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Larrance Fingerhut (Music Director) has been improvising on the piano since he was two years old. After spending 13 years performing and composing in the Bar Harbor area he went to Chicago where he was music director for iO, Baby Wants Candy, and Second City Touring Company, and a teacher and music director at Columbia College. In the winter months he composes string quartets and this past winter he music directed at Penobscot Theater in Bangor and taught at College of the Atlantic.
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JENNIFER SHEPARD  is the proud co-owner of this sixteen year old theater! She studied theater at the University of Iowa, improv in Chicago and moved to Maine in 2004 to co-found ImprovAcadia. She’s worked at iO and The Playground (world’s only improv co-op!) in Chicago and for The Second City on Norwegian Pearl, Gem, Jewel and Pride of America in Hawai'i. During the Maine winters, she teaches improv at College of the Atlantic. Last winter she appeared in Elf, The Musical and Ripcord at Penobscot Theater, this winter she’ll appear in Don’t Dress for Dinner as Suzette and in Becoming Dr. Ruth as Dr. Ruth. Thank you for coming to live theater!
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Lauren Malara is overjoyed to be returning to Improv Acadia. She received a degree in acting from DePaul University and went on to perform for The Second City Theatricals. In June of 2017 she was crowned The Funniest Person in New Orleans.
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Alan Giles is a comedian and actor based in Chicago. He is a graduate of the Second City Conservatory program as well as the improv training program at iO. You can see him perform at iO with his Harold team "Bad Bear" and at CIC Theater in the weekly variety show "Thunderdome". He loves Chicago but is so excited to join the ImprovAcadia cast and explore Maine for the first time!
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Shelby Burton is delighted to be returning to Improv Acadia for her 9th season! Shelby spends the majority of her time teaching middle school theater.  She is a proud founding member of Bughouse Theater (www.bughousetheater.com) where she is the current Director of Outreach and Education, directs  Hogwash: An Improvised Tall Tale ( www.hogwashkids.com), and performs in The Fowler Family Radio Hour. She would like to thank her family, husband Joe, and their two sons Crash and Greer for their love and support.  She would like to also give a shout out to her in-laws for traveling to Maine with her family every summer so she and her husband can perform together on the same stage.
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Tim Walsh is over the moon about being back in Bar Harbor to play at Improvacadia. He regularly performs at The Improv Shop in St. Louis, Mo., where he is on the house Harold team Burnside. In addition to performing, Tim is very fortunate to teach there as well. When he's not improvising, he loves to travel with his new bride, Annie, and spending time with his son, Ian. Tim is a believer in the holistic powers of improv. It may start in a class or on a stage, but improv can positively touch every part of your life.

