evening programs for school-age students with Autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, has become a catalyst for laughter, curiosity, and connection. From that joy emerges powerful by-products: social-emotional growth, deeper belonging, and equity in participation. We see students expand communication, empathy, flexibility, and collaboration — outcomes often celebrated in therapeutic settings, though our context is firmly artistic, not clinical. In this session, participants will join an accessible improv warm-up, explore case studies of inclusive adaptations, and reflect on how SEL and belonging emerge naturally when joy leads the way. Through a co-creative design activity, attendees will leave with practical tools, facilitation strategies, and inspiration to bring s’more joy — and its many by-products — into their own communities.

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Workshop - "See You At The Lake!"

Presenter: Sunita Deshpande

Description: This session offers a fresh approach to the traditional mirror exercise by exploring it in a somatic excavational style. It is described as part silent retreat and part word association , focusing on reflecting on the profound simplicity of the mirror exercise.

What to Expect:

• Reimagining the Classic Mirror Exercise: You will explore a grounded-yet-surreal method to discover what moves you physically and emotionally.
• Focus on Micro-Reactions: The workshop will playfully explore how small "micro-reactions" (small ripples) can be scaled into "bigger reactions" (big waves).
• Key Takeaways: Participants will leave with a renewed understanding of mirroring as an emotional and relational tool , fresh techniques for group and partner improv work , and a personal movement or mantra discovered through playful silence and spontaneous word prompts.
• Who It's For: The method is ideal for educators, coaches, performers, and practitioners of applied improv.

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Workshop - Seize the NICHE!

Presenters: Vic Hogg and Paul Speirs

Description: Do you run your own business? Are you a solopreneur? If so, you may well find it hard to describe exactly what it is that you do. This means you're either confusing or even actively discouraging your future clients. They, in turn, will buy services from someone else. If this sounds familiar, don’t worry. It’s really common to struggle with actively naming your niche. As such, IMPROV Inc. have designed a session full of tailored exercises to help you create lasting and simple brand clarity. Your future clients will thank you!

This interactive workshop is for you if:

• You work for yourself
• You have multiple talents
• You can’t describe what you do in one short phrase
• You aren’t sure who you’re selling to
• You want to pivot / provide a new service

This workshop is NOT for you if you work for a bigger company or you are a happily established business with a steady income stream.

This session is interactive with lots of ideation and creative touchpoints. Please join with camera on and notebook in hand, and be prepared to participate fully and collaboratively.

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Workshop - Spolin Games Online - Viola Spolin Birthday Celebration

Presenter: Gary Schwartz

Description: Though most of Viola Spolin's games work better in person, there are quite a few that are adaptable to online workshops. We will explore games that work online and discuss games to use in person.

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Workshop - Stop playing around. Start Niching on LinkedIn

Presenter: Jessica Breitenfeld

Description: Blend a clown’s radical honesty with LinkedIn’s polished “professionalism” to sell more of your workshops. Participants role-play awkward LinkedIn situations (the brag post, the humblebrag, the network spammer) — and then flip them using clown principles (status play, failure celebration, authenticity) to design posts that feel authentic and naturally have a call to action to their ideal niche. Explore if ´play´ and ´fun´ and even the word ´impro´ should be in your sales pitch.

Outcome: Authentic participants leaves with a LinkedIn post draft they’d actually dare to publish, plus a sharper sense of how authenticity sells while using playfulness, vulnerability and authority. We design a post together using the 10 key points a post should have to be engaging. Use that post as a starting point for your elevator pitch too. Be inspired from a clown improviser who made it to be an LI influencer with 10 500 followers - with solid advice on growing a real audience who likes who you are and what you do. #confidence

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Workshop - Stuff and Nonsense

Presenter: Johanna L Smith

Description: Join professional puppeteer,  improvisor, and Entrepreneurship professor Johanna Smith for an exploration of all things improv and objects.

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Workshop - The Art of Receiving Feedback Without Shrinking, Fleeing or Exploding- An Applied Improv Approach

Presenter: Marc Levine

Description: This will be a life-changing experience.

“I have some feedback for you.”

“Can I tell you what I didn’t like about your behavior?”

“I have a suggestion.”

“Honey… can we talk?”

Or the most cryptic of them all: “Call me.”

Sound familiar? These phrases often trigger the same internal reaction as a fire alarm. Our shoulders tense, our hearts race, and our brains quietly scream, “What did I do wrong now?” Fight, flight, freeze, or shrink. And suddenly, we’re defending, deflecting, or disappearing.

But what if we could respond differently?

In this workshop, we’ll explore the radical idea that feedback is simply an offer, like the ones we as improvisers receive on stage. We don’t say no to those offers or we would ruin the scene and upset our partners. It may come awkwardly wrapped, but inside is a gift: insight into something we can’t see clearly on our own. A blind spot. A growth edge. A spark for transformation.

The key is learning to say “yes, and” to feedback. “Yes” doesn’t mean agreement; it means willingness to hear. “And” means we stay open, curious, and grounded enough to explore what’s next.

When we receive feedback this way, we not only grow, we create a safer space for others to be real with us. And when people feel safe enough to share the truth, teams get stronger, relationships deepen, and our own self-awareness expands.

