Join Our Staff

Want to be our next Administrative Assistant?
We’re looking for a part-time, hybrid Administrative Assistant to join the Mockingbird team! If you're organized, communicative, and love supporting creative work, apply now.
💼 $16.50/hr | ⏰ 13–15 hrs/week | 🎭 Perks include free shows, class discounts & nonprofit experience!

Our People

Every member of our team brings a unique and inspired quality to our theater.

From performers to staff to board members, everyone at Mockingbird Improv is experienced in their fields and committed to quality. Often friends outside of “work” they are very supportive of each other (just like an improv team?) Not only are they talented, but they are all having so much fun, it’s impossible not to enjoy watching them do their thing.

Instructors

**Jackie** (she/her) first fell in love with improv in 2006 as a creative outlet and a embracing community. She studied improv and theater in college and has immersed herself in a wide range of improv styles from short form to highly experimental two-hour improvised plays. She returned to San Diego in 2014 where she began both performing and organizing in the improv community. She helped innovate a community engagement event called The Lab with Sidestage Improv and later founded a youth program with Old Town Improv Co. (OTIC). She worked as OTIC’s Program Manager for several years before the pandemic saw the permanent close of the theater. Refusing to let the laughter die out she reassembled the team and founded Mockingbird Improv where she continues to pursue her passion for helping people unleash creative flow and build joy and connection in the community.

Jackie Bookstein

**Chris** has been studying improv since 2001. He’s been blessed to have learned the art form from teachers at San Diego TheatreSports(SDTS), National Comedy Theater, Finest City Improv, Sidestage Improv, BATs, and Mockingbird Improv. After many years performing with SDTS, he was the founding member of Husky Improv, the sexiest improv team in San Diego, Up Yours!, puppet improv, and a collection of other indie groups. Chris has also enjoyed teaching improv classes at SDTS, The La Jolla Comedy Store and The Comedy Palace in San Diego. Chris admires the work of Peter Gabriel, Marina Abramovic, and Fred Rogers. He and his amazing wife Unison have two amazing kids Zion and Zachary.

Chris “Jazz” Colthurst

Sean has performed with and coached a number of improv teams in New York City theaters including Broadway Comedy Club, PIT, Magnet, and UCB. His directing credits include the feature film ACT SOCIAL starring Colin Mochrie (Winner-Film Heals Award-Manhattan Film Festival) and VELO, a solo clown show. Sean relocated to San Diego in early 2023 and is excited to bring his honest and encouraging teaching style to the local improv community.

Sean Mulvihill

**Whitney** has been performing and actively learning improv since 2016. She studied at Finest City Improv and completed there conservatory program in 2018. Since then she’s taken loads of workshops with talented improvisers from all over the world. Shes performed in All Hands On Deck (2017-2023) and Point of Passion (2017-2019, 2022) a long form improvised soap opera). Presently you can also catch her in her Australian improv Duo, Hacky Sacks and Khaki Slacks, and soon in the new show Mockingbird show Adrift! She firmly believes the world would be a better place if everyone in the world took at least one improv class! Whitney loves that improv allows her to be who or whatever she wants on stage and allows her to feel supported in those choices!

Whitney Seymour

**Jenn** is an enthusiastic improviser who thrives on the magic of the stage. Having a flair for the dramatic she found her skills well suited in sales and marketing. With over ten years of experience she used her talents to bring innovative marketing strategies to life. Working with a plethora of different types of companies and clients has given her the life experiences to diversify her tactics. Thinking outside of the box, while maintaining a high level of communication builds a great scene and a great team!

Jenn Wessels

**Michael** is an improv performer and instructor with nearly a decade of experience. He performs on *All Hands on Deck*, *Improv vs Stand-Up*, and *Lyrics and Laughs*—the house teams at Mockingbird, where he’s been since the venue opened. He’s trained with teacher/directors from Chicago’s legendary Second City and has had the pleasure of performing alongside improv greats like Ryan Gaul and Dave Razowsky. Outside of improv, Michael plays keys and sings in his band, and he brings that same energy, rhythm, and deep sense of play to every class he teaches.

