David Barron started doing improv in “Spontaneous Art” at Michigan State University where he received his BA in Theatre. After college, he attended the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College (yes THE Clown College) and trained to be a circus clown. David had the honor of spending a weekend learning improv from Del Close 30 years ago.

Michelle has been singing and acting in plays and musicals since the ripe old age of five. After starting a family, the theater took a back seat for several years. Missing being on stage, she started thinking about trying a new type of performance, and that’s when she discovered improv.

Anne Marie Irey has been involved in theater for over twenty years. She minored in Theatre at Saint Mary’s College and earned her M.Ed. at DePaul University. Anne Marie is an Alum of The Second City and she spent several years performing improv in Chicago. Previously, she taught 4th grade at Sacred Heart School, where she founded an after school drama program. For the past two years, Anne Marie has taught the Children’s Workshop at Wheaton Drama.

Sam started at Westside with the 8-week class in 2018 and has been totally hooked on improvising ever since.

After watching a show at Westside and seeing Sally Hepler kill it on the keys, Sam, a pianist himself, asked Jeff Ash if he could give it a go. Jeff was kind enough to give him the chance, and now Sam plays regularly as the musical director for weekend shows. He would like to thank Sally for her great advice, and also Dave Asher for some quality instruction.

Tom has been performing in plays and musicals since high school, but his first improv class was at Westside in the fall of 2017. Tom has enjoyed the community, the challenges, the discoveries, and the deep laughs so much at Westside that he hasn’t left. He will also be happy to enthusiastically discuss nearly any geeky topic with you. Just try him.