This workshop is hands-on, real-time, and deeply human. You’ll learn by doing, reflecting, and noticing your own reactions. We’ll unpack old patterns, practice new responses, and build your capacity to stay open even when feedback stings.

If you want better relationships, more trust, and deeper impact, it starts here.

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Workshop - The Campfire Spotlight: ACT + Improv for Stage Fright

Presenter: Andrea Wodniok

Description: Everyone knows stage fright: whether it’s preparing for a first date or five minutes before a presentation. Even for experienced improvisers, nerves can show up in unexpected ways. This interactive session explores practical ways to use ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and applied improvisation to manage stage fright in everyday life. No prior performance experience is required. The focus is on practical strategies that help participants feel calmer, more present, and more confident in any situation that triggers stage fright.

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Workshop - The Facilitator’s Circle: Campfire Connections for Brave Space Holders

Presenter: Panayiota Katsamentidou

Description: Pull up a virtual log, grab your marshmallow, and join a supportive, lightly facilitated space designed to nourish facilitator-to-facilitator connection. The Facilitator’s Circle blends the best of networking and mastermind sharing, with presence-based prompts, breakout room reflections, and playful structure inspired by the spirit of CAMP IMPROV.

This isn’t about pitching yourself—it’s about showing up with curiosity, sharing what’s alive in your practice, and walking away with new insights, new relationships, and a little more spark for your facilitation fire.

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Workshop - Win The First Two Minutes

Presenter: Patrick Short

Description: Do you struggle connecting with different audiences? This session will give you real world action items to help you win over fearful or even belligerent participants. We'll present the 10 items and then have a discussion about what works, what doesn't, and often WHY. We'll even include a game or two to show our philosophy in action. Your facilitator has worked with a wide variety of corporate, government and non-profit/NGO clients and brings years of business experience to the table. Let's have more fun by connecting more easily.

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Workshop - Yes, And for Higher Education Brain Meld

Presenter: Sharon Peck

Description: The purpose of this yes, and for higher education, brain meld is an opportunity for improvisers to share methods that they have used in higher education. Based on ongoing research on using improvisation and play to teach freshman writing, Sharon will provide an overview of her work connecting playful learning and improvisation. Then we will do a brain meld! That is, we will share ideas and strategies from across our experiences. We will also brainstorm and discuss possible methods that we haven't used but really want to. Be prepared to share, to discuss, to think aloud and to play with ideas through a creative form. Bring your needlework, lanyards, new markers, foil or any materials that will support your creative play as we mind meld. This stemmed from rich discussions in the network over the summer, and work with Professors at Play.

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Workshop - Zarna Flarnitude

Presenter: Ruth Jenkins

Description: Gibberish is a powerful and underused improv performance tool, and it can also have applications in the Applied Improv world. Join Ruth, an AI practitioner and Speech Language Pathologist and have a blast bringing your gibberish level up. We'll also discuss applications outside of and adjacent to performance improv.

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Presenter Biographies (Alphabetized by last name) 

Presenter: Oluwadamilola Abdulai-Apotieri

Biography: Oluwadamilola Apotieri Abdulai is a pioneering applied improvisation practitioner, facilitator, and educator based in Nigeria. As one of West Africa’s leading voices in the field, he uses improvisational methods to support healing, resilience, and social transformation in communities affected by trauma, conflict, and systemic injustice. Through his organization, Access to Creative Play Foundation, Damilola designs and leads arts-based interventions that blend play, spontaneity, and participatory storytelling to address urgent social issues including gender-based violence, mental health, and youth empowerment. His work spans Africa, Europe, and the Americas, and he previously served on the board of the Applied Improvisation Network. 

 

Presenter: Christie Animas 

Biography: Christie, originally from Belgium is a playful human researcher fascinated by the wealth of experiences in the different parts inside of each one of us that she calls the ‘Inner Villages’. She is a community builder, a musician, a Therapist and Workshop Leader dedicated to the decolonizing of our bodies and psyches and to the creation of inclusive and regenerative cultures. She trained as a Voice Dialogue practitioner, in the Fooling practice with Franki Anderson and in Body Informed Leadership UK. She has a degree in Occupational Therapy and a specialization in child psychiatry, Brussels.  She is offering her group process called ‘Fool Expression’ in the UK and throughout Europe, which blends aspects of Fooling, Voice Dialogue, Focusing, IFS, Shadow work and Psychodrama. She has created and gathered an expanding, vibrant community of players in the South West of England, and collaborates with the Deep Play Institute, USA.  She also works one-to-one using the Voice Dialogue process and performs and improvises her own music using the Fool’s practice. 

 

Presenter: Jim Ansaldo 

Biography: For over 25 years, Jim Ansaldo, PhD, has supported educators and other helping professionals to create joy, community, and success. Speaking, training, and coaching solutions offer proven strategies that are based in research and the experiences of professionals working on the ground. Dr. Jim uses improv-based and experiential methods to keep participants engaged in the hard work of creating sustainable change. His work often brings helping professionals and stakeholders together to play, learn, and work side-by-side, increasing connection and trust, strengthening outcomes, and building a community focused on solutions. 

