Teachers
Bandit Theater is proud to work with a wonderful team of teaching artists. If you love working with new improvisers and want to teach with us, we would be thrilled to hear from you! Tune back in to this page for opportunities to work with us and our students.
Improv Training Program
Annie Barry
(She/Her) Annie Barry is the Founder and Artistic Director at Bandit. She has been performing improv and comedy for over a decade. She is delighted to be performing on "Swipe Right" and "Gram Worthy". She loves playing make believe in a world that discourages it in adults. She currently directs, "The Reader" and teaches improv at Seattle Children's Theater in a partnership with Bandit. She is a vegan, please don't hate her.
Matthew Joseph
(He/Him) Originally from Connecticut Matthew has been doing improv comedy for 10 years. While getting his BFA in Acting at Central Connecticut State University he had his first improv experience on a whim by joining the schools improv team on a trip to New York City for a workshop with the Upright Citizen’s Brigade. After discovering he never had to learn another line again, Matthew was immediately hooked. He did most of his training at the Upright Citizens Brigade Training Center in NYC where he learned long form game based improv.
Kevin McVey
(He/Him) Kevin is an improviser and educator with over a decade of experience on stage and in the classroom. Prior to Bandit Theater, Kevin was a teacher at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science where his experiential curriculum design applied the practice of improv to STEM and won numerous departmental awards. Today, Kevin performs on the cast of Mad Science with Bandit Theater and co-produces the comedy mashup Ten Percent Luck with his indie team Yeah Okay. Kevin believes that everyone has a unique voice in improv and delights in supporting new improvisers as they find theirs.
Mary C. Parker
Education Lead
(She/Her) Mary believes we can all benefit from adding a little humor to our lives. She took her first improv class 10 years ago while seeking stress relief from work. Mary has performed with teams in Portland, OR, London, UK, Pittsburgh, PA, and now in Seattle on The Harld Next Door at Bandit. She has appeared at comedy festivals in Richmond, VA, Edinburgh, UK, and Pittsburgh, PA. Mary has taught improv at Kickstand Comedy, and she has been on the Faculty at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama and Point Park University Conservatory of Performing Arts. Mary looks forward to teaching at Bandit and having you in her class!
Eloise O'Loane
(She/Her) Eloise's improv career began in 2021 (though she earned a Business Marketing degree in 2019, so who's to say when it really began) after taking classes in Seattle, where she eventually found her way to Bandit Theater. After playing in Bandit's first Tumbleweeds program, she joined the Mad Science cast. When she is not improvising, Eloise is a writer and performer for the sketch comedy group Good Crash! and a Quizmaster where she hosts trivia in bars across Seattle.
Jessi Smith
(She/Her) Jessi was introduced to improv and started taking classes with Bandit Theater in the fall of 2022. She left her first class absolutely hooked and went on to complete Bandit's 4 levels of classes and participated in their Tumbleweeds program. Outside of improv, Jessi loves making costumes, hanging with her sweet pup Leo, and dressing as famous duos for her holiday cards. Most importantly, she has O positive blood type, making her a fan favorite amongst mosquitos.
Jeff D’Angelo
(He/Him) Jeff’s improv journey began with him twerking on stage as the subject of Swipe Right and he’s been hooked ever since. A pediatric nurse by day, Jeff recently completed Bandit's training program and is grateful for the community he's built through improv and for having a regular creative outlet outside of work. Jeff enjoys using the entirety of his 6’ 3” frame to explore the "big feelings" and physicality of his characters and expressing himself in ways once forbidden as a closeted youth. Off stage, Jeff can be found supporting his favorite local drag queens, sitting outside reading a book or writing his latest poem/chapter of his memoir and relishing in his role as “everyone’s favorite Guncle”.
Mason Lok
(He/Him) Mason is very excited to be here! He has been learning improv since 2016, and was formerly a performing member of the Dead Parrot’s Society, WWU’s improv team. He has recently been taking classes with Bandit Theater; he’s enjoying them tremendously; and has been cast in the Tacoma production of Almost Yours. He loves the community here, and he’s incredibly grateful!
Samantha Velucci
(She/Her) Samantha understands life is short and searches for meaning through comedy and companionship. In 2022, she began her improv journey after watching a show in Seattle where Annie told her she makes for a great audience member. She quickly fell in love with improv and sees it as an opportunity to experience new things with every scene. She's thrilled to be performing on "Inkprov" after a recent move to Tacoma. She will get matching tattoos with you, she's a tad impulsive.
Laura Kirol
(She/Her) Laura's grandmother calls her Laura Bean, which is a shortened version of her childhood nickname "Laura Jeanne the Jumping Bean". Laura's best friend calls her Loo, because Laura is not easily turned into a 1 syllable name. One of Laura's students once called her "Ms. Pumpkin Patch Lady" because of a sweater she wore to school that made her "look like an English teacher" even though she isn't. Laura often introduces herself as "Laura?" because she's a little shy when meeting new people! No matter what you call her (just don't call her late to dinner, am I right?), Laura loves improv and has the time of her life performing with Swipe Right.
Melissa Zargon
(She/Her) Melissa was a goofy lil theatre kid who could not sing or be bothered to memorize lines, so naturally found her performance art destiny to be improv comedy. She was on the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) house team (shoutout Jorts Lopez), taught Level 2 at the UCF Improv Academy, helped create a Femprov workshop to teach inclusivity in comedy to college students, and eventually she ditched Florida for Seattle where she found her new home amongst the mountains and at Bandit Theater. These days she is beyond thrilled to be playing in Bandit’s tarot based show, The Reader.
John Watchter
(He/Him) John is a returning to improv after taking break to get his shit together. Before this version, John did longform improv shows with jet city improv, and a weekly improv podcast. Before that he wandered in the wilderness of service jobs, and in the distant mists of history he studied acting in college and tried to work as an actor in Chicago and los Angeles. I know he doesn’t seem that old? now He spends time being a best uncle to a brilliant niece and nephew, trying to do a maximum number of push-ups, zipping around on scooter, and working on a psychology degree. He is very grateful to be a part of the bandit company and this show!
Cam Kiernan
(She/Her) Cam Kiernan is a Seattle based improvisor, actress, and comedian with over a decade of experience on stage, on set, and on the mic. Cam started improv in college where she became obsessed with learning all the ins and outs of performing and has since studied the art of improv, stand up, acting, clowning, and so much more. Today, Cam is best known for her stand up comedy appearances in The Big Laugh (Amazon Prime) and Live In Loveland (Tubi) but you can find her performing improv in Seattle with Bandit's Couple's Quiz and stand up across the country with Hotties of Comedy.