Ensemble.
12 International improvisers from all over Europe
Andrew Hefler
Hungary / USA
Andrew is a performer, director, trainer working in theatre, music, film and television for nearly thirty years. He was first introduced to Improvisational theatre at the age of 10 in grade school in Los Angeles. Since then he has worked with theatre groups in the US, Canada, Europe and since 1994 in his homebase of Budapest. He was a founding member of the experimental impro trio Scalabouche and later founded Grund Theatre in 2008 developing a company and training methods for actors and shows for performance. Andrew has taught actors, screenwriters and directors as well as at other faculties at Bauhaus University, Budapest University of Theatre and Cinematic Arts and currently at CEU.
Billy Kissa
Belgium / Greece
Billy Kissa is an actress , improviser, coach and director from Greece won over by Improv Theatre, based in Brussels, Belgium. At a very early age she realised two things about herself. She wants to have a lot of pets and the only job that can make her happy is acting. She can proudly say that she managed to do both! Her main interest and passion is creating intense complicated characters and telling stories. And cats. And dogs. And donkeys. And capybaras. Let’s say, if there’s an animal around, there’s a big chance Billy is somewhere close. She is proud to call herself a cat whisperer, so if you want to talk to her, there is no better choice for a conversation starter than asking for advice for a cat related issue!
Celine Camara
Luxembourg
Celine is a French actress, improviser, improv coach based in Luxembourg. She was born in the suburbs of Paris where she trained as a ballet and modern jazz dancer. After studying Law in France and in the UK, she moved to Luxembourg in 2012 where she started her office career as a jurist in academia. After a beneficial existential crisis, she quit her legal career in 2018 and turned completely towards acting and coaching. Trained at iO theater (Chicago) Celine performs and teaches improv in France, Belgium and Luxembourg. She has been a guest in several international festivals such as Subito (Brest-France), La Semaine de l’Impro (Nancy-France), IFO (Bielefeld), Momenta (Leipzig).
Gael Doorneweerd-Perry
Netherlands / France
Gael has practiced improv for 15 years in Strasbourg and then Amsterdam. He is co-founder of Flock Theatre, Anananas & Pampamplemousse (formerly La Carpe Haute), as well as the SIN, an international network of European improvisers. He is also the Artistic Director of IMPRO Amsterdam, and the co-Artistic Director of Improfestival Karlsruhe. In short: he creates a bunch of stuff!
He loves to teach abroad and to create new shows to explore and share his passion, including with his partner on and off-stage, Laura Doorneweerd-Perry. After touring the world with their show Object of Affection, he settled in Amsterdam and they created Flock Theatre together: a school and a professional company, to produce theatrical improvised shows and invite other artists to collaborate.
While traveling, Gael found a thousand ways to improvise. These result in his unique style: both physical and noisy, kind and silly, full of emotions and slightly crazy.
Katy Schutte
United Kingdom
Katy Schutte has performed and taught improvisation in twenty-something countries across five continents. She is a Head Teacher at Hoopla, the UK’s biggest improv school. Katy authored The Improviser's Way: A Longform Workbook, published by Nick Hern Books. She was an artist in residence for The Arctic Circle Project in 2022 and is writing a cosmic horror play for a three-week run at Omnibus Theatre in 2024. Katy won eight awards in 2022 for her screenplay Coming of (Middle) Age and web series pilot Sideliners.
Katy makes her own work including award-winning storytelling/stand-up show Schutte the Unromantic and acclaimed semi-immersive folk horror play Let's Summon Demons. She is a contributing writer for Cards Against Humanity, was resident singer/songwriter on Sean and Robot’s Comedy Circuit podcast and co-creator/improviser for Dead British on Union Jack Radio. She is a writer, improv director and performer with XR creative studio FANDCO.
Laura Doorneweerd-Perry
Netherlands
When Laura is not traveling the world, she can be found cycling the Amsterdam canals between her jobs as a trainer, performer, entrepreneur, and cat mom. She is the co-founder of theatre school Flock Theatre (with her improvising husband Gael) and director of improv formats like Ghost of Love, The Ferocious Four and The Matrix. With her 20 years of teaching experience, Laura also teaches improvisers in improv teaching.
Liam Webber
Australia / United Kingdom
Liam is a British improviser and theatre-maker currently based in Sydney, Australia known for his joyful and mischievous style of play. Liam has performed all over the world from New York to Copenhagen to Wellington and beyond, is co-founder and director of the Robin Hood International Improv Festival in Nottingham, and in 2023 was festival director of the ITS Comedy Festival in Sydney. As an improviser he has been influenced by a wide variety of schools of thought from Chicago-style improvisers to Gaulier clowns. In 2022, he was a cast member on UK radio show Dead British – an improvised history comedy show, and his masked theatre show CRONE (★★★★ – Everything Theatre) got him shortlisted for the BBC New Comedy Award. On stage and in the classroom, Liam prioritises joy, connection, and creating just the right amount of chaos.
“Extraordinary Performer… Excitingly Peculiar” - The Scotsman
Lukas Erlinghagen
Germany
Lukas has been Improtheater Karlsruhe's technician since the beginning. After starting out on stage during elementary school, he later found his calling running sound and lights for theatre, live music and other events. An engineer by trade, Lukas likes to delve into and expand the spaces created on stage by light and sound. And if you want to bring special FX or additional instruments into your show - he's up for that, too.
Manuel Speck
Germany
Listen, feel and react - those are the things Manuel is interested right now in Impro.
He has been improvising, teaching and performing for over 13 years now and is still excited to learn and develop.
As artistic director of the Improtheater Karlsruhe and the Improfestival Karlsruhe he loves to explore the range of what Improtheater can and cannot do and is amazed of all the different styles and techniques the international guests bring each year.
Currently he enjoys producing and directing in impro to help others to be on stage.
AND HE LOVES RACCOONS!
Markus Wisth Edvardsen
Norway
Markus Wisth Edvardsen is multiinstrumentalist musician from Norway, specialized in improvising music for improvised theatre. He has been an active part of the Trondheim impro scene as well as playing international festivals like Trondheim International Impro Festival, IMPRO Amsterdam and Improfestival Karlsruhe. He is part of the groups TRE TING and Improoperatørene.
Ursula Anna Baumgartner
Austria
Born in Austria, Ursula trained professionally as an actress and a musical performer. After landing a series of roles in major musicals all over Germany (including Mamma Mia!, Hair, Aida, West Side Story, Buddy Holly), she moved back to her home country, where she is now an active member of the theatre and improv scene. Ursula founded the ensemble „Salon Spontan“ to bring fully improvised musicals to the stage; she also explores physical improv alongside her duo partner Anne Rab as „Bemme & Melange“; as well as vying for Vienna's ugliest Theatresports trophy as one of the TAG theatre's improv „All-Stars.“When Ursula isn't making things up as she goes along, she might be found in a studio working as a voice actress, or on tour with her duo „Baumgärtner“, which explores the parallels between humans and trees via original songs and scenes.
Vera Chok
United Kingdom
Vera Chok (they/she) is an actor, writer, improviser and performance maker based in London.
As an improviser, Vera's key influences have been Andrew Morrish, David Shore, Chris Mead, and Katy Schutte. As an actor, Vera trained at The Poor School and Ecole Philippe Gaulier. They have multiple National Theatre and West End credits and recently appeared at Shakespeare's Globe. They also devised and toured a show with Lee Simpson and Improbable.