 

Presenter: Bernadeta Baktashian 

Biography: Bernie Baktashian (she/they) is a facilitator, improviser, and community builder who helps groups unlock their collective brilliance. Through workshops, retreats, and trainings, Bernie designs spaces where teams and communities can spark bold ideas, strengthen collaboration, and move from vision to action. With over a decade of experience in nonprofit leadership, strategy, and education, they specialize in blending applied improvisation, emergent strategy, and liberating structures. Bernie created Collective Brilliance Experience, a program served in partnership with leaders and organizations to build inclusive, creative, and resilient cultures. 

 

Presenter: Amy Baldwin 

Biography: Amy Baldwin is a professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences and the director of humanism in medicine at the University of Georgia School of Medicine. With a background in viral oncology, her research has focused on understanding and preventing cancers due to Human Papillomavirus (HPV). As a medical educator, her educational focus and interests include humanistic healthcare for all as well as healthcare equity. She is passionate about health professionals’ education, improving communication skills, and interdisciplinary work in order to improve healthcare. She is currently a member of the Medical Improv Collaborative and provides improv instruction for medical students, residents, and undergraduates. Amy is a member of the University of Georgia’s improv faculty learning community for continued skill development. She has enjoyed facilitating improv sessions over the years for professionals as well as learners at all stages, at various institutions, and during professional conferences. 

 

Presenter: Ilene Bergelson 

Biography: Ilene Bergelson is an international presenter, educator and executive coach inspired by the principles of Applied Improvisation. Through her company, EmpowerSpeak™, she integrates best practices from AI with those from her long career in the performing arts and coaching. A Magna Cum Laude graduate of NYU and Founder’s Day Scholar, Ilene draws on her advanced studies in theatrical arts, expression, physicality, biomechanics and the healing arts to create innovative, multimodal trainings and coaching experiences that fuse self-exploration and discovery with practical learning. She is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Council on Exercise, the CHEK Institute for Holistic Exercise Kinesiology and LeadTrue leadership coaching. As a performer on Broadway, in film and on television, Ilene has developed special communication and presence techniques, which she shares with her clients, so that they can actualize their full potential as impactful communicators. Her clients include Microsoft, the Royal Opera House of London, and local non-profits. She has written numerous articles, created the audio series, Light Bytes: The Communication Collection and contributed to professional development books on career, presence and mindfulness themes, as well as AIN’s AIM Magazine. In all her work, Ilene’s emphasis on utilizing inner awareness, a strong sense of connection to the self and a partnership-oriented approach supports her organization’s intention to elevate the level of effective and conscious communication in the world.

 

Presenter: Bobbi Block 

Biography: Bobbi Block is an experiential Facilitator and Coach specializing in Relationship Management, Presence, Collaboration/Team Dynamics, Leadership, Presentation and Creativity.  Bobbi is a Senior Facilitator with global Learning & Development firm The Ariel Group.  She is a Facilitator/Designer for the leadership program Work.Life.Leader, as well as Independent Faculty for The Wharton School’s Executive Education Institution.  She has been the Director of Applied Improvisation for CSZ Philadelphia for over 20 years.  Bobbi teaches and performs Improvisational Theater in Philadelphia and is an Adjunct Professor at Temple and Drexel Universities.  Bobbi founded and is the Producing Artistic Director of critically-acclaimed theater company, Tongue & Groove Spontaneous Theater. In addition, she co-founded and performs with ComedySportz Philadelphia. Bobbi has taught Improvisation at numerous theaters and colleges including The University of Otago in New Zealand,  and has taught her signature ‘Actors’ Improv’ workshop around the globe.  Bobbi double-majored at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving her Bachelor’s in English and Development through Creative Expression.  She received a Masters in Theatre from Villanova University, and trained with master improvisers at renowned theater centers in Chicago and NYC. Bobbi plays drums in the Afro-Brazilian percussion band Unidos da Filadelfia.

 

Presenter: Staci Block 

Biography: Staci Block, MSW, LCSW is the coordinator and creator of Reflections; a teen improvisational theatre program that addresses adolescent issues. This program runs out of the Bergen County Division of Family Guidance, Department of Human Services in New Jersey. She has had 35 years of experience in providing interactive educational theatre performances for a variety of audiences on many different social issues.

Staci wrote a chapter about Reflections in the following books:

1. Interactive & Improvisational Drama:  Varieties of Applied Theatre and Performance 2007 (Edited by) Adam Blatner, M.D. , with Daniel Wiener, Ph.D.
2. Days on the Lives of Social Workers – 62 Professionals Tell “Real Life” Stories from Social Work Practice - Fifth Edition 2019 (Edited by) Linda May Grobman)

Staci is an adjunct professor in the Sociology department at William Paterson University.  In addition, Staci is the director of Creative Interventions, a consulting business that provides interactive workshops on using applied improvisation in the work with clients and other kinds of groups. She also provides technical assistance in the development of interactive educational theatre programs for schools, peer leader groups, agencies and community groups. Staci is also an actress and a singer on the "side."

