ZipLine Improv

Bill stahl

Bill Stahl is a San Francisco based improviser most known for his work in the group 'The Five Deadly Improvisers' which performs fully improvised classic Kung Fu movies. Bill has been a guest with Unscripted Theater in San Francisco and was a guest with 'BATS Improv' at Fort Mason in SF for the 2012/2013 season. He has produced a variety of improv shows in San Francisco, including Improvised Western and Crimes of the City.

REGINA SAISI

Regina Saisi is a San Francisco-based actor and improviser where she has performed and taught for the past 30 years. A pioneer in the development of long-form improv, she is a founding member of the improvisational theatre companies True Fiction Magazine, Pulp Playhouse and Improv Playhouse of San Francisco, and is a Company member of BATS Improv.  Regina has taught and performed at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, ACT, Stanford University and across the country, as well as internationally in Amsterdam, Helsinki, Florence, Stockholm, London, Beirut, Leuven, Berlin, Paris and Jeddah. She is currently the Dean at the BATS Improv school where she also served as Artistic Director. 

TIM ORR

Tim has improvised since 1988 with many San Francisco-based groups, including BATS Improv,True Fiction Magazine, Awkward Dinner Party, and with the acclaimed troupe 3 For All.   In 2009, he founded Improv Playhouse of San Francisco.  Tim has also appeared in numerous plays in the San Francisco Bay Area, and received critical acclaim for his leading roles in the improvised feature films, Suckerfish and Security.  With Stephen Kearin, Tim co-wrote, and originated the role of Dirk Manly in, An Evening with Dirk & Blaine.  Tim has performed and taught improvisation at the American Conservatory Theatre, BATS Improv, Stanford University, and many other venues nationally (Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Austin, Louisville, Atlanta, etc.) and internationally (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Beirut, Belgium, Berlin, Bucharest, Hamburg, Helsinki,  Lisbon, London, Mallorca, Oslo, Paris,  Saudi Arabia, Stockholm, and Tel Aviv). He has served many times as the Director of various BATS Improv Long-Form Intensives.

TONI MAZZUCA

Toni grew up in Chicago where she began her improv studies with Second City and performed her first student show on the SC main stage.  Since then she has studied with BATS Improv, ACT in San Francisco, and with many coaches.  Currently she performs with Secret Improv Society at the Shelton Theatre.  She has also performed with Big City Improv, several BATS student groups, Improvised 80’s Teen Movie, A Improvised Murder Mystery, at the San Francisco Improv Fest and with a variety of other improv groups.  She is a founding member of the improv groups Go Fish and Mi Corazon es tu Piñata: Improvised Telenovela -- in English.  

DAVID BOYLL

David lives life in suspension of disbelief. He is a member of the performing ensemble at Un-Scripted Theater Company and, since 2013, has appeared in over a hundred improvised plays and musicals. David trained and performed at BATS Improv, and as 33.3% of Improv Lab, has appeared in the San Francisco, Austin Out of Bounds, and San Diego Improv Festivals, and in SF Sketchfest 2017.

Rafe chase

The SF Weekly describes Rafe Chase as one of “the most celebrated figures on the San Francisco improv scene today.” In 1978, after only three months of classes, Rafe began improvising professionally with Flash Family at the Old Spaghetti Factory in North Beach. Joining BATS Improv in 1987 opened up a world of new colleagues and new possibilities. In 1988, while continuing to work with BATS, Rafe became a member of Pulp Playhouse, which performed at the Eureka Theater doing improvised stories in the style of the pulp magazines of the 1930s and 40s. The next year he formed Improv Theater, which performed for several seasons at the ACT Playroom. With Rafe as the artistic director, the group would pioneer the exploration and performance of longform improv.  Currently, in addition to the BATS Improv Main Stage Company, Rafe is a member of the critically acclaimed three-man group, 3 FOR ALL. The trio (Chase, Stephen Kearin, and Tim Orr) have wowed audiences in cities across the US and Europe. In his exploration of longform improv, Rafe has been a pioneer of genre-driven longform and has created several formats, including Split Decision and Double Feature™.

WIN MEYERSON

Win’s composing credits include “Grounds” (2016 Louisville International Film Festival), “Random Acts of Comedy” (David Alan Grier - 65 episodes), and additional music for “How to Go Out on a Date in Queens” (Jason Alexander, Ron Perlman). He has songs in 12 films, including “Dead Man's Curve” (Dana Delany, Keri Russell), “Spreading Ground” (Dennis Hopper), and “I Shot a Man in Vegas” (John Stockwell). His improvisation credits include The Groundling Theater, BATS Improv, and 3 For All. Win is the piano player at the end of the British Version of “Whose Line Is It Anyway”. 

derek yee

Derek is a founding member of The Five Deadly Improvisers – an acclaimed improv troupe that performed improvised kung fu movies at festivals around the country. Derek was also a founding member of the group Out of Line, a member of The Streetlight People, and has guest performed with several other groups, including BATS Improv. He has taught improv at BATS and to students at George Peabody Elementary School in San Francisco; led workshops for the Dreamworks Animation in-house improv team; and taught Five Deadly’s unique improvised stage combat techniques to other performers.

SUSIE SARGENT

Susie discovered and fell in love with improv 20 years ago and enjoys sharing her passion through training, teaching and performing. She is an ensemble member of Un-Scripted Theater and loves surprising the audience and creating rich and diverse characters. 

DAVE DENNISON

Dave Dennison developed the improv format Family Drama at BATS Improv, and for more than ten years it’s been an audience and player favorite. He has performed with many groups including True Fiction Magazine, Scratch Theater, Start Trekkin’, the Particulars, Hey You, the Travelers, and Secret Improv Society. From 2005 to 2008, he served as Artistic Director of BATS Improv. In addition to teaching and serving as the dean at BATS, Dave has taught at the Marsh, Stanford University, and the California College of the Arts, as well as for numerous corporate clients. Dave is currently working on “The Method of the Moment”: a new approach to improv that focuses on rigorous attention to the basics.

BASEL AL-NAFFOuRi

Basel Al-Naffouri began his theater journey at MIT where he took his first acting classes. After moving to the Bay Area, he was introduced to improv by taking his first class at BATS in 2005. Soon after, Basel was invited to perform with the BATS Sunday Players and was a founding member of Double Entendre and Out of Line. He has also produced, directed and acted in “Improvised Arabian Nights”, an improvised show in the style of “A Thousand and One Nights”. Basel has taught improv workshops both locally and internationally and has led trainings with organizations such as Google and Aswat, various improv troupes and internationally at KAUST University in Saudi Arabia and Laban in Lebanon.

rebecca poretsky

Rebecca Poretsky is a BATS company member who has also played and directed with improv groups Big City Improv, Crisis Hopkins, and Un-Scripted Theater Company. Rebecca has performed live and video sketch comedy and original solo performance as well as with BRAVA for Women in the Arts in San Francisco and the Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont and in New York City. As a member of the BATS Improv @ Work team, the Applied Improvisation Network, and independently, Rebecca conducts trainings that apply improvisational principles to help teams in businesses and organizations work better together, let go, and have fun.