Professional Play Instigator

I believe it is a deeply rooted need, down to our primal core, that we need to play in order to survive and here's how I got to that conclusion:

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Over the last 20 years I have enjoyed a continued study and practice of theatre and improv. In 2008 I moved to Los Angeles to study improv with iO West, Second City, Groundlings, and Comedy Sportz. During my decade enmeshed in the entertainment industry I took some time to become a certified laughter yoga instructor - to help people tap into laughter without having to wait for the jokes! I found the stress of "being funny" can rob us of opportunities to laugh when we need it most. 

In 2018 my husband and I decided over a plate of pickles in a New York style deli in Los Angeles that we would do a complete life change, take a leap of faith and try a new adventure - moving back to my home town in the Pacific Northwest. True to improv fashion, we had no idea what was to come after that initiation and first step. But over the course of the first year into our new life we opened a chocolate and book shop, taught swing dancing classes, the pandemic hit and we pivoted and improvised our way through until we sold our business six years later - and it still lives on! 

As I continue this improvised life, I love to find opportunities to speak and inspire others to tap into their more playful side, hear what the little voice says within them. The voice that says "what if?"

Beyond speaking opportunities I create fun filled improv classes and laughter classes that help you recharge and realign your brain chemistry with more hope for the future and bring us closer together as a community. I regularly take my own advice when I am feeling stuck and have to fight my chronic perfectionism and I hope that through my own discoveries I can help you too.