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Annie Niehoff is an Midwestern improviser heralding from St. Louis, Missouri. She coaches, teaches, has performed improv internationally and in nationwide festivals with her home improv troupe HOMEBURGER. Annie is a Step-mom, wife, and ESL teacher. This is her third season at ImprovAcadia and she is most looking forward to singing, sweating onstage and eating Lobster rolls at the Thirsty Whale.
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VINCE KRACHT has improvised at ImprovAcadia for a decade. He studied theatre at Western Michigan University and improv at the Second City Training Center. Vince was the title role in the Midwest premiere of THE NANCE, for which he received a JEFF nomination and won Broadway World-Chicago’s Best Actor Award. Vince has worked in the Chicago area with The Goodman Theatre, TimeLine, Drury Lane, and Court theatres. He also spent time sailing on The Oasis of the Seas as Wilbur opposite Jim J. Bullock’s Edna in HAIRSPRAY—featured on the 66th Annual Tony Awards. Vince is represented exclusively by Gray Talent.
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Dennis Price is happy to return to ImprovAcadia and spend his time with Larrance and Jen and the merry band of IA improvisers. Originally from Blacksburg, Virginia, Dennis has been involved and working in Maine for the last twenty years. He studied improv in Chicago at the IO Theater (formerly ImprovOlympic) and The Second City. He is the founder of Capital City Improv, based in Augusta, Maine, and is a certified Theater and English teacher. He lives in Readfield, Maine with his patient wife Dania and Charlotte, the Wonder Poodle. He ain't hungry...but he could eat.
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Mo Phillips-Spotts is a graduate of Williams College and has lived in Chicago since 2013. In that time she has enjoyed completing the Second City Music Improv Conservatory, performing with 2016’s Infinite Sundaes as well as other sketch and original musicals around Chicago. Currently she teaches at The Second City’s Training Center in both the Music Improv Conservatory and the kid and teen program, is a member of Storytown improv, Cosmic (a ComedySportz house team) and travels and performs with her indie team, My Old Mint Team. She is excited to join ImprovAcadia this summer!
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Jason Geis is thrilled to return for his fifth summer! When not performing in Bar Harbor, Jason is running around Chicago performing at The pH Comedy Theater and with his iO house team, Uh Oh. 
Jason has trained and played at The Annoyance Theater and iO Theater. Jason has also taught and coached for iO, The Playground Theater, The Basement Theater (Atlanta), Huge Theater (Minneapolis), ImprovBoston (Boston), Zoo Improv (Champaign, IL), Westside Comedy Theater (LA) and was formerly the coach of the Depaul University college improv team. Jason also likes directing and writing, some of his favorites include: The Breakfast Club Musical, The Room: The Musical, Centralia, and Not As Advertised. He is currently working on two new original musicals! Big thanks to Jen and Lawrence for having me back, now everyone turns your phones to off, or you might try...off. 
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Erika Hackmiller is so excited to be performing at Improv Acadia! Originally from Maine, she has spent the past five years in Chicago studying at The Second City, iO Theatre, and Zanies. Her play, Lost and Found, was workshopped and produced by The New Colony's Associate Company and in 2017 she wrote and performed with The Second City Training Center's musical house ensemble, where she co-wrote a new musical, A Better Brothers Grimm. Her work has been seen at Women’s Funny Fest, Chicago Sketchfest, The New Colony, The Crowd, iO Comedy Network, and The Mary Scruggs Works by Women Festival. She has been published in Word Brothel and The Belladonna Comedy. MFA Writing for the Screen and Stage Northwestern University 2020. Twitter: @ErikaFromMaine
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Jason Preble is excited to be performing with ImprovAcadia again this summer. Jason is an actor and an improviser from Bangor Maine. When not performing with ImprovAcadia, Jason improvises throughout the year with The Focus Group out of Bangor, co-hosts The Mouthnoise Podcast, and works as an IT professional at a local credit union. Jason would like to thank Jen and Larrance for the fantastic opportunity, the rest of the incredibly talented cast, and his wonderful wife for supporting his efforts to make things up in front of people.
 
 
Emily Batek
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Amy Roeder
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Joe Burton is very excited to be back at Improv Acadia.  Joe spends most of his time playing legos with his four year old, Crash, running Bughouse Theater and biking around Chicago where he and his wife, Shelby, call home.  He is a member of the Improvised Sheakespeare Company, Laugh Out Load Theater and is a founding member of Bughouse Theater.  He would like to thank his wonderful family, for all their support and especially Joe and Linda for making the trip Maine to see shows and, in accordance with their grandparent duties, feed Crash chocolate ice cream after bedtime.
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Andi Sharavsky is a graduate of Second City's Comedy Studies and Music Improv Conservatory programs. She has also trained at iO and The Annoyance. Andi performs in The Musical Armando at iO, and she is an alumnus of Infinite Sundaes - The Second City Training Center's musical house ensemble. Andi has contributed to The Onion News Network, and her writing has also been featured in The Chicago Tribune, Reductress, McSweeney’s, Splitsider, BuzzFeed, Thought Catalog, and The One-Minute Play Festival. She is a graduate of Vassar College, where she was honored with the Molly Thacher Kazan Memorial Prize for Outstanding Work in the Theatre Arts.
Julia Weiss
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Katie Nixon (no relation to President Nixon) has entertained audiences internationally and across the USA. Katie trained extensively at The Second City, where she spent over a year with Infinite Sundaes, the Training Center’s musical house ensemble.

Katie performs regularly with Baby Wants Candy (The Second City) and The Musical Armando (iO). She has taught and performed music improv at numerous festivals with the troupe After Party, including the Reykjavik International Improv Festival.