 

Presenter: Jessica Breitenfeld

Biography: Pop quiz: What happens when a volunteer clown, therapist, and Award-winning Motivational Humorist Speaker spends 5 years, 8 hours a day on Linkedin? Answer: She loses her soul- but- (here we can use that evil word ´but´) she learns how to be an influencer and engage international connections daily.  She was a professional athlete (so, she’s competitive on Linkedin) and she’s a therapist in Gestalt psychotherapy, ( so she’s always listening for the real message in the comment sections) and she’s an Adaptability Quotient trainer (she’s figured out how to sell improv without calling it improv).   Jessica ran the 2018 Official Marketing conference for AIN in Barcelona and has given 3 AIN talks and 7 workshops to the AIN over the last 9 years. She served previously on the AIN Board of Directors.

 

Presenter: Angelina Castellini 

Biography: Angelina Castellini explores how we as humans can relate improvisationally to ourselves, each other, and our environments. She has in the past been the AIN Administrator, Conference Organiser (2016 Oxford), and co-founder of the AIN Watch Parties. Since 2020, Angelina has been training in the Warm Data Lab processes with Nora Bateson. Her article "Enticing Scripts: Making Improvisation (Im)Possible" was published in the Warm Data Anthology by Unpsychology Magazine. As the founder of impro studio, Angelina offers improvisation training and creative coaching for people who work with people. Whatever happens, life is to be experienced and engaged with. This can be challenging. And fun! 

 

Presenter: Mary Clare Coghlan

Biography: My professional journey has many stops in different places (coaching, military, finance, higher ed) but the main theme is my enjoyment is how to help individuals be a better me in order to have a better we. 

 

Presenter: Tiffany Crotty 

Biography: Tiffany Anne Crotty is a 30 year improv veteran who has performed and taught with CSz/ComedySportz and other groups. She has facilitated and developed Applied Improvisation workshops for over 50 private and public organizations including Amazon, Apple, Intel, Kaiser, and many others. Tiffany has also create public workshops on using improv for dating, public speaking, and public speaking. 

 

Presenter: Kasey Davis 

Biography: Dr. Kasey Davis is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and works as a Pediatric Intensivist at Texas Children's Hospital. She is a clinician educator and expert in healthcare simulation, debriefing, and team training. She attended the first Alda Center for Communicating Science Medical Immersive conference: Connect to Care in 2018 and was hooked. She was awarded an educational grant in 2019 to partner with Chase Waites, MFA and Emmy (Frank) Levine, MFA to create an AI curriculum for healthcare professionals at Texas Children's Hospital. She has since presented applied improvisational workshops at numerous international simulation conferences, been invited to several institutions to give grand rounds, has published a guide for using AI as a healthcare simulation educator, and created an AI communication curriculum that is now a part of the first year studies at Baylor College of Medicine. She is the unofficial Medical Director of Improv and Gamification and also is a respected exper in medical escape rooms. She has taught well over a thousand learners and continues to find new opportunities to incorporate AI into existing or new educational offerings at both Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital.

 

Presenter: Daniel De Miguel

Biography: Daniel de Miguel is a computer engineer, writer, actor and an improviser with more than 10 years of experience who really likes to draw. Fascinated by this concept of applied improvisation, he created an Applied Improvisation learning journey that was an incredible success in Avila, Spain and Vancouver, Canada. 

 

Presenter: Sunita Deshpande

Biography: Sunita Deshpande is an actor, writer, and comedian best known for her role in Daredevil (2019). A former ad copywriter and UCB intern, Sunita’s career took off when Donald Glover encouraged her to appear on 30 Rock.

With 20 years of experience in improv, Sunita has taught and performed at some of the top comedy institutions, including UCB, Magnet Theatre, and Gyro NYC. She’s also an applied improv teacher at the Miami Ad School, where she helps ignite creativity in future ad professionals.

Her short film A Sari for Pallavi won Best Comedy Short at the Oscars-Qualifying Flickers Festival and placed at the Samuel French OOB Festival. It’s currently featured on Alaska Airlines. A regular performer in UCB's Gravid Water, Sunita is known for her ability to blend humor with raw, emotional moments.

When she's not on stage or behind the camera, Sunita’s love for quirky, smart comedies shines through in her favorite shows: Frasier, Extras, and The Detectorists. 

 

Presenter: Lynn Dietrich

Biography: Educator and improviser

 

Presenter: Christiana Frank 

Biography: Hello everyone, I’m Christiana Frank, founder of KidScape Productions (1999) and Christiana Frank Consulting (2017). I am high energy with a huge passion for what I do and specialize in applied improvisation for school districts, mental health facilities, and organizations of all sizes. I consult and facilitate trainings for entire districts, large and small companies, and one-to-one clients, while also modeling tools directly with students, staff, and participants to ensure practical application and lasting impact. I blend various frameworks, interpersonal and emotional intelligence, nervous-system regulation, and practical negotiation tools to help groups communicate and collaborate with authenticity. I design and facilitate sessions for large groups, small teams, and individuals of all ages and skill sets. I regularly partner with districts, businesses, mental health facilities, and community leaders to build sustainable practices that work under real-world constraints. Known for my playful yet practical style, I transform improv games into elegant frameworks—equal parts heart, clarity, and results. I look forward to having you join my interactive session and experiencing this work together. 

