2026 FESTIVAL ACTS

​​Paloma Nuñez is a Chicago-born, Toronto-based actor, comedian, and voice artist. A Screen Actors Guild Award winner for Spotlight, a Canadian Comedy Award winner for Best Ensemble with Second City's She The People, and a Dora Award winner for Best Ensemble with The Wonder Pageant. 

@thepalomanunez; palomanunez.com​

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Kris Siddiqi is a Toronto-bred comedian, actor, and writer, and a 2015 Canadian Comedy Award winner for Best Male Improviser. A Second City Mainstage alum, his screen credits span The Boys, Titans, Molly's Game, Baroness Von Sketch Show, and beyond. His multi-award-winning miniseries Bit Playas swept festivals worldwide, and his fantasy podcast Dwarven Moss took home Best Leisure Podcast at the Canadian Podcast Awards. 

@thesiddiqs; thekrissiddiqi.com

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Kevin Whalen teaches comedy at The Second City Training Centre, improvises with Friars Club Finalist troupe S&P, and occasionally appears on your TV.  Kevin is known for Bad Roomate (2009), Safari Brothers (2016) and The Handmaid's Tale (2017). When not performing, Kevin can be found eating nachos. 

Stacey is a powerhouse performer, director, and educator with over a decade of experience. Known for her explosive shows, relentless positivity, and unmatched work ethic, she previously served as Artistic Director and Director of Education at the legendary Boom Chicago Theater in Amsterdam, where she was also a mainstage cast member.​

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As a performer, Stacey has toured internationally with The Second City, starred in the theatricals Life Hacks and #DateMe, and shared the stage with comedy royalty including Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt, Heather Anne Campbell, Taran Killam, Amber Ruffin, Chris Redd, Kevin McDonald, Arjen Lubach, Dickie Smothers and more. She is also the creator of Stacejam, an improvised solo musical extravaganza that has earned critical acclaim.

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Stacey has performed and taught across Europe and North America, appearing 67 times at 25 international improv festivals, many as a headliner. An accomplished educator and program builder, Stacey has designed training programs for multiple schools and created specialized workshops, including S.H.E. (Sisterhood Humor Empowerment), a program for young female-identifying students. She has led and taught at major institutions including The Second City, iO Chicago, ImprovBoston, and ComedySportz Chicago.

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Stacey is also a prolific producer. She founded the Chicago Musical Improv Festival, has produced countless shows including The Musical Armando and Fraudway, and served as Boom Chicago Comedy Festival Artistic Director from 2021-2025. She founded her the Amsterdam Comedy Studio in 2026. 

“Roll with the squadron”

The Scenario is a multicultural, Toronto based hip hop musical improv troupe that blends the art of freestyle rap with the high-wire energy of live improvisation. Powered by original beats and real-time audience suggestions, every show is a one-of-a-kind experience where the crowd becomes the co-creator, and the rhymes never stop flowing.

Formed by veteran freestyle emcee and Second City Mainstage Alumni PHATT al, The Scenario features a diverse and dynamic cast: the quick-witted lyrical fire of Katie Chin, the dope flows of Ryan Troke, and the super fresh rhyme-slinging of Lance Oribello. Together, they turn any crowd prompt into musical comedy gold—dynamically flipping scenes, spitting verses, and riding the rhythm with fearless creativity.

Whether it’s a rap anthem about never being the 51st State or a love ballad from a bunch of oranges about to get juiced, The Scenario delivers beats, bars, and laughs.

Babe Rave started as a Harold class troupe in the Comedy Bar Pro Troupes Program taught by David Shore (IO West, Second City Mainstage) and then graduated to Comedy Bar’s House Teams. Babe Rave consists of members Andrew Pearson, Alexandra Bondesen, Robert Defina, Alexander Osborne, Kent Penaranda, and Connor Edwards who have worked closely together, developing deep listening, strong support, and full commitment across the troupe.

We build patiently, heighten boldly, and never let an offer pass by if it’s interesting enough.

Coached by Alistair Forbes (Second City Mainstage), we fuse Chicago-style long form improv with a “follow the fun” mentality.

Players individual credits as writers and performers include comedy festivals, theatre, film and television in cities worldwide, like Vancouver, New York, Chicago, and London.

Belt is an award winning troupe made up of a group of veteran Ottawa improvisers and musicians.

Belt performs regularly across the National Capital region with their full length musical improv shows.

The Improv Embassy All Stars is made up of faculty and board members of a school dedicated to growing and showcasing improv comedy in Canada's national capital.

You will recognize members from improv, sketch and theatre shows across town, as well as podcasts and film!

Together, they combine their years of experience, nerding out on improv and exploring comedy to give you a laugh-out-loud, whacky and wild, never before seen theatre experience.

Recent additions to the Ottawa improv scene, the 3 members of Boy Stinko met as members of the Canadian Comedy Award winning Toronto-based sketch comedy troupe the Sketchersons.

With credits including Second City Toronto, This Hour has 22 Minutes, David Lynch's Seinfeld, and Just For Laughs, etc. Samantha Adams, Greg Cochrane, and Matt Nadeau bring over 6 decades of experience to the stage.

2 of the troupe members hate the name Boy Stinko, but Matt tricked them into picking it.

(Josh)ua DeGagné and Josh(ua) Mayo have been performing improv since 2019 and are staples of the Ottawa improv community.

