Unexpected Productions

Joe Bill is widely regarded as one of the best teachers of Improvised Storytelling and Scenic, Longform & Duo Improvisation in North America today. He is one of the founding members of Annoyance Theater Chicago where, for 12 years, he performed in and/or directed more than 60 different shows. Joe is ½ of the first touring Improv Duo in North America, BASSPROV, created in 2000 with Mark Sutton. They are still performing at Festivals and theater engagements globally 24 years later. Since then Joe’s been touring all over the world teaching, directing, and improvising with several other amazing Duo Partners like Patti Stiles (Our Play), Jill Bernard (SCRAM!), Stacey Hallal (Stacey & Joe, We Slept Together) Lee White (Paradigm), Heather Urquart (Blues Hammer), Felipe Ortiz (Les Disciplinos) and David Razowsky (Razowsky & Bill), ALL in different, original formats and styles. He’s touring his solo scripted show, written as he successfully took on and survived Surgeries & chemo associated with 3 different cancers from late 2022 to early 2024, Joe Bill: Surviving Consciousness, (Lessons learned from Cancer, LSD & Michael Jordan) all over the U.S. and the world. In April 2024 he debuted it at the Auckland Imrprov Festival in Auckland, NZ. He has since preformed it at Festivals and Theaters across the USA and will record it at Curious Comedy Theater in Portland, OR in early 2025. He is the creator and host of Story Chain, a virtual (and now sometimes live!), 90-minute, international story sharing event that he developed in 2020 during the Pandemic. He was the Director of Corporate Training at iO Chicago for 15 years and started training and performing there in 1985. He was a Guest Artist in Residence at The Second City Training Center & Conservatory where he taught intensives in Duo Improvisation and Improvisation for Actors for 10 years. Award (Best-Taped Live Performance – The Minnesota Wrecking Crew), with The Imponderables nominated for the same award.

Patti is an actor, improviser, director, teacher, author, and playwright who’s been working professionally in theatre since 1983.

she served her theatre apprenticeship at the world-renowned Loose Moose Theatre and was trained by Keith Johnstone.

She has an infectious enthusiasm for improvisation. Mix this with her insightful improvisation technique, strong narrative skill and her spirit of play, and it is no wonder she is responsible for inspiring many hundreds of people to improvise. Her understanding of Johnstone’s work and philosophy, combined with her own discoveries and her wealth of experience on the world impro stage, has made her a “must have” teacher for performers and companies wishing to create spontaneous theatre with fine skill, strong narrative, heart and elegant style.

Patti has taught and performed in North and South America, Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, UAE and the Oceania region for numerous improvisation companies, festivals, and theatre schools and in the corporate arena.

Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (UK),
London Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts (UK),
Danish National School of the Performing Arts (DK)
The Actors Centre (UK),
The National Institute of Circus Arts (AU),
The National Theatre (AU),
University El Bosque (Colombia),
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia),
Citadel Theatre (CA)

Patti is an actor, director, author, playwright, and teacher who specializes in improvisational theatre. She is a former Artistic Director of Rapid Fire Theatre (CA), Dream Kitchen Theatre (CA), Impro Melbourne (AU), and the International Theatresports Institute (CA), and a founding member of the award-winning Die Nasty – the live improvised soap opera (CA).

Her tutelage and mentorship have strongly influenced many improvisers and improvisation companies all over the world. Such as Rapid Fire Theatre (CA), Impro Melbourne (AU), Spontaneity Shop (UK), Closer Each Day (UK), Smoking Sofa (FR), Teatro A Molla (IT) and I Bugardini (IT), B.L.U.E – the musical (IT), Courtyard Playhouse (UAE) and the award winning Austentacious (UK).

In 2021 she released her first book Improvise Freely. It has received an enthusiastic response from improvisers, teachers, and impro companies around the globe. In 2022, it was translated into Italian.

Patti has been featured on the cover of the Spanish impro magazine Status; she is a contributor to the book The Art of Making Mistakes and has been interviewed for the books Something Like A Drug and The Improv Handbook (which is dedicated to Patti in recognition of her mentorship.) She has been interviewed for numerous podcasts and University papers, and her blog has been translated into French, Italian, German, and Portuguese.

Adding to her list of credits are three nominations for an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award, plus she holds the unofficial record for being the first female to improvise for 53 hours in a row in the famous Die Nasty soap a thon.

The Canadian press has given her the titles “Impro Doyen” and “Queen of Improvisation”.

Geoffrey Alm

Fight Master | Certified Teacher | Choreographer

Geoffrey Alm is a Seattle based professional fight director and certified teacher with over 3 decades of industry experience. He brings the story into stage combat. Since 1986, Geof has worked as a professional fight choreographer on over 250 Union Productions, both locally and regionally. His work has included intimacy direction since 2018. Geof strives to bring a sense of curiosity and confidence to fight work, directing and empowering those he teaches to adeptly and effectively integrate their skill with the sword into their storytelling.

Regionally: The Old Globe, McCarter Theatre Center, The Shakespeare Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Kansas City Rep, Arizona Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Montana Rep, Montana Shakespeare in The Parks, Lincoln Center

Seattle: Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Rep, Seattle Opera, 5th Avenue Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Intiman Theatre, and Festival, Village Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Co.

Recent Work: A Thousand Splendid Suns, Seattle Opera (2023), MacBeth, Seattle Shakespeare (2022), Sweat, ACT (2022)

Teaching: University of Washington Professional Actor’s Training Program (2000-); Cornish College for the Arts (2003-); Freehold Theatre Lab/Studio (1989-); International Order of The Sword and Pen(2019); CombatCon (2019); Uncompromising Physicality-Salzburg, Austria (2022)

Disciplines: Unarmed, Broadsword/Longsword, Single Sword, Knife, Quarterstaff, Small Sword, Rapier/Dagger, Rapier/Cloak, Sword/Shield, Sword/Buckler, Firearms, Bullwhip, Katana, Single Stick, Backsword, Saber

Continuing Training: Spanish Rapier and Sabre-Salle Saint Georges, The McBain-Edinburgh, LAMDA-Jonathan Waller, Tai Chi, Longbow

Professional Affiliations: The Society of American Fight Directors, Member (1986-), Certified Teacher (1987-), Recognized Fight Director (1990), Fight Master (2005-)

Union: SDC,AEA, SAG-AFTRA