Performers at the Festival

Below are some of the Impro Melbourne regulars who will be performing at the festival.

See also:

Lliam Amor

Lliam Amor is an actor, writer, improviser, comedian, illustrator and animator. Television appearances include: The Micallef Program, The 47th Annual Logie Awards, Neighbours, MDA, Blue Heelers, Welcher & Welcher and various commercials. A key member of the theatre group Impro Melbourne, he has performed and devised many shows for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival including such hits as Celebrity Theatresports™, Late Nite Impro, The Bingo Board Of Doom, The Impro Lounge and Raw Comedy. He co-wrote and performed in the hit play It's A Dad Thing and has written sketches for Big Bite and other theatre, radio and television projects.

Rik Brown

Rik Brown developed a love of Impro during his days studying at Rusden. After he graduated in 1996 he began performing with Impro Melbourne. He became part of the successful Theatresports™ team 'Calamity Wayne', who won several state titles and developed their own long-running improvised comedy show, The Bingo Board Of Doom, which celebrated its 100th show last October. Rik has performed throughout Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore and recently performed in Theatresports™ All-Stars and in Celebrity Theatresports™ during the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

Ross Daniels

Ross Daniels is an accomplished comic improviser, writer, actor and TV producer. His most recent stage appearances include It's A Dad Thing, Spontaneous Broadway, Control Freaks and Noises Off. On the big screen he has appeared in the feature films The Hard Word and Guru Wayne. Stingers, Blue Heelers and Something In The Air are among his various television guest roles. On radio he performed and wrote The Xfools, the popular series syndicated throughout the U.K., Europe and Asia. Ross hopes one day to stage-dive at Carols By Candlelight.

Russel Fletcher

Russell Fletcher is a veteran comic improvisor with Theatresports™, has appeared on Whose Line Is It Anyway? (UK 1993), performs with corporate entertainers Troupe Du Jour, and hosts Spontaneous Broadway.

Fletch has directed two Barry Award nominated shows for the Melbourne Comedy Festival: Interrogation (2000) with Alan Brough and Greg Fleet, and Scotty & Son (2004). Theatre highlights include: Cyrano De Bergerac (MTC), 12 Angry Men, Noises Off (Comedy Theatre 2003), Certified Male and The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged).

Solo shows: King Of Fools (Best Original Work, 1996 Melboune Fringe) and the South African tragicomedy Jump Ralph! Jump!!. Favourite TV appearances: Interfooty (writer and voice of Chips the Wombat), Lano & Woodley (Father Ricky), sn:tv (Performance Director & V/O, Nickelodeon/Burberry 2002-2003).

Jason Geary

Jason Geary has been involved with Impro Melbourne as performer, director and co-creator in many of the company’s productions for over ten years, including the sell out comedy festival shows, Late Nite Impro and Celebrity Theatresports™. Jason is a well-known identity in Australian comedy. Most recently he was part of the ensemble writing/performing team on the Ten Network/Roving Enterprises program, Skithouse (2004). He has also worked with Shaun Micallef in, Micallef Tonight (Nine Network 2003), Welcher & Welcher (2002 ABC), and three series of the Logie award winning Micallef Programme (1999-2001). He has also worked creatively with Lano & Woodley, and appeared on Singers (Nine Network) and Before The Game (Ten Network).

Chris Gregory

Chris Gregory is best known for his physical comedy performances in the corporate and circus/cabaret and improv field world-wide, as well as performing as his contemporary clown alter ego, Christof!! He has a solid background in conventional theatre, film and television. His compulsive spontaneity, physical skills and deliciously odd yet truthful characterisations contribute depth, richness and a hilarious "left field" element to his work. In 1977, Chris was a founding member of Australia's first Improv Street Theatre Company, Suitcase Theatre.

TV: Blue Heelers, Mission Impossible, Here's Humphrey. Guest Artist: Festival Mondial Du Cirque De Demain, Paris. Best comedy Act: Covent Garden, London. Best Comedy Act: Cardiff Summer Festival, Wales. Winner: Sydney International Street Performers' Festival.

