Team LiF
The team are all passionate advocates for improvisation and work in conjunction to create opportunity for improv in the local and regional area.
Improvisation in the UK is a thriving community with tens of thousands of passionate participants. These individuals dedicate significant time and effort to honing their craft through classes, performances, and workshops. Improvisation fosters a sense of liberation, builds trust and camaraderie, and provides a platform for personal growth, creativity, and making new friends. It’s an enjoyable and rewarding experience for anyone involved.
Improvisation in the UK is a thriving community with tens of thousands of passionate participants. These individuals dedicate significant time and effort to honing their craft through classes, performances, and workshops. Improvisation fosters a sense of liberation, builds trust and camaraderie, and provides a platform for personal growth, creativity, and making new friends. It’s an enjoyable and rewarding experience for anyone involved.
Jen Hardy - Co-directorHailing from the North West of England, Jen is an improviser, poet, teacher and coach. She has performed in all-female comedy troupes and Liverpool's first UCB style team as well as short form 'who's line is it anyway' type shows.
Jen currently toured with The Incomplete Works of Shakespeare, including a sell out 5 star run at the Pleasance Courtyard at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She has also created a fully improvised family show and continues to develop shows and formats both for her own team and as a coach and director for others. As a trained teacher, Jen teaches and coaches across the nationally and internationally. This has included international festivals, teams who've gone on to perform at international festivals and individuals who've gone on to carve out professional comedy careers. As the co-director of the Liverpool Improvisation Festival, Jen is passionate about bringing the best of Improvisation to the city, including new works from emerging artists, grassroots community groups and world class improvisers who work internationally. |
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Mark Smith - Co-directorMark is an award-winning director and improv facilitator with over 30 years of experience. (see about page) He is passionate about improvisation and storytelling, and brings a wealth of knowledge to developing stories. His PhD further solidifies his expertise in this area.
Mark's performance credits include the short-form show "Monkey Lab" (Rawhide Comedy), which ran weekly at the Casa from 2001 to 2003. He then transitioned to long-form improv, working on "Hoof!" a show developed with Todd Stashwick and John Thies of the legendary New York company Burn Manhattan. "Hoof!" toured nationally and internationally from 2004 to 2014. Since then he has continued to develop his practice, teaching and creating numerous improvised shows. These included Improvised Rubbish Shakespeare - The Incomplete Works, Talk to the Hand (puppet improv) the The Fly, A Wake in association with The Insiders and The Story Forge: Make your own Myth which undertook a 100 date national in 2025. Mark developed a new ensemble show for LIF 2025 with a company of 16 improvisers from across the world called Taxi Tales. Mark is currently working on a multiple new projects the first a solo project called Talking Head... the second The Gricers and finally a new ensemble show for LIF 2026 called Ancestors. |
A blog post from LIF - 'Yes and... What about Improv'
https://www.thereviewshub.com/blog-what-about-improvisation-in-the-uk/ |
Su Jackson - WellbeingSu Jackson is an Improviser and Dramatherapist from Liverpool. Through Dramatherapy Su has worked creatively with adults and children experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma and psychosis.
As an Improvisor Su has performed in Wing-It Impro's longform show A WAKE at LIF 2024 with the group the Made Up Imps. A Wake was performed again in 2025 as part of an Improvisation double bill. She is currently developing an improvised horror with an all-women group - Aunt Batty Knows. As well as being a continuous student of impro, Su is also to be found regularly at clown workshops. Su has worked closely with the LIF Directors to create the internal Code of Conduct for LIF alongside the community guidance, which creates a framework for the festival, where play can be brave, take risks and be as safe possible. At times, themes can occur in theatre that are activating and challenging, for many different reasons. As an experienced Therapist, Su will be on hand during LIF 2026 for support before, during or after performances and workshops, offering guidance and support. |
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Colleen Campbell
Colleen is a performer with a background as a comedy, theatre and short story writer. Whilst living in London she co-founded the comedy sketch group Ministry of Merkin, a physical theatre company, Slipped Disc, and ran her own monthly comedy night, Comedy Horn.
Now back in Liverpool she is a member of Liverpool’s short-form improv group Pick N Mix and is working on two new improv projects: a long-form horror show and a comedy of manners. |
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Hal Munger - PodcasterHal Munger (They/He) will be documenting LiF 2026 with audio interviews with the artists from the festival. Hal is the co-host of the improv podcast, Muprov Musings, which explores the world of narrative and theatrical improvisation. Hal also is the Artistic Director of the Unscripted Shakespeare Festival in NYC, the founder of Thorn and Petal Stick: UnScripted Shakespeare, and the creator of A New Play (2023). They were lucky enough to be part of Taxi Tales, at LiF 2025 and cannot wait to see what is planned for this year!
https://muprovmusings.podbean.com/ |
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