 

Presenter: Ines Alonso Garcia 

Biography: Ines is an experienced educator specializing in language teaching and learning support. Passionate about integrating Applied Improvisation to enrich language classroom dynamics and foster key language and life skills like spontaneity, presentation, and communication. Ines also trains educators, inspiring effective language teaching practices. Her work aims to empower both teachers and learners, creating engaging, multilingual learning environments. 

 

Presenter: Alison Gitelson 

Biography: Alison Gitelson of CanBeeDone is a maximizer, facilitator, and growth enabler with 40 years of experience across healthcare, ICT, engineering, education, government, and NGO sectors. Combining deep expertise in technical and management roles with a strong understanding of human behaviour, she helps courageous leaders and teams unlock human ability; and move towards a better and sustainable way of doing business in a complex world.  In 2013 Alison was introduced to STORI Improv Mapping (SIM) by its founder, Dr Petro Janse van Vuuren, and soon began integrating applied improvisation and SIM tools into her facilitated programmes. Since then, she has crafted uniquely powerful workshops and talks—consistently described as engaging, insightful, practical, and transformative—that equip participants to take meaningful action.   Alongside her facilitation, Alison also coaches and mentors others to become more effective facilitators and leaders, extending the impact of her work well beyond the workshop room. 

 

Presenter: Bruce Honig 

Biography: Bruce is great and we are missing his biography!

 

Presenter: Victoria Hogg 

Biography: Victoria Hogg is a confidence, creativity and collaboration coach using improv as her main modality. Vic works with a wide range of groups and is expert in creating an open and brave space in which to take risks. She is just as comfortable leading groups on Zoom as in the room. 

 

Presenter: Steve Hughes 

Biography: Steve Hughes is a sought-after speaker and consultant who helps people look and sound smart when they talk. He’s the author of "Captivate" and he has been featured on NPR, BBC Radio, CBS, and in Businessweek. He is the proud creator of “International Face Your Fears Day” which is celebrated annually on the second Tuesday in October. Today he works with a select list of blue-chip clients including Fortune 500 companies, national associations, leading universities, and non-profits. Steve holds a BA in French Literature from the University of Kansas and an MBA in Marketing from Washington University’s Olin School of Business, where he was awarded the prestigious Olin Cup. When he’s not speaking, he can be found attempting home improvement projects and training for the 500-mile Camino de Santiago in Spain. 

 

Presenter: April Jaffe

Biography: April is great and we are missing her biography!

 

Presenter: Ruth Jenkins 

Biography: Ruth Jenkins, CCC - MS, SLP, is the former co-owner and President of CSz Portland, where she still teaches and performs after 37 years. 

 

Presenter: Maarten Joosen

Biography: Maarten Joosen makes it his life purpose to make organizations work better, to touch people in their lives, so that organizations, people and the world become better, faster and more fun. He does this by deploying different disciplines to surprise people with different perspectives and cross-pollination. This will help to navigate and find solutions in this increasingly complex world. The connecting characteristic in all those roles is his focus on communication and exchange of ideas. 

 

Presenter: Panayiota Katsamentidou 

Biography: Panayiota Katsamentidou is the Founder of Y O T A – Your Own Transformation Academy and a seasoned Leadership Coach, Coaching Skills Facilitator, and Experiential Learning Strategist.   With over 20 years of experience in corporate learning and development across multicultural environments, she empowers trainers, educators, and learning leaders to integrate coaching, creativity, and emotional intelligence into their practice. Her facilitation style is trauma-informed, grounded, and deeply human—balancing structure with play and purpose.   Panayiota has worked internationally with Contact Center L&D trainers, leaders, BPO teams, and non-formal education programs, helping people reconnect with themselves and lead with authenticity and joy. 

 

Presenter: Jan Keck

Biography: Jan Keck is a trainer, facilitator and experience designer.  He is driven by a simple belief: real, deep connection beats small talk, every single time.   During the pandemic, Jan has taught thousands of trainers, facilitators and educators how to recreate the “magic” of in-person gatherings online  There’s nothing that breaks his heart more than witnessing individuals trapped in awkward icebreakers, feeling more isolated despite being in a group. This is why he is currently dedicating his time and energy into writing his first book “Ice Melters”, where he advocates to ditch traditional Ice Breakers and shares his framework to increase engagement, build trust and foster deep connections - without making people cringe. 

 

Presenter: Hyunsun Kim-Hahm 

Biography: I am an assistant professor of management, teaching organizational behavior classes. I want to introduce improvisation as a key leadership skill for my students. 

 

Presenter: Kat Koppett 

Biography: Kat Koppett  is the Eponymous Founder of Koppett. (www.koppett.com) a consultancy specializing in the use of improv and storytelling techniques to enhance individual and group performance. She is the author of Training to Imagine: Practical Improvisational Theatre Techniques to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork, Leadership and Learning, and has worked with diverse clients including Meta, Apple, Prezi, PwC, NASA, Global Giving, Havas Health, and many more large and small!  Kat is the co-director and a performing member of the Mopco Improv Theatre (www.mopco.org) and a founding member and former Vice-president of the Applied Improvisation Network. 