Sarah Kinsella

Sarah trained at St Martins Theatre in Melbourne, where she performed in several productions, most notably in the Harold improv shows. Since then Sarah has lived in Europe for a year, worked for The Boston Consulting Group (Melbourne Office), sold The Sydney Olympic games village, been a ward clerk in a mental hospital and has recently worked as a publicist for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and is currently a qualified workplace trainer and assessor. Sarah has attended workshops and performed with pre-eminent improv companies: Unexpected Productions in Seattle, and with Keith Johnstone (creator of Theatresports™) at Bay Area Theatresports™ San Francisco.

Sarah is a prominent member of the Melbourne Theatresports™ Company, Impro Melbourne, and has had a busy couple of years performing, teaching and touring impro in Australia and Singapore. Sarah is available for kids' parties and bucks nights as her alter ego, INAPPROPRIATE WOMAN.

Jenny Lovell

Jenny Lovell has been performing on stage, screen and TV for over 20 years. TV includes Prisoner, Blue Heelers, MDA and Sensing Murder. Film work includes Picnic At Hanging Rock, Gallipoli and Darkness Falls. Jenny has been performing as an improvisor since 1987 in Sydney, Melbourne and international festivals in San Francisco and Edmonton, Canada. She has been part of the development of Theatresports™ in Sydney and Melbourne performing on stage and in corporate and school performances. She is also general manager of Impro Melbourne, Melbourne's professional improvisation company.

Karl McConell

Karl McConell is an experienced actor having worked in film, television and theatre, his first love however is impro. Karl fell into impro when asked to fill in for a team who were a man down—he hasn't looked back since. Karl has won Theatresports™ championships with his team 'Calamity Wayne', who developed the hit show The Bingo Board Of Doom, which is still running after five years. Karl performs with Impro Melbourne in their theatrical seasons and corporate/school shows—which he greatly enjoys. Karl enjoys Foosball and writing about himself in the third person.

Geoff Paine

Geoff Paine graduated from drama school in 1985 and went on to star in Neighbours, A Country Practice, The Comedy Company, The Man From Snowy River, Blue Heelers, Lano & Woodley, The Games and Pigs Breakfast.

He also did a stint on Pacific Drive, but didn't want to mention it.

He has appeared on stage in Hair, The Real Live Bradey Bunch, Jaws! The Musical, and The New Rocky Horror Show, and his film credits include The Craic and The Wogboy. His company writes and produces videos and events for various corporations, and he improvises whenever he forgets his lines.

Patti Stiles

Patti trained at the world renowned Loose Moose Theatre with impro guru Keith Johnstone. In demand internationally, she has performed improvisation across four continents. Improvisation credits include: Die Nasty, Theatresports™, Micetro™, Gorilla Theatre™, Spontaneous Broadway, Celebrity Theatresports™, Late Nite Impro and The Bingo Board of Doom.

Patti is the current Artistic Director of Impro Melbourne, past Artistic Director of two improvisation companies in Canada, a founding member of Die Nasty—the live improvised soap opera (4 time nominee, Canadian Comedy Awards), a three time nominee 'Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards for Theatre Excellence' and she holds the record for the first female improvisor to improvise 53 hours straight. TV credits include Neighbours (AUS), Stingers (AUS), Imagine That (CAN) and Wheel of Impro (CAN).

The Canadian Press has dubbed Patti 'The Queen of Improvisation'.

Geoff Wallis

Geoff Wallis is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts. He has appeared in productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Angel Fall, The Sun Also Sizzles, the musicals Scrooge, Blood Brothers and Sweet Charity and the improvised performances Completely Lost In Space, Jaws! The Musical, Murder To Die For, The Linda Blair Witch Project, Spontaneous Broadway and Theatresports™. On TV Geoff has appeared in Neighbours, Blue Heelers, Phoenix and The Adventures Of Lano And Woodley. He has directed productions of Happy End and his own play Dead Tragic.

Julia Zemiro

Julia Zemiro graduated from the VCA, and without further ado toured nationally with Actors at Work for the Bell Shakespeare Company for 2 years. During this time, she also became a regular panelist and debater for Good News Week. As a writer/performer on Totally Full Frontal, she played over 20 characters during 2 seasons. Through Tropfest, she has won Best Actress twice for The Extra and Muffled Love. She has appeared on stage in Macbeth (The Old Van), Spontaneous Broadway (Burberry Productions) and Eurobeat The Eurovision Musical (Melbourne International Comedy Festival). Julia has been improvising since 1986 in Sydney and Melbourne.

Currently she is the host of RocKwiz for SBS.