I’m getting nervous about my trip to Seattle, especially since realizing that there’s only one weekend between me and it. Oy!The theme for this year’s fest is “Holding Up the Mirror”, which will be an examination of the improvisation community itself. Here are the teachers that will be leading workshops throughout the week of the festival:

Sandra Hernandes is a Brazilian psychologist, educator, Theater of the Oppressed Joker, and social activist. Her research focuses a holistic approach on people’s development encompassing personal, professional, and political dimensions towards critical consciousness in the Freirean sense. Her work is mainly based on the Pedagogy (PO) and Theatre of the Oppressed (TO), Critical Pedagogy, Experiential Education, and Carl Jung’s Analytical Psychology theories and praxis. For the past six years Sandra has been studying with Augusto Boal and experienced TO theater directors and jokers, while presenting workshops and seminars at conferences throughout the US, Brazil, Germany, Canada, and South Africa, such as in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Shishir Kurup is an actor/writer/director/composer born in Bombay, India raised in Mombasa, Kenya and the U.S. His one-man shows “Assimilation” and “Exile: Ruminations on a Reluctant Martyr” have been seen in countless universities and cities nationally and internationally. Shishir is an ensemble member of the Nationally-renowned Cornerstone Theater Company. His many film and television credits include: Coneheads, Trigger Effect, City of Angels (film and TV series), In Good Company, Alias, Monk, Charmed, The Agency, Murder in Small Town X, Strong Medicine, Judging Amy, Off Centre, Six Feet Under, ER, C-16, and 90210 etc…

Randy Dixon was a founding member of Unexpected Productions and has served as the company’s Artistic Director since 1988 where he has conceived, directed, and acted in numerous shows. Randy has taught improvisational theater and all over the world. His book on Improvisation, Being Present: Spontaneous Storytelling and the Art of Improvisation, was published in German in 2000. Randy has a B.F.A. in Drama and a Master’s Degree in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Jungian Depth Psychology. He teaches around the globe and really enjoys spreading the joy of improvisation.