ImprovAcadia Cast

	ERICA NOSCHANG is very happy to once again join the cast of Improv Acadia. She is currently living in Amsterdam working for Boom Chicago as a corporate show performer, understudy, host of the weekly Improv Jam and has performed, and taught improvisation all across Holland and in far away places such as Belgium and Singapore. Before moving overseas, Erica lived and performed in Chicago at ComedySportz, and Improv Olympic. Erica would like to thank her amazing boyfriend Ryan, her family, and friends for all of their love and support.

	Katie Hammond, a Michigan native is tickled pink to be joining the talents of ImprovAcadia. Having never been to Maine she plans on eating herself sick with New England-y eats. In Chicago, Katie studied at The IO Theatre and The Second City. She can be seen running around town with her improv team Radar-7. Most recently Katie was seen as Boo in 'Bark! The Musical' at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts. She'd like to thank her friends and family for their love and support, and for taking care of her goldfish while she is away!

	REBECCA SOHN is happy to be back in Bar Harbor performing with the fine folks of ImprovAcadia. In Chicago she’s an ensemble member of The Annoyance Theater where she also teaches improvisation. She and Rich are thrilled to have the new theater up and running! Recently she worked at Steppenwolf understudying the stunningly talented Amy Morton in The Well Appointed Room. Rebecca is an alumna of The Second City, where she wrote and performed 2 reviews on a resident stage and currently writes and performs for the Theatricals and Communications divisions. She loves improvising with Deb Downing and Jean Villepique in Switchboard which opened at IO and has gone on to perform at festivals around the country... and soon... the world!

	CHRISSY SWINKO performs in Chicago with the improv groups Crysalis Clark and International Stinger. She also writes and performs sketch comedy, most recently as one half of "Swinko & Saunders Tell Jokes To Make You Laugh." She is a graduate of iO and the Second City Conservatory. She is from Litchfield, Ohio and was a cast member of Cabaret Dada Improv in Cleveland before moving to Chicago. She is a graduate of Denison University, where she had a radio show for four years on WDUB 91.1FM . Chrissy enjoys taking voice lessons at the Old Town School of Folk Music , dancing, and her leadsinger karaoke machine. She is excited to join ImprovAcadia this summer and would like to thank her family, Louie, and for great vaca time, Surrey Books.

	ROSS BRYANT hails from the coast of North Carolina, and moved to Chicago in 2003 to study at the IO training center. Ross can be seen weekly at IO with The Improvised Shakespeare Company, ComedySportz Chicago, and The Hot Karl. As a member of DSI's The Beatbox, Ross has appeared at the Chicago Improv Festival, The Del Close Marathon, The Toronto Improv Jamboree, and The Dirty South Improv Festival. Ross also loves playing with The Washington Generals at IO, Space Robbers at the Playground Theater, and Cute Couple at venues far and wide. Ross is way excited just to be this far north, and way grateful for the love and support of his family and friends.

	LLOYD AHLQUIST is a founding member of the nationally acclaimed touring improv group Mission IMPROVable. He's been teaching and performing improv since 1998 and it has taken him to nearly every state in the U.S. and Singapore. In addition to M.I. Lloyd performs and teaches at the Improv Olympic West in Los Angeles where his group THREE DUDES has enjoyed doing what dudes do for several extended runs now. Lloyd currently performs and resides in Los Angeles but he is originally from New Hampshire so he's wicked psyched to be going back to the east coast.

	PAT SHAY is thrilled to be returning for his second straight season at ImprovAcadia. A veteran of Chicago’s ImprovOlympic, Pat now lives in New York, where he performs and teaches at the Peoples Improv Theater. Aside from improvising, Pat has also played diverse roles in scripted theater, including a singing Ben Kenobi, a singing Pa Ingalls, and a Hamlet who did not sing, but rather drove a sweet young girl crazy and (eventually) killed his stepfather. He has written and performed a well-reviewed solo show about his favorite Shakespearean actors (now that’s dignity!) and worn bright red tights while bobsledding through Conan O’Brian’s studio audience (now that’s dignity in its own special way). Many thanks to his wife, Mary.

