Jacque Arend is the lead instructor of the Medical Improv program created in 2020 and expanded in 2022 for first year med students here at the University of Arizona. She has been a facilitator of Improvisation since 2007 and specifically using applied improvisation for team building, strong communications and leadership skills since 2010. Jacque built and led the Torch Theatre’s corporate training department from 2010-2019 and now offers her expertise through Arizona Actors Academy and Second Beat Improv. She has custom built workshops for various groups from corporations to outreach programs. Some of her recent workshops have been with Texas Christian University Med School, Nationwide Insurance, JP Morgan Chase, SRP and AZ Impact For Good. Throughout her time, she has also presented workshops for the City of Phoenix, Yuma County. FBI, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, the Gold Foundation and countless ASU affiliated departments and groups. Outside of facilitating workshops, Jacque is the Managing Director of Improv Utopia, Associate Artistic Director of Arizona Actors Academy and the Executive Director of Sonoran All-Valley Improv. Jacque is partnered with Dr. Howard Silverman and a team of expert performers and facilitators to present Professional, Purposeful Play, a focus of using Clinical Improv to benefit medical professionals and their patients.

Dr. Silverman is a Professor in the Departments of Biomedical Informatics, Family & Community Medicine, and Bioethics & Medical Humanism at The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix (COM-P). He served as the founding Chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics, Associate Dean for Information Resources and Educational Technology, and the founding Program Director for the Banner/COM-P Clinical Informatics Fellowship. He was formerly the Program Director for the Banner Health Family Practice Residency in Phoenix.

Dr. Silverman graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Purdue University, majoring in Mathematics and German. He earned a Master's Degree in Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he specialized in Artificial Intelligence applications in medical decision making. He then attended Stanford University School of Medicine followed by a residency in Family Practice at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Dr. Silverman has formal training in improv and is engaged in using improv-based training techniques with medical students to improve cognition, communication, and teamwork in the field of medicine. His book, HEALING CEREMONIES: Creating Personal Rituals for Spiritual, Emotional, Physical and Mental Health describes his experiences using ceremonies as a vehicle to integrate traditional medical care and personal healing experiences and acts as a primer for creating healing ceremonies.

Krissy Lenz is the Director & Most Enthusiastic Person at the Neighborhood Comedy Theatre, Downtown Mesa’s home for hilarious, spontaneous and interactive improv comedy! Krissy began performing improv for audiences in 1996 and has more than 25 years of performance experience in addition to more than 15 years of  Directing and teaching improv to participants ages 7-77. In addition to her duties as Director and performer at the Neighborhood Comedy Theatre Krissy is the High School Improv League Administrator and Head Coach as well as an innovative event planner and producer. Looking for Krissy in a strictly audio format? Check out the Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast and Gank that Drank: A Supernatural Drinking Game Podcast.