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 tours 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-Director
Mark 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 is going out on a national tour this spring. He is currently developing a new piece of work for LiF called Taxi Tales. |
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 experienced Dramatherapist, who has worked with adults and children experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, psychosis and addiction.
As part of her own wellness journey she got back in touch with her roots of improvisation in 2023, which included attending LIF 2023, completing a long-form improvisation course with Wing-It Impro and Stories and performing in A WAKE at LIF 2024. Su is a core member of Merseyside team The Made up Imps and she continues to train and take classes across the region. Improvisation and theatre offers a unique space for both performers and audience members to connect with characters and stories on a deeper level. We can find ourselves mirrored in the experiences of the characters, identifying with their struggles and triumphs. This can be a powerful emotional release, with laughter providing a cathartic release of tension and distress. At times, the themes explored in theatre may resonate with our own personal experiences, particularly during challenging periods in our lives. To address this, Su has created a dedicated support system which will be available after a performance and or workshop in which Su can provide support. The purpose of this support system would be to provide a safe space should you need to:
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