	SHELBY JENNINGS has been improvising for 6 years and is very excited to be part of ImprovAcadia! Originally from Shelby North Carolina, Shelby moved to Chicago to improvise in the big city. She currently can be seen performing at The Playground Theatre with Cowlick, IO Theater with River Dog, and around town with The Fowler Family Radio Hour. She is also proud to be part of the Crying Diamonds the sketch group the Chicago Tribune calls "One of the most promising sketch ensembles in town." When she is not improvising she teaches drama in her elementary school classroom.

	BRAD FORTIER is an actor, director, and instructor for the Brody Theater in Portland, OR. He is a charter member of the Brody and has been improvising for over a decade on their stage. Brad also works with Funnybusiness PDX and Fort Hal an improv duo. He has performed at numerous festivals around the US and Canada, and he represented the US at the Berlin and Slovenian International Improv Festivals in 2004. He has been invited back to Berlin in 2007. Brad directed several successful shows in Portland like “The Bards” an improvised musical, “Generic Hospital”, and “Incrimi-Nation” an improvised cop & courtroom drama. He’s extremely excited to be working with ImprovAcadia.

	DEANNA MOFFITT is a returning member of ImprovAcadia's cast . She was in the opening cast last year and can't wait to return in 2006. Originally from beautiful Portland, OR she now makes her home in Chicago where she is an ensemble member of ComedySportz Chicago and Hubris Productions. With Hubris she played the role of Ellen in Lee Blessing's TWO ROOMS which stretched her dramatic muscles as a very unfunny government representative. She also performs at IO and with Second City Communications. Many thanks to Larrance and Jen for opening your theater, home and heart to all your performers.

	KATIE RICH has done pretty good for herself, mucking around the past 24 years. Born and raised in Chicago, she is currently one of the members of i.O's all-star team Carl and the Passions. She has performed her one-woman shows every where from Single File in Chicago, to iOWest in L.A. Well, that isn't EVERYwhere, but it feels like it. You can see her in commercials for Sonic and for 2.5 seconds in the movie 'The Ice Harvest.' She studied to be a clinical psychologist at orthwestern University, but instead is trying to write something that someone will buy. She really loves her big, Dago family and her big, joyful friends.

	RANCE RIZZUTTO, originally from Portland, OR now calls Chicago "home". Aside of playing and teaching for ComedySportz Chicago, he also performs with the ImprovOlympic team "Johnny Roast Beef" and with DSI's The Beatbox. Rance wouldn't be where he is today without the support of great people...they know who they are.

	RICH SOHN is excited to be returning to beautiful Bar Harbor with beautiful Jen & Larrance and the beautiful ImprovAcadia cast Rich lives in Chicago where he teaches and performs with Annoyance Productions and coaches the IO ensemble River Dog.

	Jennifer Shepard iis an actress with 20 years of experience. She has done everything from Greek Tragedy to Avant Garde performance art. After graduating from the University of Iowa, she moved to Chicago to study improvisation. During her nine years in Chicago, she was fortunate enough to perform at IO (ImprovOlympic) and The Playground Theater. She also worked with The Chicago Comedy Co, touring to colleges and writing corporate comedy. While in Chicago, Jennifer helped to write over 10 sketch comedy shows. Since moving to Maine she's enjoyed teaching improv at The College of the Atlantic, the Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center, on Isle Au Haut, and at ImprovAcadia.

	Larrance Fingerhut (Music Director) has been improvising on the piano since he was two years old. After spending 13 years performing and composing in the Bar Harbor area he went to Chicago where he was music director for ImprovOlympic, Baby Wants Candy, and Second City Touring Company, and a teacher and music director at Columbia College. He composes chamber music and music for theater. His setting of The Frogs by Aristophanes was performed this summer in Athens Greece.

	AMY ROEDER started her improv career in Boston as an original mainstage cast member of the Improv Asylum. While at the Asylum, Amy was an instructor in their Training Center, directed graduate revues, directed expansion shows and performed on the mainstage at CIF 2001. Amy relocated to New York, where she performed at a number of theaters, including as an artistic associate with Gotham City Improv. Amy has been featured on HBO's "Sketchpad2," seen on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," on page 44 of the May 2002 issue of "Maxim" (really), lost on "Jeopardy!" (double really), and starred in a national commercial that some right-wing nutjob's website condemned for weakening the fabric of the American family. Look for Amy in the upcoming independent feature, "Slightly Motivated." This is Amy's second year at ImprovAcadia. Amy would like to thank her husband Eric for taking care of the dog while she's away in Maine.

See casts from past years!
[2004] [2005]