Katie has written and performed original sketch comedy with several groups, such as Rehner & Nixon, Trifecta, and Unlikely Company. Her solo works were showcased at The Kates on Broadway (The Laugh Factory Chicago), the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival, and Davenport’s Piano Bar.

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Natalie Younger is a Chicago-based actor writer, comedian and over-indulged youngest child. She is an alumna of The Second City Conservatory, iO Chicago, Black Box Acting and The Theatre School at DePaul University among other institutions. Hailing from and studying in the Chicago area, Natalie is ecstatic to get out of the Midwest and join ImprovAcadia for the season. She is currently an ensemble member with ComedySportz Chicago, Laugh Out Loud and Jane Bond: Funny But Deadly. When not performing on the screen or stage, Natalie co-runs The Banditry Co., a full-service animation boutique. Natalie would like to thank her husband and dog for keeping an eye on each other when she's away. More on her work and adventures at @NattyYounger and natalie-younger.com.
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Kerri Morrison is an actor and improviser based in Chicago. She currently teaches at The Second City Training Center where she is also an alumna of the musical house ensemble Infinite Sundaes. You can see her improvise around Chicago with The Improvised Sondheim Project and Bookends. Kerri is represented by Paonessa Talent Agency.
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Cooper Bohn began his artistic journey at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, playing with a group called The Understudies Improv. After a few years, he began taking Second City and iO classes in Chicago on weekends, in addition to his college classes in Madison, WI on weekdays. Cooper has resided in Chicago for 18 months now post-graduation, and is half of the award-winning improv group "Stoopie," which has performed at festivals in Grand Rapids and Omaha. He is also a recent graduate of iO's improv program as well as Second City's Conservatory. Cooper is originally from Genoa City, WI, and would like to thank his mother for her endless support. On Wisconsin!
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Sean Sullivan is a Chicago-based improviser born in Rhode Island, trained in Boston, and excited to be back in New England. He performs with the Musical Armando at iO and is celebrating his third summer with ImprovAcadia! Past credits include: Laugh Out Loud Theater, iO Theater, Baby Wants Candy, CSz Worldwide. Sean is currently a member of the faculty of Second City and has written for Second City Network. Since 2014, he has contributed to The Onion, and yes, it was definitely that joke that you love the most. Sean also works as a facilitator and actor for Imagination Theater, a youth social issues theater. Sean would like to thank Southwest Airlines for helping him get here.
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Simon Collier
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This is Cynthia Kmak’s sixth year with ImprovAcadia and she’s as happy as an over sized lobster that needs to be thrown back in! Originally from Wisconsin Dells, WI, Cynthia moved to the second city to pursue her dream to make people laugh. She performs and teaches improv and workshops all over the city and in some lucky suburbs. She’s most proud of the class she created called Improv on the Spectrum, which helps teach social skills and dealing with anxiety thru improv. Cynthia is also the Dean of Students at the ComedySportz Chicago’s Training Center and Professional School. She’s a graduate of Second City’s Conservatory, iO’s training center and completed studies at the Annoyance and at ComedySportz Milwaukee. Cynthia spends her days trying to become famous and running insane amounts of miles while coaching others to enjoy doing the same. She’d like to thank Jen and Larrance for letting her play year after year.
Tim Sniffen
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Nate Miller is excited to join the cast of ImprovAcadia for its 16th season. Kansas City-born and St. Louis-based, Nate is a graduate of the training center at The Improv Shop in St. Louis, where he has performed regularly since 2015. He is currently a member of house Harold team Tucker’s Bucket and the Asssscat-inspired show Field Day. When he is not improvising, Nate plays guitar in a ‘90s rock cover band, studies programming, and obsessively follows the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jennifer Conner
Ross Taylor is originally from St. James, MO, but currently lives in Chicago, where he works at Second City as an actor and teacher. Before moving to Chicago, Ross lived in NYC for 7 years, acting and teaching at Magnet Theater, the PIT and UCB and dozens of other stages around the city. He is delighted to be working with ImprovAcadia and looks forward to exploring the north country and eating a lot of taffy. 
Allen Adams