 

Presenter: Osbert Lancaster

Biography: Osbert Lancaster is a facilitator and consultant with three decades of helping leaders and managers of organisations large and small deliver change for people and nature. He led the development of the University of Edinburgh’s pioneering sustainability strategy, and co-created a UNESCO recognised leadership programme. His current focus is specialist facilitation for purpose-led organisations, and starting a long form improv team with other sustainability professionals.

 

Presenter: Daniel Lattimore 

Biography: Dr. Daniel Cruz Lattimore is a consultant specializing in organization development, interprofessional team-based care, and creating and sustaining diverse, equitable, and inclusive workspaces and communities. He holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Memphis and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Lattimore is passionate about helping individuals, groups, communities, and organizations thrive. When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, immersing himself in nature, and engaging in improvisational comedy at the Clifton Comedy Theater in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

 

Presenter: Marc Levine 

Biography: Marc Levine is the founder of Improv My Sales. For over 20 years Marc has impacted the bottom-line as a leadership coach, consultant, director of sales, and trainer. His clients include Citibank, Prudential, GlobeTax, Comcast Entertainment, and Best Buy. He receives raving reviews as a speaker at international industry conferences. For 7 years he was consulting manager at Retensa, an employee retention firm. For 6 years Marc was director of development for The Mulvaney Group, a niche training firm, which he led to record revenue and success. Marc teaches simple and powerful techniques that create results in areas including EQ, Innovation, Feedback, Communication, and Team Alignment. He builds on research-based best practices combined with the playfulness of Applied Improv principles. A financial services CEO said his work is nothing short of miraculous. 

 

Presenter: Elaine Lung 

Biography: Elaine Lung is a presentation skills expert, coach, and workshop facilitator who helps professionals communicate with confidence and authenticity. With nearly 20 years in engineering and IT, Elaine transitioned to a career as an independent business owner, applying her background in improvisational theater to enhance workplace communication and leadership. She has been an active Toastmaster since 1999, a member of the National Speakers Association for over a decade, and has delivered workshops on improvisation and speaking since 2009. Elaine brings warmth, clarity, and deep experience to every learning space she leads.

 

Presenter: Jennifer Marks 

Biography: Jennifer Marks has a Ph.D. in performance from UGA. Her dissertation analyzes nostalgia and American identity in interactive murder mysteries. She has an M.A. (English) and has published poetry and short prose. Her research and teaching explore intersections of performance, identity, medicine, and communication. She is currently faculty at the University of Georgia in a joint position between the College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Pharmacy. She trains simulated patients/clients in the health and life sciences and works to help students practice their communication and clinical skills. She also works directly with these students to develop communication skills alongside their professional identity formation by using acting tools such as improvisation. She is also a member of the faculty learning community Improvisation for teaching and learning Currently, she has combined her interests to co-develop a mystery through the Malady Mystery Project. 

 

Presenter: Brooke Oehme 

Biography: Brooke Oehme, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Speech and Communication who specializes in improvisation techniques for teachers. 

 

Presenter: Sharon Peck 

Biography: Educator, Play Advocate, Learner, Improviser 

 

Presenter: Mike Perz 

Biography: Mike Perz is a facilitator, computer programmer, collaborator, and lifelong learner. He used to try to gain love and acceptance by following the rules, until an InterPlay retreat opened a whole new world for him. There, he noticed that participants brought something different to their lives: they were letting their bodies guide them. InterPlay is all about following the wisdom of the body, and it includes song, dance, movement, poetry, extemporaneous storytelling, and so much more (hello, babbling!). Now a seasoned InterPlayer and facilitator, Mike leads InterPlay forms with the intention of creating a space where participants can have whatever experience their bodies want or need in the moment.

By day, Mike is a web programmer who has perfected the art of collaboration in a field usually known for solo work. His reliance on pair programming is his secret sauce, it's how he does his best work while drawing out creative thinking from his partners. In fact, his customer has even learned how to develop web applications just to keep up with Mike’s collaborative pace (or maybe it’s that Mike’s customer also secretly loves to collaborate?). 

 

Presenter: Linsey Reardon 

Biography: Linsey Reardon (she/her) is an educator and visual artist with a BS in Interdisciplinary Arts from SUNY Brockport and currently serves as Manager of Community Education Programs at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. She has extensive experience working with children, teens, and adults in both community and classroom settings, with a consistent focus on accessibility and inclusion. Drawing on her background in theatre, education, and visual art, Linsey centers arts integration in her practice, weaving disciplines together to create engaging, flexible learning experiences that meet the needs of a wide range of learners. She views the arts not only as creative outlets but also as powerful tools for fostering collaboration, communication, and belonging, ensuring that every participant can take part meaningfully in the creative process. 