You’ve seen them together as part of Wayward Improvised Theatre’s Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience, an improvised sitcom with two sold-out regular season runs, and a special run at the 2024 Ottawa Fringe Festival. They’ve also been on other sold-out WIT runs, including workplace comedy Red Tape and real-life inspired Ottawa Secrets.

There are whispered rumors around the Montreal Improv scene that Questionable Decisions is actually just a polycule, so it’s unsurprising their narrative improv show features such sweeping emotion and soaring laughs!

Questionable Decisions has been working together for years working on their Improv for you enjoyment by putting up monthly shows, producing episodic series, performing at international improv festivals, and diving into experimental formats.

Known for their enthusiasm for play and experimentation, Questionable Decisions can be found getting lost in rich worlds full of wacky helpers and hinderers, and whatever else the vibe calls for.

Chelsea and Woody are Ottawa improv veterans who have been performing improv for a combined two decades.

They have had the honor of performing POTM across Ottawa and at the Ottawa Improv Festival, Ottawa Jamboree and Le Grand Yes And (Montreal).

They are frequent improv partners, performing together in ensemble troupes Black Box Improv, LitProv and Belt Improv.

They are both teachers at the Improv Embassy.

Christopher & Annabelle are living proof that you can turn your work relationship into a werk elation-ship by holding court at your agency's open-concept lunch table.

Consequences may include ridiculing your former boss and cherishing a forever-changed trajectory of your lives.

Six friends who came together three years ago and share one brain.

Staples of the Ottawa improv community! Gold star students! Your friends and mine!

Come check out Indoor Recess!

mom.boy.dad is an improv trio that creates a new, untested format every time they hit the stage. 

Formed in 2025 by Selene, Dan, and Alex, mom.boy.dad has carved out a place in Montreal's improv scene through dynamic characters, surreal worlds, and deeply silly premises.

Pandemic! @ the Disco is a duo from the Backline Comedy Theater in Omaha, Nebraska. They have been performing together for nearly a decade.

They now host a monthly musical improv showcase (Closing Night Debut) and perform full-length musicals several times per year.

P!@tD has won the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award for Outstanding Comedic Ensemble three times and has performed at festivals throughout the United States.

Peaking Duck started with a group of members finishing their Second City classes and wanting to stay together.

They met the other half at Comedy Bar classes and started regular shows there.

RATS! Another Musical? is a musical improv troupe based in Toronto performing high-energy, fully improvised musicals that draw inspiration from Sondheim, sappy holiday rom-coms and everything in between.

They are currently a House Team at Comedy Bar, with two monthly shows: their marquee show at CB Danforth and Way Off Broadway with troupe Mirv-“ish” at CB Bloor.

RATS! is known for their musical complexity, theatricality, ensemble chemistry and strong commitment to narrative.

Reindeer Tornado is a longform Harold troupe that brings a high energy physical style of improv that have brought their chaos to Harolds across iO Fest Chicago, DIF  Detroit, Buffalo, and Montreal festivals.

They also and produce a monthly Harold Night show in Toronto. Regardless of format, audiences can expect high octane comedy and a good time.

Formed in 1982, AL and Des have been *siblings* for over 4 decades, and have been improvising together for 3 of them.

Veterans of the Ottawa improv scene, these two masters of both the short and long form are founders of Crush Improv, and have performed across Canada and overseas.

They played in all 5 hours of the Crush Improv 10th Anniversary Show, which would go on to win a Canadian Comedy Award. 

Tuong La and Angus MacDonald both got their Improv careers started in Ottawa over a decade ago and have taught and performed in festivals from Ottawa to New York.

Wassup? has been a monthly fixture at Montreal Improv since 2023, built from some of the most seasoned improvisers the Montreal scene has to offer.

They've been doing this long enough to know what they're doing, and short enough to still be excited about it.

They are, by all accounts, awesome.

Embezzlement is a Vancouver-based improv troupe known for playing big characters and delivering big laughs. Performing as the resident ensemble at Oddhouse, this sharp, quick-thinking crew has hit stages at the Bellingham Improv Festival and the Vancouver Improv Festival, and headlines their own monthly show, A Night of Embezzlement.

The troupe features Ryan Bell, Bryan Clark, Sinead Grewcock, Jullian Kolstee, Caitlin Maira, Malcolm McLeod, and Trista Peterson—a lineup packed with comedic firepower.

Collectively, they’ve performed with esteemed companies like The Second City Toronto, The Improv Centre, Montreal Improv, and Tightrope Theatre amongst other places.

Fast, fearless, and always a little unpredictable, Embezzlement thrives on turning the unexpected into unforgettable comedy.

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A philosopher, a filmmaker and a marine biologist walk into a bar... after an Improv jam. and the three of them got along perfectly! They decided to keep the good vibes going, by starting their own group!

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The Flying Panda Theme Park has a combined experience of around 7 years of regular performance, coaching and classes.

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They currently take classes with the Improv Embassy and perform in shows all over Ottawa. 

Sure, you can DO Improv, but can you ACT improv?

Patrice and Josh are two professional (professional means you've been paid at least once to do it) actors, ready to display their art to the improv community.

Once described by the Winnipeg Free Press as having 'Zero Chemistry onstage', Patrice and Josh are both graduates of the University of Ottawa Theatre program, both work and create in the Ottawa theatre scene and have been dating for over a decade.

Sometimes you don't need chemistry... sometimes you just need ART.