The Improvised Shakespeare Company: About Players

Blaine Swen

Blaine Swen is the creator and director of The Improvised Shakesepare Company. He comes from California where he performed with ComedySportz, Ultimate Improv, and iO West. Currently, he can be seen performing at iO Chicago with the house team, Bullet Lounge, The DelTones, The Armando Diaz Experience, and the one-man improvised musical, BASH!. He enjoys touring with the iO Road Show and has performed in Chicago with The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Pegasus Players Theatre, and The Second City Education Company. The Chicago Reader recently named him 2010's "Best Improviser in Chicago". Blaine teaches improvisation at The Second City and iO Chicago, and travels the country teaching improvised Shakespeare.

Joe Burton

Joe Burton has been improvising in Chicago since graduating from N.C. State University in 1999. In Chicago, he has performed with various ensembles such as Otis, American New Year, The Fowler Family Radio Hour, as well as The Improvised Shakespeare Company. He has taught improvisation at The Second City. He has also taught at high schools and theaters throught the country, and internationally. He is the founder of Bughouse Theater in Chicago. He would like to thank his family and friends for their love and support, especially his wife, Shelby.

Jake Schneider

Jake Schneider is thrilled to be part of The Improvised Shakespeare Company. He can be seen at iO Chicago, The Second City, Annoyance, Playground and ComedySportz. At iO Chicago, Jake performs with The Reckoning, The Del Tones, and The Armando Diaz Experience. Jake has traveled the globe with The Second City Theatricals aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines and performs as a saxophone playing statue in Bucket of Blood at the Annoyance. He is a ComedySportz ensemble member and a proud member of the Improv Rebellion. A graduate of Webster University's Conservatory of Theater Arts, he has performed with the St. Louis Rep and at Champaign-Urbana's Summerfest. Many thanks to The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Charna, and his family and friends for all the fun and support.

Andy Carey

Andy Carey performed, toured, and taught for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and the Boise Contemporary Theater after receiving his B.F.A. from the University of Idaho. Since moving to Chicago he has trained with the iO Theater, The Second City Conservatory and the Annoyance. In addition to The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Andy is a member of Baby Wants Candy (Chicago), Willie Nelson Slept Here (iO Theater) and A Crew of Patches theater company. Much love to his wife Christy and son Keagan.

Joey Bland

Joey Bland moved to Chicago from Virginia, where he attended the College of William and Mary. Outside The Improvised Shakespeare Company, he has performed with ComedySportz, the iO Theater, and The Second City. For two years, Joey traveled the world with The Second City Touring Company, and in 2009, he played the title role in The Second City's hit, original musical, Rod Blagojevich, Superstar. Joey is a two-time Jeopardy champion.

Lucas Peterson

Lucas Peterson bio is missing.

Ric Walker

Ric Walker is an actor, director, and teacher who has toured extensively for Wavelength, an education based comedy troupe and for The Second City in BizCo and BoatCo, where he toured the Mediterranean and European ports. In addition to The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Ric can be seen performing locally with the Serendipity Theatre Collective in Second Story.

Nick Wagner

Nick Wagner studied Anthropology and Theatre at Grinnell College. Upon graduating, Nick moved to Chicago to study improv at iO, where he was a member of the harold team, Stottlemeyer, for several years. In addition to The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Nick has made award-winning short films and videos with his video production company Very Clever LLC.

Steve Waltien

Steve Waltien hails from Shelburne, VT. He is a proud graduate of Middlebury College and has been living and performing in Chicago since 2001. In addition to The Improvised Shakespeare Company, you may have seen Steve improvising with the iO Theatre house ensemble Bullet Lounge, The Armando Diaz Experience, Whirled News Tonight, or the Second City National Touring Company. He also writes and performs sketch comedy with Jordan Klepper. Their two person show Jordan and Steve are Steve and Jordan, Respectively was named 'the best sketch show of 2008' by the Chicago Tribune and 'one of 2008's funniest moments' by TimeOut Chicago. The pair are also correspondents on the television show Friday Night Tailgate every fall on the Big Ten Network. Recently he was thrilled to be a part of the live Mr. Show Reunion with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.

