Philly Improv Theater

Come play and meet new people in this improv meetup facilitated by PHIT Artistic Director Derek Hayes and PHIT instructor Chris Esperance. Free of charge and no experience required.

Note: This is a closed event and only for anyone who identifies as Black, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Alaskan Native, Desi, Asian, Pacific Islander, Chicanx or Latinx.

** All participants are required to show photo ID and COVID vaccination card (clear screen shot is OK) at the door in order to participate.**

Prerequisite: No experience necessary!

Date: Saturday June 17th, 2023

Time: Noon - 1:30 p.m.

Location:  Room B (not an accessible space)

Instructor: Derek Hayes and Chris Esperance

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Derek Hayes (he/him) currently serves as the Artistic Director of PHIT. He is an alum of the Washington, DC comedy scene, where he interned and trained at Washington Improv Theater. Amongst multiple WIT projects during his time in DC, he is a founding member of the all-Black troupe Lena Dunham. Since moving to Philadelphia in 2017, he has been a performer, instructor, and director at PHIT, while also a producer for the We The People Improv Festival in 2018 and 2019. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, Derek’s digital comedy projects have included co-producing four full length online sketch shows with the DC based Cookout Collective, as well as becoming a Features Contributor for The Onion. He also co-created and hosted over 30 online episodes of Hold Up!: a Black Book Club, which has been performed live at Washington Improv Theater and as a part of Contemporary Theater Company’s Ocean State Black and Funny Improv Festival. 2021 brought Derek’s most rewarding project thus far: his son, Kenny.

Chris Esperance is a comedian, writer, improviser based in Philadelphia, PA. Chris co-hosted the Mad Ethnic Comedy festival which included a variety of improv, podcast and stand-up acts from the tri-state area. He has improvised on Harold, House teams including Metropolis and Dunk Tank and several Indie teams in his years as a performer. Chris was accepted to Magnet Theater’s REMIX sketch diversity showcase and wrote/performed in PIT’s NYC Sketchfest. He has trained at the Philadelphia Improv Theater (PHIT) and the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB-NY) and writes for the sketch comedy team Pagliacci (@pagliaccicomedy) with the Boogiemanja sketch comedy collective.