 

Presenter: Angélica Rodríguez 

Biography: Angélica Rodríguez is a shamanic practitioner and practices curanderismo (Mexican folk healing). She helps clients overcome unhelpful patterns and navigate stress, anxiety, grief, trauma, limiting beliefs, and career & life decisions. A health scare in 2010 sparked her journey into natural healing modalities, beginning with a single medical qigong session that grew into a deep exploration of shamanism. She has completed Mary “Tyrtle” Rooker’s 300-hour Shamanic Practitioner’s Path course and Erika Buenaflor’s 2-year mentorship program, and has studied curanderismo techniques from Yucatec Maya, Zapotec, and Mexica traditions. Her work spans ancestral lineage healing, clearing energy blocks, addressing possessing spirits, unraveling curses and thoughtforms, and performing limpias (energetic cleansings), among other powerful practices. 

In addition to her healing work, Angélica serves as Membership Director of a national association, bridging tech and non-tech teams, managing multi-department projects, and leading interactive trainings that always include a playful attire or theme—like “I’m Blue!” (everyone wore blue) or Fall Harvest Festival (cozy sweaters and festive Zoom backgrounds). She designs these sessions by centering the attendee experience, because she believes people stay engaged and learn more deeply when learning is fun and immersive. 

 

Presenter: Carolina Rodriguez Baptista 

Biography: Carolina Rodriguez Baptista is a designer, educator, and improviser whose work explores how play and creative practices help adults navigate uncertainty and change. A graduate and lecturer at Central Saint Martins (UAL), she develops workshops that use improvisation, storytelling, and co-creation to spark curiosity, resilience, and collaboration.

 

Presenter: Simo Routarinne 

Biography: Simo Routarinne is a culture & interaction designer and applied improvisation coach – and the Founder & CEO of Proimpro Ltd. He helps people and organisations transform their behaviours and culture in a relatively short time, fostering adaptability, resilience and performance – in short, productivity.  An internationally recognised expert in strategic influencing, constructive interaction and appreciative coworking culture, Simo is a wise and humorous lecturer, facilitator, consultant, moderator and trainer. With 30 years of experience and a professional background in acting and improvisation, he brings an engaging and impactful presence to every setting.  Simo is a founding member of Stella Polaris, the first professional improvisation theatre in Finland (est. 1990), where he also developed their Applied Improvisation training curriculum for corporate clients. Since 2005, he has been an active member of the Applied Improvisation Network.  Passionate about lifelong learning, Simo draws on a rich mix of methods in his work – including positive psychology, facilitation, coaching, mindfulness, applied drama & improvisation, transactional analysis and live role-playing. 

 

Presenter: Ellen Schnur 

Biography: I use my 25 years in the business world,  a deep dive into Applied Improvisation and other learning modalities and research to create unique interactive and empowering sessions that have lasting impact.

Presenter: Gary Schwartz 

Biography: It was Gary’s 18-year association with world-renowned theater educator and author, Viola Spolin – – that has provided the foundation for his work today. ), and is the only master teacher to have ever earned an endorsement from both Viola Spolin and her son, the legendary original director of Second City, Paul Sills.

 

Presenter: Tracy Shea-Porter 

Biography: Tracy is the CEO, and Co-founder of Yes Unlimited. As an entrepreneur, facilitator, improviser, speaker, and writer, she designs and facilitates effective improv workshops and events, helping leaders and teams communicate better. Tracy works with leaders across North America to develop strategic experiential events that are based on research, business objectives, and key messages. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction from the University of Toronto, and is a member of AIN (the Applied Improvisation Network). Tracy is also a mentor with the University of Toronto’s Backpack to Briefcase and Next Steps programs. Recent clients include Accenture, HSBC Toastmasters, CAMH, Constellation Software/Perseus Group, Great Place to Work Canada, The Source, Whitby Chamber of Commerce and the University of Toronto.

 

Presenter: Patrick Short 

Biography: Patrick Short is currently the Education Director at CSz Portland (Oregon); formerly co-owner and GM of CSz Portland; former Executive Director of CSz Worldwide. Member of the AIN Board; steering committee for the Global Improvisation Initiative; Board Member for Access To Play (Nigeria). Patrick has led thousands of improv classes and has worked with over 800 organizations using Applied Improv. 

 

Presenter: Gabrielle Sinclair Compton 

Biography: Gabrielle Sinclair Compton is a playwright, deviser, and performance studies scholar. She graduated in May with her PhD in Theatre and Performances Studies from the University of Georgia, and previously earned her MFA in playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School. Gabrielle graduated from the long form improvisation programs at Annoyance in Chicago and iOWest in Los Angeles, where she also performed. Along with the Malady Mystery project, she co-leads [The Restoration] at Emory University, devising a brand new queer cabaret with students. She has been devising new ways to collectively make theatre and art since starting her company, The Storyhound Theatrical Detective Agency, in Greensboro, NC. Gabrielle lives in Decatur, GA. This workshop will be supported by Gabrielle's co-leaders in The Malady Mysteries, Dr. Amy Baldwin and Dr. Jennifer Marks. 

