Terry started acting late in life, and has done everything that's legal to do on a stage. From Shakespeare to M*A*S*H to "Sorry, Wrong Chimney", he has received more than one TANYS Excellence in Acting Award.
Reviews: “A natural onstage, Terry Burgess, gives a relaxed, unfrantic, yet totally hilarious performance of the titular character. A must see ." Craig Thornton, WWNYTV 7
Terry is no stranger to screen acting either. He can be seen in short and feature length films as well as in local TV commercials as both an extra and as a leading man.
Terry's historical references keep us accurate - good thing he has the memory of a dinosaur (did I say that out loud?)
Our troupe would be missing it's dry wit and unassuming and underrated humor without The Big T.
Jim's preference is for musical theater, but we made him an offer he couldn't refuse, and he crossed over to the dark side of straight theater. Jim has been performing and teaching others how to perform since 2000 (please don't tell him how old that makes him sound). Never one to shy away from a challenge, Jim has directed up to 4 shows a year, tackling shows like "Addict" and "Wit" with the same sense of purpose as "Almost, Maine" and "Hairspray"; all while acting, himself.
Jim has hand a hand in over 50 shows in the last 18 years, and has even been part of the inception of a few children's theater programs. He belongs to the boards of several theater associations. He can be seen on stage with both community and professional works from Opera to Murder Mysteries.
Jim is also the guy who schools us in stage combat, accents, and shakespearean insults .
Our troupe wouldn't be the same without his malleable face & on point dialects to pull off any archetype we throw at him.
Nikki has been involved with musical theater since a very young age; but her amazing eye for fashion keeps her (an everyone else in the troupe) cool and hot in any era. Nikki has been found strutting her stuff on stages all across New York and we are thankful that she struts magnificently across any venue we throw at her as well.
Nikki can be found running everything from trivia to karaoke in the Watertown Area because people just can't stay away when she has a microphone in her hand.
Our troupe would suffer from a serious lack of fashion sense and be missing it's signature goodbye sound without The Voice.
Jodi prefers music over all else (am I sensing a theme with these guys?) and is best known for singing with several acapella groups from the area. Having won championships at many levels is a testament to her dedication. But for us, dedication and musical prowess translates to body language! With the grace of....Grace Kelly, we let her make us look good with the dancing that invades every show at least once. But she doesn't stop there. Her over the top characters are easily identifiable as someone everybody knows (as in: I know someone just like that!).
Always one to be able to tell a story, she's happy to while away the hours flirting, I mean sitting with our patrons.
Out troupe would be lacking in the infectious table talk that's made us famous without our own Lucille Ball.
Shane will never say that he prefers straight theater (he's wishy-washy that way) but he can be seen on stage in both musicals and straight shows, as well as on film, and his voice and face may even appear on your tv set during a commercial break. Shane plays serious very well, as we can attest to with his performance in some heavy shows like "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" but we challenged him to create characters whose one liners and pop culture jokes were unbeatable. And he totally rose to the challenge.
Shane pulls off who we would all be, if we were just a little wittier, a little more popular, and little better looking.
Our troupe would be missing its pop culture SNL vibe and a massive amount of facial hair if it weren't for The Shock Jock.
One look at Barry's smile and you'll immediately know why they cast him in musicals on the big stage. As an avid supporter of theater, he can not only be seen in lead and supporting roles but also as the guy who works to ensure that children have access to the opportunities that theater provides. Barry's larger than life personality also makes him a popular face at his local eatery where he makes everyone feel like they are the star of the show.
Barry's favorite part of interactive improv is the interactive part and we are glad it is! While Barry may be the life of the party, he'll make sure you feel that way too...along with everyone else in the room.
Our troupe wouldn't be the same without Da Boss's attention to every patron as well as his inability to keep a secret!
Ever seen "Chicago"? Kathrine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellweger got nothing on our Big Mama. Cindy Tyler's larger-than-life characters draw your attention - away from the killer perhaps? We've never heard a sigh say so much! Not to mention a wink, a nod, and a hip shake. This might be why she can be found on stage, in movies, commercials, and web series from our local area and beyond.
We can always count on her to push herself, and the rest of us out of our comfort zones, even if it means we are scrambling after her to keep up. Her deep understanding of "the devil is in the details" makes her characters some of the most fun to interact with - from the costumes, to the accent, to the jewelry and the jokes, pay close attention to our Big Mama, who, technically, never did anything wrong, just ask her!
