Dan Sipp

Dan Sipp began improvising in 1988 with Transactors Improv Company and has taught improvisation for over 10 years. In 1998 he moved to Chicago where he studied, performed and directed for eight years. He is a graduate of The Annoyance and The iO (formerly ImprovOlympic) training centers and has studied with such improv luminaries as Paul Sills, Del Close, Charna Halpern, Mick Napier, Joe Bill and at The Second City. Dan has taught at festivals around the country as well as Duke University, Raleigh Little Theater, The Carrboro Arts Center and The iO. He also directs The Break Room (the student show), and Temporary Tag (the Harold team), as part of The Late Night at The Worx series.

Director, Worx Training Center

Bryan Cronk

One of the founding members of ComedyWorx and a graduate of the iO South Training Center, Bryan Cronk has 19 years of improvisation experience and has been training performers since 1990. He is a dynamic trainer and facilitator with over 16 years of corporate training experience as a part of a rich 26 year career in business. His diverse background has allowed him to become expert at applying the value of humor and improv to the growth of team skills, strengthening relationships and increasing productivity. Bryan has presented at local and national conferences on the use of improv in team development.

Director, Corporate Training

Larry Howard

Larry Howard has been a member of ComedyWorx since 1995 and has been teaching improv since 1998. He is a graduate of the iO South Training Center. He is also one of the original instructors and leaders of ComedyWorx's Associate Troupe. He has taught many workshops at ComedyWorx. Currently, he directs the long-form ensemble Antitrust Ice Cream. Larry performs at The Worx in the ComedyWorx show as well as with the long-form groups Touchy Feely and Temporary Tag. He has performed in various cities across the country and has taken workshops with instructors who have studied, performed and taught at places such as ComedySportz, iO Chicago, UCB, DSI, and Comedy City.

Senior Instructor

Jason Matthews

Jason Matthews has been improvising since the fall of 2000 and teaching improv since 2004. Since completing the Worx shortform improvisation program, he has performed shows in Raleigh, Buffalo, Kansas City, Green Bay, and throughout the Southeast. Jason is also a graduate of the longform program at the IO South Training Center and currently plays on the longform Harold team Temporary Tag. He has studied improv with Anthony King, Charlie Todd, Charna Halpern, TJ Jagodowski, David Pasquesi, and Liz Allen.

Senior Instructor

Ben Moser

Ben Moser began improvising with ComedyWorx in 2000. In 2002 he was among the founding members of Destroy All Monsters - Raleigh's first ever longform improv group. He began teaching improv in 2003 and has continued to teach with ComedyWorx, DSI Comedy Theater, and the now defunct SIC. He has performed improv and sketch across the country with ComedyWorx, DSI, and UCB. He has studied improv in classes and workshops from dozens of names including Matt Besser, Asaf Ronin, and Anthony King.

Instructor

Brian Thacker

A performer of ComedyWorx since the spring of 2003, Brian has been functioning as its resident director since 2007. He is an iO South Training Center graduate and has received training from Charna Halpern & Jason Chinn of iO Chicago; Matt Besser, founder of NYC’s UCB; Asaf Ronin and Chris Gethard, both of NYC’s UCB; the musically gifted Glennis McMurray, Eliza Skinner, and Travis Poloeger of I Eat Pandas; and DSI. In addition to being a resident performer at The Worx, he is founder and performer of Hotel Principality, an improvised musical.

Senior Instructor

Chris Moore

Christopher Moore has been a member of ComedyWorx since 2003 and the troupe's Associate Director since 2006. He was one of the first graduates of the iO South Training Center and over the years has received training from such improv luminaries as Charna Halpern, Asaf Ronin, TJ Jagodowski, Dave Pasquesi, Jim Woods, Jason Chin, Liz Allen and the musical improv group I Eat Pandas (Glennis McMurray, Eliza Skinner, and Travis Ploeger). He performs regularly in the shortform shows as well as in the late night shows with the his two longform teams, Hotel Principality and Big, Fat and Stealthy. He's performed improv in venues all over North Carolina and in New York City as a part of the Del Close Marathon in 2007. He's also an amateur filmmaker who creates many of the referee and marketing videos used in at The Worx as well as online. His filmmaking talent helped him to win the Best Short Comedy at the All-American Film Festival in 2008.

Senior Instructor

Travis Pomeroy

Travis Pomeroy has been a member of ComedyWorx since the chilling winter of '06. He is a member of the ComedyWorx Resident Company. He assists with training Associate members. Travis is also an iO South graduate who has had the pleasure of performing with such teams as True Stories, Dead Man's Party and The Break Room. He is currently performing in the ComedyWorx show and with Big, Fat and Stealthy in Late Night at the Worx shows.

