Kristen Schier is an actor, improviser, teacher, and clown. She has extensive improv teaching, directing, and performing experience. She holds a BFA in Performing Arts from the University of the Arts where she taught Acting for Non-Majors, Improvisation for the Actor, and first-year Acting Studio. She has toured all over the country teaching and performing at various festivals such as the Seattle Festival of Improvised Theater, Chicago Improv Festival, Vancouver International Improv Festival, Boom Chicago Comedy Festival in Amsterdam, and more. Kristen is the former Co-Artistic Director of Curious Comedy in Portland Oregon and former Improv Producer at the Philly Improv Theater. She has studied improv at Second City, Magnet Theater, and Annoyance. Kristen has also studied Physical Theater, clown, extensively with Pig Iron Theater company and Movement Theater Studio.

Rachel Rosenthal is a professional performer and improv instructor with over 23 years of experience. A recent transplant to Portland from NYC, she has taught at numerous comedy theaters throughout the USA, including Reckless Theatre, Brooklyn Comedy Collective, & The PIT in NYC, where she was awarded Teacher of the Year for her work with 101 improv students. She is a 11+ year cast member of both free-form improv team, Big Bang, and free-style rapping Hip Hop comedy group, North Coast (“Top 10 Comedy Show” -- Time Out NY).

Brad Fortier, MA, is an anthropologist, author, educator and entertainer. He has been teaching and training adults in a variety of settings for more than 20 years. He combines two fields of applied work in his research and training background: applied anthropology and applied improvisation. Brad has been working in the inclusion, diversity, equity and access space since creating Spontaneous Village. It’s a trauma-informed game and play-based community-building intervention for refugees used in 2014 in San Antonio, Texas, and Berlin, Germany, in 2016. He had an advisory role with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in 2016 for incorporating interactive and experiential training methods in their work.

Brad is the author of “Long-Form Improvisation: Collaboration, Comedy, Communion”; “A Culture of Play: Essays on the Origins, Effects, and Applications of Improvised Theatre”; and a chapter in “Applied Improvisation: Leading, Collaborating and Creating Beyond the Theatre” published by Bloomsbury London in 2018. His thinking, scholarship and field research on applying improvisation are foundational for this emerging field of training.

Brad was the coordinator for Portland Community College’s Illumination Project, a student leadership program that uses interactive theater to teach about social justice issues.

Roland has been teaching improv at Kickstand for over 7 years now! Roland has a BFA from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU and studied at UCB NY before moving to Portland and joining up with Kickstand Comedy about a decade ago. Roland co-produces/co-hosts a monthly queer improv variety show at Kickstand called Small Fruits. He also performs regularly as one half of the world-famous human mannequin cabaret act The Roland and Muriel Show, which was just featured at SF Sketchfest and was the winner at Portland’s First Annual Comedy Pageant in 2024. Improv credits include: SF Sketchfest, Vancouver Improv Festival (Vancouver, BC), Stumptown Improv Festival, Portland Queer Comedy Festival, All Jane Comedy Fest. Stand up credits include: Kickstand Comedy in the Park (x3), headlining the Tomorrow Theater, and hosting for Nico Santos at Helium. Roland was featured on OPB for a spotlight on queer storytellers and is proud to have been the first openly trans masc improviser in Portland (as far as he knows)!

Chris Williams is a storyteller, educator, and community builder based in Portland. He is the founder of Front Porch Sessions, a storytelling series that celebrates connection and belonging through true stories. He's been improvising for over 20 years and loves coaching and teaching advanced-level teams and students. Chris hopes to spend more time in the near future on his LLC to focus on facilitation and workshops for companies and organizations looking to strengthen connection, belonging, and positive group dynamics through storytelling and improv.

Michael Zimmer is an actor, writer, sketch comedian, and improviser born and raised in Portland, OR. His first improv class was at Northwest Children's Theater around 2000, and he continued his training 12 years later at the UCB in NYC. He found the Kickstand community in 2016 and has been performing and creating shows ever since. He currently produces the improv show "The Big One," performs with his improv team "Fuckos," and tours his two person sketch show "Dog People." He makes an appearance in the final season of Aidy Bryant's Hulu show "Shrill" as George in a very NSFW episode. Find all his stuff on michaelzimmer.net

Justin found improv in 2013 and has been performing ever since. Known for his improv groups J Names and Death Hammer he has performed at SF Sketchfest, Out of Bounds, Del Close Marathon and the Vancouver International Improv Festival.