Amy started improvising with RFT in 2002, and served as Artistic Director for six years. Amy performed regularly in Theatresports, Maestro, and CHiMPROV, as well as guesting with other companies around the globe. Since stepping back as Artistic Director in 2015, Amy now spends her time in Vancouver.
In Vancouver, Amy is an instructor with Blind Tiger Comedy; a comedy school founded by internationally-recognized improv troupes The Sunday Service and Hip.Bang! Through Sour Dog Theatre, she also runs a monthly Maestro show with Ali Froggatt and Jeff Gladstone. Starting in 2018, Amy is also the Festival Director of the Vancouver International Improv Festival (VIIF).
Amy is experienced in short form game play (Theatresports, Maestro), as well as long form structures (Harold, Tap Out, Deconstruction). She performs and tours with Rapid Fire Theatre’s Off Book: The Improvised Musical, as well as in her duo Rå Power, with Joleen Ballendine.
Improv has taken Amy many places. She is so pleased to have been able to take part in the following festivals:
- The Vancouver International Improv Festival (Vancouver)
- Picnic Impro’s Monkeyfest (Bogota)
- IF (Winnipeg)
- Teatribu’s Lost in Translation (Milan)
- Wurzburger Impro Festival (Wurzburg, Germany)
- Sweden International Improv Festival (Uppsala, Sweden)
- VTS’s St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Theatresports Tournament (Vancouver)
- Fools Fest (Regina)
- Dad’s Garage World Domination Theatresports Tournament (Atlanta)
- Impro (Berlin)
What’s a favourite memory of RFT?
The nervous energy in the wings right before going on stage. Everyone trying to be quiet, but being so excited and mischievous. Someone urgently saying: “they just called your name”, suggesting I needed to interrupt the host and go on stage right now. People laughing so hard while trying to be quiet. Someone else saying “What are we even doing? What is improv?”. It was a weekly routine. The audience definitely heard us.