Senior Instructor

Jay O'Berski

Jay O'Berski has been teaching acting at Duke University for ten years as well as at Manbites Dog Theater where he is also an associate artistic director. He has a masters degree in acting from The Moscow Art Theatre School and runs The Little GreenPig Theatrical Concern with his wife, Dana Marks.

Extension Program Instructor

Mark Lewis

Mark Lewis is an area pianist, music director, composer, and teacher. Has provided music for many PlayMakers Repertory Co. productions and has worked with Transactors since 1992. Mark helped develop Transactors' The Musical, a full-length improvised musical comedy and led the music improv workshop at ComedyWorx last year.

Extension Program Instructor

Ryan Locante

Ryan Locante got his improv start in Salt Lake City with Knock Your Socks Off (KYSOff) in 2001. He is a graduate of the iO Training Center in Chicago and has worked alongside a broad range of artists including those who have trained, performed, and taught at iO Chicago, Second City, iO West, UCB, DSI, and elsewhere.

Extension Program Instructor

Dana Marks

Dana Marks is an actor, director and musician living in Durham. A graduate of the American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre Institute for Advanced Theater Training, she has performed across the U.S., Russia, Italy, and Germany. She teaches beginning and advanced acting, movement and voice at Duke and N.C. State and is the Managing Director of Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern.

Extension Program Instructor

Anoushka Brod

Anoushka has been a professional improviser since 1997, when she joined Transactors. She recently appeared in two TinkhamTown Productions filmsLost & Found and What the Frock! In addition to performing, Anoushka teaches improv to people of all ages in a variety of venues, including the International Funny Women's Festival in Chicago, Northern California, and throughout the Southeast.

Extension Program Instructor

Greg Hohn

Greg Hohn has been a member of Transactors Improv since 1989 and its director since 1996. He has taught improv in a wide range of settings across the country, including in UNC's MFA acting program. He is a faculty member in Duke's Theater Studies department and UNC's business school. Greg has also performs scripted theater, including musicals, and in electronic and corporate media.

Extension Program Instructor

David McClutchey

David McClutchey is a professional actor and combat choreographer in the Triangle. David received his certification as an Advanced Actor/Combatant from the Society of American Fight Directors, and has acted in or choreographed fights for over 50 Triangle shows since moving here 8 years ago.

Extension Program Instructor

Pat Shay

A longtime student of the legendary Del Close, Pat Shay performed and toured for Del’s theatre, the Improv Olympic in Chicago, for ten years. While in Chicago he also played leads in Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet, and premiered his solo show, Their Own Words, an Evening with Gielgud, Burton, and Olivier. Since moving to New York, he’s been a proud member of the faculty of the Peoples Improv Theater in Manhattan. Recently, he joined the Second City for a four-month tour aboard an Norwegian Cruise Lines’ ship. Last summer, with his amazing wife, Mary Theresa Archbold, he co-wrote and co-produced the award-winning two person show Jazz Hand: Tales of a One-armed Woman.

Extension Program Instructor

"Dan Sipp brings a lot of experience to the table, so his advice is always genuine and trustworthy. He brings examples from Chicago and from his show experience. Dan has a large repertoire of exercises and games to keep things consistently instructive and fresh." - Philip Boyne, Resident Performer ComedyWorx for 7 Years

"Ryan Locante will change your outlook on both improvisation and on life." - Clayton Margeson, Resident Performer ComedyWorx 7 years, Memeber of Hotel Principality

"Jason Matthews is an awesome performer and an outstanding instructor. Jason commits to his onstage characters as completely and skillfully as anyone I've seen, and he deftly applies these talents in the classroom to create a wonderfully engaging experience." - Jason Pates, Account Manager at RTP-area software company and The Worx Training Center student

"Brian Thacker gave great insight and instruction while remaining positive and keeping it fun! It was the perfect learning and laughing environment. I look forward to many more classes at The Worx Training Center!" - Mimi Shankin, Business Development- NC Community Shares

"Brian Thacker makes learning a hilariously wonderful experience! I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn to play more, have more self-confidence, become more creative, and even just to have a place to let loose for awhile. It really did change my life!!!" - Jessi Nemeth, Artist & Mother, and, Now, Crazy Improv Enthusiast!!!

"Chris Moore was a wonderful teacher. His ability to draw on his filmmaking experience and channel it into instructing us on the improving our characters, scene reality and miming made his class very enjoyable." - Cary LaMay – Project Manager, Citigroup - Comedy Worx Trainee for 3 months