Ross Bryant

Ross Bryant is from coastal North Carolina, and is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts and Appalachian State University. Previously, he has performed in comedy festivals all over America with the hip-hop improv show The Beatbox, in Maine with Improv Acadia, and in the Mediterranean with Second City aboard the Norwegian Jade. In addition to The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Ross is an ensemble member of The Second City National Touring Company, the critically acclaimed Baby Wants Candy, and the iO house team Bullet Lounge. Time Out Chicago magazine recently named him one of “10 things that made us laugh this year.” Ross is beyond grateful for the love and support of his family and friends.

Rich Prouty

Rich Prouty came to Chicago from Arizona to study improvisation at The Second City, Annoyance Theatre, and iO. At iO he performed with Valhalla, The Lindbergh Babies and currently performs with Bullet Lounge. He is an ensemble member of ComedySportz Chicago and hosts shows and events all over Chicago and the U.S. including TimeOut Chicago’s Funniest Person in Chicago contest, the 2008 Chicago Improv Festival, as Mr. Winston in the hit lounge-act parody The Winston Revue, and is host of the popular yet cult-y live game show The Improv Match Game.

Thomas Middleditch

Thomas Middleditch joined The Improvised Shakespeare Company during it's birth back in 2005. Now residing in New York City, he can be seen in shows like Baby Wants Candy at the Barrow Street Theater, and Gravid Water, The Law Firm, and Beneath Gristedes at UCB. You may also see him doing his various characters at standup nights and variety shows as well as on college campuses and at your son's Bat Mitzvah. See him as the lead in the indie feature film, Splinterheads, and for about two seconds in Catherine Zeta-Jones' The Rebound. You can also check him out at www.thomasmiddleditch.com.

Greg Hess

Greg Hess originally hails from Virginia and is a graduate of the College of William & Mary. He moved to Chicago to study acting and improvisation at iO Chicago and The Second City, where he was a member of The Second City's national touring company. Currently, he is an ensemble member of Baby Wants Candy, and performs weekly with his critically acclaimed four-man show, Cook County Social Club. He is a recent graduate of the School at Steppenwolf.

Brendan Dowling

Brendan Dowling is a Massachusetts native and a graduate of the College of William and Mary. In Chicago, he has toured with The Second City's National Touring Company and has been a member of ComedySportz. He also performed in The Second City Denver's inaugural production of Red Scare, as well as writing and performing The Second City Denver's How I Lost My Denverginity. Brendan can also be seen creating improvised musicals with Baby Wants Candy. He would like to thank his family for being so great.

Martin Wilson

Martin Wilson grew up in Washington DC, and is a proud alumnus of the College of William & Mary in Virginia, where he served as co-director of Improvisational Theatre (aka 'I.T.') for three years. Outside of The Improvised Shakespeare Company, he is an ensemble and faculty member at ComedySportz. Elsewhere, he writes and acts with the sketch ensemble, The Backrow, and is a member of the exclusive Billionaire Boys Club, having performed in their productions Toast and Concept Album: Shuffle at iO, as well as The People in Your Neighborhood at ComedySportz. Last but certainly not least, he loves and thanks his beautiful wife Marianna.

Joe Janes

Joe Janes has taught improv and writing at The Second City Training Center since 1997 and is the Improv Program Coordinator for Columbia College. He is also a senior writer/director at Fig Media, Inc. He is a founding member of the WNEP Theater Foundation and the artistic director of Robot vs Dinosaur. He has written and provided voices for the CD-ROM game You Don't Know Jack. He also has an emmy for writing for a Cincinnati children's program called Club 19. A non-believer of writer's block or not enough time, he has taken on writing a comedy sketch a day and posting them at biteandsmile.blogspot.com.

Josh Logan

Josh Logan comes to the ISC from Cleveland, OH. He can also be seen performing with the iO Harold team, Owl Farm, as well as the four man group Michael Pizza, who Chicago Magazine recently named "Best New Improvised Show". Josh is also a former writer for American Greetings' "Alternative Humor" department. He would like to thank his family and friends for all of their encouragement.