Established by Ryan Stiles in 2004, The Upfront is a 100 seat cabaret style venue that offers live improv comedy every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
The Upfront performs and teaches many different styles and formats of improv including long and short form improv and everything in between. We also create and produce our own unique formats including our wildly popular murder mystery "Hellingham", our space adventure show "Space Trek", the superhero centered "Heroes of Sky City" and many more.
We have hosted events with world class improvisers like Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Colin Mochrie, Keith Johnstone and more. We have traveled and performed at festivals and events all over North America including headlining shows at The Chicago Improv Festival. We have received the Mayor's Arts award, been voted "Best Theatre" and "Best Live Comedy" by many different publications and sources many times. We love improv; it's what we do and we're not half bad at it.
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Mission Statement
The Upfront Theatre is a professional organization that provides innovative, high-quality performance and education rooted in the art of improvisation. Guided by the core values of improv, we commit to countinually push the boundaries of our craft while exploring the comedy and truths of the human experience.
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Interested in volunteering?
Our theatre is run with the help of volunteers who take tickets, stamp hands, run lights & sound and more. They are students, performers, improv junkies or people who just want to see shows for free. We love our volunteers and if you are interested in getting involved, please contact us at theupfronttheatre@gmail.com for more info or to join our volunteer list.
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Kimberly Anderson
Business Director
Kimberly has been involved with The Upfront since the first anniversary. Kimberly is excited about her role as the business director because she is passionate about the human experience, and it is a core need for her to facilitate and witness happiness, growth, and metamorphosis in the people around her. Kimberly wants to spend the rest of her life learning, growing, and expanding her mind; she is a fabulous mother, artist, writer, dreamer, and friend.
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Billy Tierney
Artistic Director
Billy has been improvising (in the craft sense of the word) for over 10 years. He was the Artistic Director of the Blue Door Theatre in Spokane, WA for a couple of years and has traveled throughout North America and Europe watching, learning, teaching and performing improvisational theatre.
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Galen Emanuele
Marketing & Sales Director
Galen has over 13 years experience in sales and marketing he is also an active mainstage performer and improv instructor. His knowledge and passion for improv combined with his business experience are a perfect match.
Galen runs The Upfront's BizProv programs, helping companies increase communication and create positive company culture. He also coordinates Upfront's private performances.
Galen is an actor, musician, salesman and lover of chocolate milk. He immensely enjoys having his dream job. |
Oona Zoya Sherman
Education Director
Oona is an arts based educator with more than fourteen years of experience in curriculum dveleopment, teaching, and leadership training. She has a M.A. in Transformative Learning & Human Development from Antioch Iniversity Midwest, and has served as adjunct faculty there in the Individualized Master of Arts program. She also has a B.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of California at Santa Cruz. She has been a member of The Upfront Theatre's Mainstage since 2004.
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Gary Bushango
Janitor & Poster Hanger
Gary has been exercising debris from the floors and hallways of the theatre since 2005. Found sleeping in the alley behind the theatre, he proved to be quite the hard worker with a knack for sorting recycling. He also enjoys hanging show posters on our poster wall because it reminds him of when he was just a lad, working as a child cobbler in the mines of Eastern Washington.
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Our Wonderful Instructors |
Oona Zoya Sherman
Oona has a master's degree in transformative learning and human development. Her research focus examines the ways that improvisation can be used to improve and transform the lives of adult learners, especially in the areas of collaboration, cooperation and social change.
Teaching improv at The Upfront allows her to combine her love of working with adult learners and her passion for improvisation. She is also a member of The Upfront Mainstage Ensemble and the group A Few Good Women. When she is not teaching or performing she can be found camping, watching movies and guiltily reading tabloid magazines.
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Galen Emanuele
Galen has been with The Upfront since it opened in 2004. He is part of The Upfront Mainstage and teaches all levels of performance and recreational improv. He has performed all over North America and was once a guest cast member on tour with "Whose Line is it Anyway?" Galen is more passionate about teaching and performing improv than anything else on the planet. He also started the local non-profit "Pass The Hat" which is pretty cool, you should check it out.
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Matt Lesinski
Matt is a Western Washington University graduate and has a Bachelor's Degree in Theatre Arts with concentrations in Theatre Education as well as acting. He has served as a guest educator at Whatcom Community College, contributed to multiple theatre camps, and visited several local schools in Whatcom County as a guest artist. For four years he has collaborated on The Fairhaven Monologue Project, an annual program that has previously been awarded Bellingham's "Mayor's Arts Award."
Matt has been a member of The Upfront Mainstage Ensemble since April 2012 and believes that everyone needs to take an improv class! Do it! |
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