Jay Olson performs with iO's Whiskey Rebellion, ComedySportz Chicago, DSI's THE BEATBOX, and as the 'Olson' half of Cathcart & Olson. He currently serves as the Artistic Director for DSI Chicago, on the faculty of The ComedySportz Training Center, and is a member of The Applied Improvisation Network. Jay has been a creative consultant for numerous corporate clients and universities, and is honored to have performed and taught at comedy and theatre festivals in Amsterdam, Dublin, Toronto, Chapel Hill, New York City, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and sweet home Chicago.

Matt Elwell, Artistic Director, has been using improvisation to facilitate soft-skills learning in the corporate, public and educational sectors since 2001 with previous experience as an instructor, director, and actor in professional theater since 1997. A performer with The ComedySportz Theatre since 2000, Matt has presented on the art and use of improvisation at the 2003 International Thespian Festival, and the 2003 Educational Theater Association Annual Conference, as well as several conferences at the state level. As a performer, Matt has appeared with Second City Theatricals, GayCo, WNEP, IO, and Dave & Co. Matt is also an Associate Faculty Member of the Second City Training Center in Chicago as well as a proud member of the American Society for Training and Development.

Making the decision to take his first improv class completely changed Mike Enriquez's life and he can not imagine what he would be doing if he had not stumbled onto this amazing art form. Originally from the great state of Oklahoma, Mike has been learning and playing improv in Chicago since 1999. Mike joined the ComedySportz Ensemble in 2003 and was awarded "Rookie of the Year" and currently serves as one of the Assistant Artistic Directors for CSZ. You can also see him performing at iO (formerly Improv Olympic), as well as improv festivals from New York to Seattle.

Nick Hausman has taught workshops at the Texas State Thespian Festival as well as the Texas Educational Theatre Association conference on several occasions. Nick has produced shows at the iO, ComedySportz and Annoyance Theatre. Recently Nick was the coach for one of the ComedySportz Rec League teams, Remote Remote, and has also coached college teams at Loyola University of Chicago. He attributes a great deal of his improv mentality and style to the wonderful Susan Messing for whom he has been at Teachers Aide for at iO.

René Duquesnoy has been involved in improvisation for almost a decade years. He has taught classes and workshops across North America, and has toured the festival circuit with DSI's Beatbox, RoadTrip, and Fritter Kings. René believes in playing fast, playing hard, and eating Chic-Fil-A.

Rich Baker has been performing improv since October 2002. After graduating from TCU in 2003 (with a major in Radio-TV-Film), Rich joined ComedySportz Dallas in January 2004. After relocating to the Midwest, he was cast in ComedySportz Chicago in March 2006 where he currently teaches High School workshops, corporate workshops, and Training Center classes. He has performed at iO, Donny's Skybox at Second City, with WNEP, and weekly at the Comedy Shrine in Naperville. He co-founded the improv group Alpha Dog Omega, which has performed at the Playground theatre and ComedySportz Chicago.

Sarah Maher has been teaching improv and coaching teams for the last four glorious years. While performing on the mainstage at Boston's Improv Asylum, Sarah taught Levels One and Two at the IA Conservatory as well as corporate comedy workshops. You can see Sarah performing at CSz every Saturday night with the critically acclaimed show The Hot Karl, or at iO, or Playground. If you are lucky enough, you may see her performing or training at your corporate event as well. Sarah looks forward to seeing you in class.

Stephanie McCullough (Psy.D.) has been performing improv piano with ComedySportz since 1999. She began her piano studies at the age of five and studying music composition at the age of nine. Her undergraduate studies included music composition and piano performance at the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio before moving to Chicago to acquire her Doctorate degree in clinical psychology. Stephanie's published dissertation was on an empirical study of creativity and collaboration in the making of an original musical in 2001. Stephanie toured nationally with the Second City Touring Company from 2004 to 2006 and has, herself, co-written at least one original musical per year since 2000. She has created hundreds of songs and has been music director for dozens of musicals, corporate productions and recording projects. Stephanie attributes overcoming years of performance anxiety and severe childhood shyness to improv and the culture of spontaneity, commitment and acceptance that ComedySportz specifically promotes.

Tara DeFrancisco was awarded "Funniest Person in Chicago" by the Free Press, "30 Under 30" in the Windy City Times, and "25 Funniest Females" in Curve Magazine for her ventures in stand up and improv. She has recently been scouted by national television shows for her writing and live performance skills. She teaches improv courses and workshops to people of all ages and backgrounds all across this nation, and that's about the most rewarding thing ever - traveling to elementary and high schools, colleges, and offices all over the country. Tara has taught for all three theatres (CSz, iO, and SC) in town, both in-house and on location. Heard of corporate comedy? She does that too, so if you need a roast for your CEO, she's your gal. There are no words to express how very thankful she is.