Michael Yiu

**Adam** has been improvising since before the turn of the century, when his days performing in musicals and plays were supplanted by his love of getting on stage without a net (and helping hundreds of others do the same). He has studied with, taught at, and/or performed with many troupes in New York, Chicago, and of course, San Diego. He spent 7 years on the faculty of Chicago’s Second City Training Center teaching both comedy writing and improv before coming to San Diego.

Adam Raichel

**Keith** has been performing improv and comedy since 2007. In that time he has studied and performed with some of the best improvisers all across the country, taking nuggets of wisdom wherever he can and dipping them into the BBQ sauce of knowledge. He won a comedy award once (it was a long time ago) and he has even written for TV (local TV still counts!). Keith is also very uncomfortable referring to himself in the third person.

Keith Foster

**Olivia** has been practicing and living improv for over a decade. She has performed on teams at the National Comedy Theatre, Finest City, and an embarassing amount of college and high school improv. The freedom to explore and the ability to connect with others is what draws Olivia to this artform. Using comedy as a way to build confidence and improve teamwork skills, she brings a unique teaching style to Mockingbird Improv. Olivia performs weekly at Mockingbird with Rat City, All Hands on Deck, and Friday Night Flix!

Olivia Heifetz

**Josh (**he/him) is a graduate of the training programs at Finest City Improv, National Comedy Theatre and the Magnet Theater (NYC). He is known for his energetic and supportive play. His classes are focused on creating a fun, and safe space where all of his students get the repetitions and support they need.

Josh Rowland

Trevor has been in a relationship with improv and sketch since 2008. He has trained and performed in Los Angeles at the Westside Comedy Theater, Groundlings, Second City, UCB, iO West, and The Improv Space. Trevor also completed the sketch programs at Groundlings and UCB, which gave him the tools to develop pilots for A&E and Comedy Central. Trevor has toured the country performing improv and sketch for colleges and corporations with the award-winning short form troupe – Mission Improvable. He has also taught and coached at The Improv Space, iO West, Westside Comedy Theater, RISE Comedy (Denver), and Finest City Improv where he performs with Deep Dish while also producing Spiked Punch.

Trevor Tevel

**Irene** started doing improv in High School and fell back in love with it in 2018. She is on several house teams and indie teams in San Diego, and she was in the 2024 Fringe Festival with her sketch team Okay Sketch. She is a full time artist, part time bookseller, and would love to chat with you about any kind of art anytime. Need a book recommendation? Please ask her. Please. She has an English Literature degree and haunts bookstores like a nerdy ghost.

Irene Deniston

**Peter** has been practicing and performing improv for 25 years in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego. He helped co-found Mockingbird Improv in 2021. He has made films, been a visual artist, performed in improv and traditional theater and is, of course, working on a podcast. He performs in *Lyrics & Laughs* and *Adrift*, at Mockingbird.

Peter Jacques

**Mae** has been teaching improv for 8 years since developing Virginia’s Operation Improv curriculum for the nonprofit Armed Services Arts Partnership. Mae has studied improv performance at both the Second City Conservatory and Groundlings Core Track. She has been on at least a dozen house teams and indie teams at theaters spanning the country, including genre, premise-based, Harold, JTS Brown, movie, musical, puppet, and short form. Her teaching philosophy has been shaped by Teaching Artist training from PsychArmor and psychodrama methods at Duke University and other some of which informed her work in her Masters in Cognitive Neuroscience and her M.Ed. in Instructional Design. Some of her specialized skills include film production, film and theater acting, Shakespeare, vocal performance, sketch, clown, stage combat, and standup. Her standup was featured in a PBS documentary in 2016. Her mission is to unblock shame & fear to tap into every player’s inner genius.

Mae Brayton

**Lennie** (she/her) discovered improv in 2012 and can’t imagine life without it. She has a background in theatre and music, and has studied improv with Cornerstone, Ruby LA, UCB, and NCT. Her favorite thing about improv is its unapologetic celebration of weird. As a Latina, she is determined to create safe, inclusive spaces that celebrate diversity in the local theatre community. Lennie also enjoys museums, exploring the outdoors, and vibing with her friends, her partner, and their furry buddies, Albie and Roxy. She can be spotted in the wild doing improv with Mockingbird’s “Adrift” house team and her duo, “Jeepers Peepers.” She also wants you to know that your outfit looks great today - neat shoe choice!

