instructors
Check out the full workshop details and secure your spot:
We bring different comedic perspectives to the stage, but we’re united by a love for purposeful play, thoughtful collaboration, and real connection.
Josh Cohen
& Tamra Malaga
Pioneers of puppet improv for over 27 years, Josh Cohen and Tamra Malaga bring high-energy, world-class expertise to Puppet Improvisation 101. The pair launched The Josh and Tamra Show at New York City’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in 1999, touring headlining improv festivals and international venues ever since with their unique blend of puppetry and long-form comedy.
Josh is a SAG actor, UCB-trained improviser, and Jim Henson-trained Muppeteer. Tamra is a SAG character actress and improviser trained at both UCB and the prestigious William Esper Studio. Together, they offer students a rare opportunity to learn puppet manipulation, character building, and seamless long-form storytelling from two of the most seasoned innovators in the field.
Kat Koppett
Kat Koppett is co-director of The Mopco Improv Theatre, Vice President of the Applied Improvisation Network, host of the Dare to be Human podcast, and author of Training to Imagine. Honored with NASAGA’s Ifill-Raynolds Lifetime Achievement Award for her experiential learning work, she has also delivered two TEDx talks.
Kat has led high-impact programs worldwide for clients including Apple, NASA, GE, JPMorgan Chase, and the Clinton Global Initiative. She has presented at top institutions like Stanford, UC Berkeley, ATD, and NSA. Kat currently works in Upstate New York alongside a lively household shared with her family and pets.
Samantha Jones
Samantha Jones is an accomplished actor and director originally from New York City. Her recent acting credits include A Murder at the End of the World (FX), FBI: Most Wanted (NBC), The Green Veil with John Leguizamo, Dr. Death (Peacock), Emergence (ABC), Bull (CBS), The Blacklist (NBC), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Skin with Jaime Bell, and Driveways with Brian Dennehy. After more than 20 years of teaching, directing, and coaching her unique method of improv in NYC, she made the leap to the Hudson Valley, where she continues to share her expertise.
Heather Marie Vitale
Heather Marie Vitale brings over a decade of performance expertise to the stage, with 12 years of improv, 7 years of sketch, and extensive training as a stage and camera actor. A graduate of the Second City Conservatory (Chicago), she has also trained at the Annoyance, Magnet (NY), Washington Improv Theater, and Acting Studio Chicago.
As an instructor, Heather specializes in grounded, relationship-driven longform that heightens in unexpected ways. She focuses on rich narrative and dramatic play alongside classic formats like the Harold, WeirDass, and LaRonde—helping students build specific character choices and dynamic scenes.
Michael Short (he/they) has been performing improv since 2000 as a founding member of SUNY Fredonia’s Improv Society. Over the years they have trained with notable improv theaters like the Second City, the Magnet, the Annoyance, and the Upright Citizen’s Brigade. They’ve been a part of house teams at the Magnet and Annoyance and has performed on improv stages across the country. In 2014 and 2015 Michael worked for the Second City as one of their performers aboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines in weekly sketch and improv shows.
Michael Short
Connor Bond brings over 20 years of performance experience and a decade of teaching to the stage. Holding an MFA in Acting from UC Irvine, his screen and stage credits include Netflix, HBO, CBS, Comedy Central, and The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park. Starting as a jazz saxophonist, Connor translates a musician’s joie de vivre directly into unscripted comedy.
As an instructor, he focuses on grounded acting, musical improv, and group-mind collaboration to devise bold new forms. Connor teaches performers to think big picture and navigate characters ranging from existentially heartbreaking to charmingly absurd.