Oaktown Improv

Ben began improvising in 1993. He has performed with various groups in the Bay Area, including The Clean Comedy Company, Pan Theater, BATS Sunday Players, ‘Trapped in a Rumor’, and his own ‘Zen Improv’. Ben's natural inclination has been to do character-based improv. He agrees with Jim Carrey who said that if not for his expressive outlet, “I'd be up on the roof with an Uzi!” When it comes to teaching, Ben believes in always returning to a foundation of human truth and emotional honesty.

Timothy has performed as a troupe player in his hometown of Spokane, at the collegiate level with Southern Oregon University's ‘Next Best Thing’, and is a member of Oaktown Improv's ‘Offsides’. Tim has infused comedy into many other forms of performance including sketch teams, radio programs, and his live musical acts. His improv heroes include Ben Schwarts, Paul F. Tompkins and Andy Daly. At the Sunday open jams, Tim serves as a guide to help players create scenes with real emotions and real stakes.

Heather bounded onto the improv stage in 2016 with Oaktown Improv and, being a quick study, soon became a member of the in-house troupe ‘Fun Size’. With her bubbly enthusiasm and AI-like memory, Heather was a natural to start leading jams and classes in 2017. Heather's current claim-to-fame is that during a show, watching one of her favorite groups, ‘3 For All’, she was invited onto the stage where she summarily rocked it with song. Heather's improv philosophy is, “Bring it, pay attention, and kill it!”

Andy originally hails from the East Midlands in the U.K. He discovered Oaktown Improv in 2015, and gradually removed his cloak of invisibility to become a member of the in-house troupe ‘Fun Size’. Along with being a nice break from the intricacies of particle physics, Andy finds improv to be a fun way to get out of his own head. "After all," he says, "you can't spend all day in the pub!" When coaching improv, Andy finds it best to refrain from judgment, allowing players to find their own style, as he did.

Stephanie began studying with Oaktown Improv in 2017. Coinciding with her time at Oaktown, she has done storytelling as part of StorySlam Oakland and Spontaneous Storytelling Oakland.

In pre-Oaktown days, Stephanie had acted in numerous regional theater productions in the East Bay and Off-Geary in San Francisco. She studied with the acting teacher and coach Jean Shelton for five years in the 1990’s.

As an actor, Stephanie strives to be present to listen and react to the circumstances at any given moment and to allow herself to draw from past experiences. As a teacher, she strives to create a friendly, inviting, non-critical atmosphere and to encourage spontaneity, creativity and joy.

Tezz Yancey is a professional Los Angeles based Improviser (Second City, UCB, IO, Comedy Central) actor, singer, dancer, musician, writer, producer and director with over 20 years of performing and teaching experience. He made his Broadway debut at age 14, headlined his own shows in Las Vegas, produced multiple recording and film score projects and is a working film and television actor in Hollywood (Showtime, Disney, NBC, Vet-TV). He trained at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee in musical theater and production and has been blessed to travel the world teaching master classes and workshops.

Tezz firmly believes in equality and fairness for all, and brings excellent communication skills to his coaching.