Improv and Sketch

Performing:

Melissa has performed improv and sketch all over the world. She is a longtime ensemble member of Soothplayers: Completely Improvised Shakespeare, the director of Completely Improvised Potter, a member of The Big HooHaa and Improvised Jane Austen and is the co-producer/director/co-creator of Completely Improvised Survivor (likely coming soon to a festival near you!). She also improvises in a Shakespearean D&D campaign called “Bardic Inspiration” fortnightly. She has performed many sold out shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) and the Melbourne Fringe Festival, as well as at the Australian Improv Festival, the Del Close Marathon, Adelaide Fringe and more.

Photos by Jesse Vogelaar, poster by Ryan Patterson

Chicken Cop at the Del Close Marathon in 2018. Courtesy of Andrew Bisdale.

Melissa is a proud ensemble member of The Big HooHaa Melbourne

The Big HooHaa performs twice weekly at The Butterfly Club.

Study:

Melissa has studied her craft at many theaters and schools, including The Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater (both LA & NYC), Reckless Theater (NYC), The Second City (Chicago), The Improv Conspiracy (Melbourne), ImproMelbourne (Melbourne) and Laugh Masters Academy (Sydney & Melbourne).

Courtesy of Soothplayers: Completely Improvised Shakespeare

Teaching and directing:

Melissa is the current director of the hit Melbourne-based troupe Completely Improvised Potter. She has also taught improv and sketch with Laugh Masters Academy (LMA) in Sydney and Melbourne for a number of years, beginning in 2016. She has also taught improv at Gaggle, a Melbourne-based initiative aimed at getting more women into comedy. In 2018, she found great joy as a volunteer teaching improv to kids and adults affected with cancer at Gilda Radner’s charity, Gilda’s Club Chicago. Melissa also coaches indie improv teams and runs freelance workshops, including recently at FreePlay 2019 and at the first Australian Improv Festival (AIF) in Sydney in June 2019.