 

Presenter: Colin Skelton 

Biography: Colin Skelton – Theatre-maker, Facilitator & Physical Intelligence Coach  Colin Skelton is a theatre-maker and facilitator who integrates applied theatre techniques with physical intelligence practices to develop self-leadership and presence. With over 20 years of international experience, he has designed and led workshops that help leaders and teams deepen awareness, unlock creativity, and build resilience. His approach blends movement, improvisation, and reflection to reveal new ways of thinking and collaborating. Colin creates engaging, embodied learning spaces where participants can explore how physical practice supports leadership, communication, and adaptability in complex environments. 

 

Presenter: Johanna L Smith

Biography: Johanna Smith is a professor of Theatre Education at CSU-San Bernardino in Southern California. She teaches Improv as a foundational aspect of Entrepreneurship, Puppetry as an invaluable tool for educators, and directs award-winning Children's Theatre performances. She is the author of the award-winning text Puppetry in Theatre and Arts Education: Head, Hands, and Heart and is currently experimenting with performing objects in applied improv techniques.  She is devoted to helping everyone develop a creative, collaborative, and improvisational mindset. 

 

Presenter: Paul Speirs 

Biography: Paul Speirs is an expert transport and engineering strategist, award-winning speaker and one half of IMPROV Inc. 

 

Presenter: Rick Steadman 

Biography: Rick is the Owner and General Manager of CSz Portland and Portland Comedy Theater. He was the Artistic Director of CSz Seattle, the Education Director and Rec League Coach of CSz Los Angeles, and the Associate Artistic Director of (the once and hopefully future) CSz Spokane. Rick has been a professional actor, director, and coach for 30 years, working on stage, television, film, audiobooks, voiceover, and more. Isn't he fancy? 

 

Presenter: Jeremy Strozer 

Biography: Creator of Improv Your Parenting, Jeremy Strozer is focused on bringing PLAY into the parent-child relationship, helping heal generational trauma and build sustainable humans. 

 

Presenter: Olivia Szczurko-Walton 

Biography: Olivia Szczurko-Walton (she/her/they/them) works as an administrator and arts educator at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) School of the Arts (SOTA) in Saratoga Springs, NY. With over 20 years of experience in improvisational theatre, she lead several weekly improv classes for youth, teens, and adults as well as interdisciplinary puppet classes.  In 2024, Olivia helped develop SPAC SOTA’s All-Access program, which offers music, theatre, and dance classes designed for school-aged students with autism and intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities. She is passionate about adaptive and applied improvisational arts and is committed to making the power of the arts accessible to all.  Olivia holds a B.A. in English with a double minor in Business and Writing, Critical Reasoning, and Public Speaking from the University of Oregon. 

 

Presenter: Emily Todd 

Biography: I am a Recreation Therapist, and Certified Park and Recreation Professional for around 20 years. I studied improv at both Laugh out Loud Theater and Improv Olympics in Chicago, Illinois. I use improv games and techniques in working with people with disabilities and in training staff members. 

 

Presenter: Zilu Wang 

Biography: Zilu Wang (she/her) is an aspiring music therapist and lifelong improviser. A graduate of Berklee College of Music in Music Therapy (with minors in Psychology and Electronic Performance), she facilitates improvisational music experiences with older adults, children, and people with diverse developmental needs in both clinical and community settings. Passionate about making improvisation accessible across cultures and generations, she founded 整/Zheng (Let’s Improv!), a Chinese-English bilingual improv group, and 音/Yin (SOUND), a network for Chinese music therapy students and young professionals.

 

Presenter: Matt Weinstein

Biography: Matt Weinstein is an internationally recognized authority on the use of fun and play in team building. Matt is the founder and “Emperor” of Playfair, Inc., an international consulting firm based in Northern California that facilitates more than 400 community-building events each year. Matt was elected to the Professional Speaker’s Hall of Fame by the National Speaker’s Association, and was honored by Successful Meetings Magazine as one of the “21 Top Speakers for the 21st Century.” 

 

Presenter: Andrea Wodniok

Biography: Andrea Wodniok, 15+ years facilitating Applied Drama & Applied Improv workshops. Love to work with Hero Journeys and ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Training). Based in Galway, Ireland.

 

Presenter: Hsiao-Hsien Wu

Biography: Hsiao-Hsien Wu is the founder/artistic director of Guts Improv, the first theatre company in Taiwan that is dedicated to improvisational theatre since 2004. She teaches and produces improv and provides applied improv training as her profession for 18 years. She is the translator of Improv Wisdom (Patricia Ryan Madson) and the reviser of Impro (Keith Johnstone) in Traditional Chinese version. She is the Improv instructor in the Department of Filmmaking, Taipei National University of Arts, and the host of the Mandarin speaking podcast show called “Improvism.”

 

Presenter: Xuan Zhao 

Biography: Xuan Zhao holds a Master’s degree in Performing Arts Administration from NYU and has a background in Chinese language and cultural education. With experience teaching Chinese and designing culture-based language courses, she combines applied improvisation and storytelling to create engaging, learner-centered experiences. Her current work explores the innovative use of improv in Mandarin instruction for English speakers, with a focus on pronunciation, cultural context, and real-life communication. She is passionate about using play to break language barriers and foster meaningful human connection.

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(Last Edited: Tuesday, October 28th, 2025)