Lennie Macias

**Andrew** has been performing and teaching improv for 13 years. He has a degree in theater and uses his theatrical expertise to bring magic to some of San Diego’s best storytelling improv shows like Book Club, Point of Passion, and so many more. Plus he’s just so dang funny. His depth of experience and supportive teaching style is guaranteed to reignite your Improv mojo!

Andrew Katseanes

**Ellen** (she/her) grew up with The Second City in Chicago, which was more Home to her than any apartment her family rented. For its first ground-breaking 25 years, her father was the club's iconic Music Director; her mother was Operations Manager for 40 years. Improv is in the marrow of Ellen's bones; it's in her DNA, which takes suggestions, adores collaboration and does not need a mic. Ellen trained at Second City primarily with Don DePollo and Martin De Maat, who called her very first improv showing on the Second City E.T.C. stage "So good it was scary." Ellen's work in performance (both improv and dance) has been seen in the US from coast to coast, in Europe and in South Africa.

Ellen Kaz

Al (they/them) got their start in improv in Chicago almost a decade ago. They are a graduate of Chicago’s Second City Conservatory, IO, and the Annoyance Theater. Al has performed on many teams over the years and is currently on the house team Push Play at Finest City Improv as well as multiple indie teams. Al loves getting to share their love for improv with others through teaching and works to create a safe, supportive, and fun environment in the classes they teach.

Al Anthis

**John** has a great appreciation for improv as an art form due to its collaborative nature. John has had over 10 years learning, teaching and performing improv, and has had a great joy doing so. There is no question that John credits his experience with improv as a major improvement to life in general. At the risk of sounding a little cultish, John would like to encourage anyone and everyone to learn and apply the fundamental lessons of improv at as much as possible and wherever applicable. He promises you will not regret it.

John Lopez

**Jeff** is a San Diego native and has been an actor and performer from an early age, studying Theatre at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts where he was first introduced to improv games as warm-ups and cast party shenanigans. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Television, Film and New Media from San Diego State University with Emphasis in Critical Studies, which means he’s talked a lot about the Kuleshov Effect. For years, he had played the beloved SeaWorld character Biff, among many others, to crowds of thousands and crowds of ones, always with the same amount of comedic zeal and commitment. While at SeaWorld, he also produced and directed award-winning shows and events and created the story treatment for a new children’s playland, Ocean Explorer, in San Diego and Kraken: Unleashed VR in Orlando. He thrives on creating fun experiences for people of all ages to enjoy and laugh about.

Jeff Hillman

**Cory** fell in love with improv and comedy while studying it at California State Long Beach and has pursued comedy since then through one form after the other. Cory has performed improv and musical improv in Los Angeles, New York, and San Diego, but also has experience in stand up, freestyling, and video production. You can see Cory perform on All Hands On Deck, On That Note or on the indie team the Downton Daddies. Despite his many facial tattoos and muscular figure, Cory is a real softy, so feel free to chat with him about anything you like.

Cory Coogan

**Jayda** (she/her) is a youth teacher and cast member at Mockingbird Improv. Hailing from the Bay Area longform tradition, she got her start at Stanford University as a Stanford Improvisor (SImp) and a teaching assistant. She believes that improv is the key to maintaining a can-do attitude while life comes at you fast. She recommends celebrating failure and Improv Wisdom by Patricia Ryan Madson!

Jayda Alvarez

**Nick** is a writer and performer who has been studying and doing improv since he was 11! He has trained and performed at UCB LA, Second City Chicago, iO Chicago, Annoyance, National Comedy Theater, and Finest City Improv (so yeah, he knows a thing or two about improv). Favorite credits include singing in the choir in The Hunchback of Notre Dame at La Jolla Playhouse, and writing a play with puppets called Ozombie bin Laden: in 3D! Nick looks forward to teaching YOU how to treat everyone like poets and geniuses!

Nick Scutti

Aidan has been doing improv since 2011 — and considers it his religion. He trained with Upright Citizens Brigade and ComedySportz in L.A. before returning to San Diego, where he performs with Mockingbird’s Improv vs. Stand Up and Telenovela house teams. In class, Aidan focuses on the mechanics of strong scene work and the power of collaboration to have fun on stage.

Aidan Ghosh