Someday we will ask her to play a serious character, like her harrowing portrayal of Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but for now we'll stick to letting our own Big Mama rule the jailhouse and the dining room.
Ali studied theater in high school but wasn't sure if she'd be any good at improv. We knew she'd be amazing because she has an abundance of the two things required: she's a great team player and she creates perfectly believable characters - where none should be. Never able to hide a single emotion, her exaggerated character's feelings are written all over her face...and her body! Whenever you glance in her direction you'll know exactly how she feels about the situation. Unless she's lying that is. She hides an amazing aptitude for trickery in there somewhere.
Understated she is not. Loud of voice and loud of body language she's hilarious to watch, no matter what her motive for murder may be.
Out troupe would definitely take itself far to seriously and be missing the better share of spit takes and physical comedy without this Angel.
Jason brings new meaning to the names "Savage" and "The Rock". Joining our troupe with limited stage experience did not mean that he came with limited performance experience. Jason is the embodiment of the phrase "All the world's a stage", personifying the idea as he walks the halls of his Middle School as well as the halls of our venues. Jason never met a performance challenge he didn't take on with the gust of Macho Man, hitting it over the head with a chair and then rising with his hands raised to declare victory. You're never quite sure what just happened when Jason leaves your table but that doesn't mean you didn't like it!
Just like the "Real Wrestle-Mania" Jason dazzles actors and patrons alike! Just look at that smile....and never mind the murder weapon dangling out of his pocket!
You know that actor that you see on TV and everyone in the room starts snapping and pointing at the screen because you KNOW who that is....but you don't know who that is? For us, that guy is Dan. He blends in even when he's standing out. And he's always standing out. Whether he is playing an audiologically challenged octogenarian, a the monarch of a fictitious child hating country, or a sleazy 1970's "businessman" (cough cough) he will hold your rapt attention, only for you to remember his moustache, his jokes, or his accent and not much else. Which works perfectly for him when he needs an alibi.
Dan is a font of knowledge in all things large and small which makes him one of the Butler's best table talkers. He's so convincing that that even when he has no idea what he's talking about, he thinks he does, and you will too. His intellect is truly dizzying and he makes us truly believe in his reality.
With more layers than a beloved German cake, our troupe wouldn't be able to convince you that you are sitting in the conference room of a hospital, the ballroom of an opera house, or on the beach in someplace warm, if it weren't for Our Man of Mystery.
Tanya is the total package and the producer of all that we do as a performing group. She handles the contracts, the crowds, conscripts and the catastrophes (of which there are very little, we assure you) . During shows, when not acting with the rest of the troupe, she is stage managing and making everything right as rain. Tanya is also an accomplished storyteller, having performances on public radio, the MOTH Storyhour, and at the Great New York State Fair. Additionally, she is an accomplished writer, including the script for the WPBS production of Murder at Singer Castle.
Tanya has been a public school teacher for more than two decades in various capacities. She currently holds six different degrees in higher learning, including time on Harvard campus, and graduate degrees.
The Boss Lady's Zany life experiences help us all to “keep it real”.
Erin is only quiet and unassuming when we ask her to be; hand her a drink and a cigarette and you'd never know she was the same person. Which is a skill we totally choose to capitalize on. Dark glasses and a trench coat never looked better.
From a musical theater family, Erin decided to give this improv thing a try when she realized that it involved making fun of the other cast members with a totally straight face, something she's been perfecting in her large family for many years.
Our troupe would be at a loss for the ingenuity and seriousness that almost makes us believable, and those faces your mother said would stick that way without The Charmer.
Michelle may be the killer, but even she isn't sure! It won't matter because you'll be so busy trying to figure out what she's talking about or trying to be her friend that by the time the killer is revealed you'll be writing her defense yourself. Michelle doesn't mean to be distracting, she just....is! Which works perfectly for us!
Michelle has been an actor since she started gathering together the neighborhood kids to put on plays and when they weren’t interested her stuffed animals would understudy. That might be why she's so good at pulling in the most reluctant of audience members. She combined her theatrical and interpreting skills often on stage numerous productions. She loves all of the work whether in front of a camera, on stage, or interactive improv.
Our troupe would be missing it's loud, colorful ability to distract you from the truth without The Distraction.