WORKSHOP INSTRUCTORS

RICH TALARICO

Rich Talarico is a Peabody® Award winning and four-time Emmy® nominated writer and producer best known for his work on Comedy Central’s Key & Peele where he wrote K&P favorites Substitute Teacher, Racist Zombies, Karim and Jahar, Hatz, Teaching Center, Obama Greets, Black Ice and many more. Rich worked 20 years in Hollywood where he wrote and produced on shows like MADtv, Review, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Rich also wrote for Saturday Night Live, Red Nose Day, Dick Clark’s New Years’ Rockin’ Eve, and Must See TV: A Tribute To Jim Burrows.  Rich is an alum of Chicago's legendary Second City Comedy Theater and a long-time teacher and performer at The Improv Olympic (iO) in Chicago and Los Angeles. As an actor, Rich has appeared in featured roles on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, MADtv, the feature film High Fidelity and numerous commercials including A&W Root Beer's classic ad, "Mr. Dumass.” Talarico’s extensive experience in the comedy industry has made him a highly sough-after writer and consultant, and he continues to define what it means to be funny. Originally from Frankfort, NY — Rich is currently based in Nashville, TN where he is performing stand-up comedy. —more at richtalarico.com

WEIRDASS

WeirDass is Stephnie Weir and Robert Dassie, a husband-and-wife duo who use their shared experiences to inspire scenes, duologues and random asides in their long-form improvisation. They have been improvising together for over 25 years performing in cities across the states, Canada and the U.K. Stephnie Weir is an alumni of the legendary Second City and was a cast member on MADtv from 2000-2006, and Bob Dassie worked with the Improv Olympic, toured with Second City, performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Baby Wants Candy (a fully improvised musical) and can be seen on HBO’s “Funny or Die Presents…” starring in “Carpet Bros.” along with Tim Meadows, David Spade and Will Farrell.

BOB Dassie

Bob began performing in Chicago at the Improv Olympic and touring with the Second City. He has performed and taught at the Improv Olympic (Chicago & LA), Upright Citizens Brigade (NY & LA) and across North America, the United Kingdom and Singapore. Over the years, he has been involved with several long-form groups including the improvised musical Baby Wants Candy, Trio, The Armando Show and alongside Stephnie Weir in the 2-person WeirDass. Until recently, he performed with Dasariski (with Craig Cackowski & Rich Talarico) and Quartet at the IOWest in Los Angeles and has appeared in the fully-improvised play, Stolen House, which premiered in Chicago and had a limited off-Broadway run in New York. Bob has appeared on various screen sizes in shows such as HBO's Funny or Die Presents: The Carpet Brothers, NBC's Community, Comedy Central’s Review, FX’s The Comedians, IFC’s The Spoils of Babylon, and in the film Casa de mi Padre. He has been a frequent guest on podcasts for Earwolf, and has also written for Adult Swim’s only satanic dog show Mr. Pickles, the reboot of the Bugs Bunny cartoon, Wabbit, and again with Ms. Weir, for the web series, WeirDass: Eleven Year Itch.

After a 20 year career in Hollywood, Derek has moved to the United Kingdom. And he has been busy! He recently appeared in the series “The Man Who Fell to Earth” - worked on Guy Richie’s “Wrath of Man” and appears weekly on Channel 4’s BAFTA nominated show, “Steph’s Packed Lunch.” AND the feature he wrote, "Monsternado" will be released on Amazon this fall!

In Hollywood,  Derek appeared on shows like Scrubs, Superstore, The Goldbergs, Drunk History and Transformers 3. He headlined the shows Wedding Band on TBS and Secret Girlfriend on Comedy Central.  He wrote for the Nickelodeon animated series “It’s Pony.," served as a consulting writer on three series and acted as a writer/performer for NBC’s prime-time sketch show. Along with appearing in over one hundred commercials, Derek moved behind the camera and cut his teeth directing casting sessions for thousands of spots and became an on-set consultant for A-list directors. He segued into directing branded content and animated series. Derek has taught, directed and coached thousands of actors - all using improvisation as a baseline - he taught at IOWest and Second City and is currently on the faculty at the MOB theatre in Dublin and teaches acting at Yorkshire Academy for Film and TV Acting, Act4TV,  and runs bespoke workshops all over the UK and Europe!

SHULIE COWEN teaches improv to kids, senior citizens, and everyone in between.  She previously spent 12 years teaching at The Second City Hollywood and iO West, and now travels the USA and the world teaching acting and improv at festivals and schools. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, a former member of The Second City National Touring Company, and an original cast member of Schoolhouse Rock Live!.  Shulie studied improv in Chicago at The Second City Training Center, The Annoyance Theatre, and at iO with Del Close.  She currently directs and performs in Opening Night: The Improvised Musical!® and with the improv team EST.  Film and television credits include Mr. Mayor, 2 Broke Girls, Liza on Demand, and How I Met Your Mother.

"If innovation and adaptability are the soul of improv, there are possibly no better personifications of it than Kelly Buttermore and Justin Peters." - The Improv Network

Kelly Buttermore and Justin Peters are two of America’s top independent improvisers. Veterans of the New York improv scene, for the past decade they have spent most of their time on tour, performing and teaching as their duo From Justin to Kelly at theaters and festivals across the country and around the world. Their signature form is the Walter, a minimalistic monoscene that emphasizes silence, eye contact, and total commitment to the moment. Off stage, they promote a DIY ethos that encourages improvisers to find their own voices and own their own work. Based in New York City, they also spend a lot of time in Florida, where they produce the annual Countdown Improv Festival and are partners in The Commodore, a new comedy theater in Tampa. They probably have shirts for sale in the lobby.