The Collaborators
Chris Shurland
Founder, Irreverent Improv
Chris Shurland is a Chicago-trained improv teacher, performer, and — fortuitously — an attorney, currently based in Southern California. Having completed training programs at Second City, iO, and the Annoyance Theater, and attended workshops across the United States and Canada in improv, clowning, and physical comedy, Chris had the good fortune of being shaped by some of the finest improv minds in the country. He has not stopped talking about it since.
He has performed with independent and house teams across Chicago and California, developed original improv forms — including Terminal, Crossroads, and soon The Relic which he created and is perhaps unreasonably proud of — and built improv programs from the ground up, most recently at Sunshine Brooks Theater in Oceanside. He teaches workshops nationally and has taught and performed internationally, including Thailand, which the Thais have been remarkably gracious about.
Previously Associate Artistic Director at American Improv Theatre, Chris currently serves as faculty at Finest City Improv and performs with Legends of Public Access, Bankers Killed, and his own Irreverent Improv company — where, as founder, he is contractually obligated to appear.
Jeff Ringgold
Irreverent Collaborator & Artistic Director, American Improv Theatre
Jeff Ringgold brings more than thirty years of performance, teaching, and artistic leadership to Irreverent Improv. One of the founding members of San Jose ComedySportz, Jeff went on to become a member of iO West’s inaugural house team — studying under the direct mentorship of Del Close and Jonathan Winters, two of the most influential figures in the history of improvisational theater. We mention this casually, as if it is not a remarkable thing.
A working actor with an extensive theatrical background — from M*A*S*H to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum — Jeff holds a degree in Theatre Arts from San Jose State University and has studied at ACT, the Groundlings, and UCLA. He has performed and taught improv across the United States and internationally.
As owner and Artistic Director of American Improv Theatre, Jeff has dedicated his career to watching people discover what they are capable of when the script disappears. He remains insufferably good at it.
John Abbott
Irreverent Collaborator & Faculty, Westside Improv Studio
Chicagoland-based John Abbott has been performing, coaching, and teaching improv for more than two decades. The founder of the popular Individual Improv Intensive, John is a graduate of The Annoyance, iO, and Second City’s Training Center — and served as night manager at iO, where he estimates he witnessed more than 5,000 improv performances. That number is not a typo, and we have stopped questioning it.
A veteran of iO’s ensemble stages, John performed with Wing Night at the Playground for twelve years and currently performs with the musical improv troupe Dirty Bars in Wheaton, Illinois, and with the improv duo Legends of Public Access alongside Chris Shurland.
As a coach, John has guided teams including Gulp, Hush, Karate Van, and the Procrastination League — all Chicago Improv Festival veterans. He currently coaches Dirty Bars and teaches advanced classes at WestSide, which keeps him sufficiently busy and, frankly, out of trouble.
Innovative + Intelligent = Irreverent · info@i2improv.com · (760) 385-8892