Bios
Marc Samuels, BBI Founder
Marc Samuels has studied & performed improv from grade school through college and beyond! His studies culminated in performance gigs with The L.A. Connection (in soCal) and Second City (in Santa Monica). After dabbling in TV production, film (with Mr. Bill), training monkeys in the Middle East, traveling about aimlessly and becoming lost in the swirling stew we call "life," he eventually settled down in the happy-go-lucky field of medicine as an occupational therapist. Marc ran free improv workshops in San Francisco before founding Blue Blanket Improv in 2007. When not working or performing, Marc enjoys kayaking, wind surfing, raising his dog, and being a father.
Barbara Anderson
Barbara is a flamenco dancing, improv making, play writing, France walking dynamo! She brings a special intensity to the Blue Blanket troupe that will make you sit on the edge of your seats.
Brian Ogata
Brian is sweet as honey but you'd never know it from the dastardly characters he conjures up on stage! When he's not improvising before a live audience, Brian enjoys helping people overcome their fears of public speaking, teaching debate to high school students, and producing films.
Eric Fronberg
Eric's larger than life characters never fail to impress. We chalk it up to magic, because Eric's seminal performance experiences were as a child magician. Oh if only we'd known him then! Sigh. Now Eric spends his days coding for cash and improvises away his evenings.
Jasmine Rosse Gunkel
Jasmine is our fabulous improv intern. A senior in high school, Jasmine will eventually (ok this fall -- we're in denial) leave us to go to college. In the meantime, we are delighted to have her with Blue Blanket!
Jen Mazzon
For Jen, doing improv is the best possible form of therapy. Admit it, don't you get tired of thinking, deliberating, planning, analyzing, doubting, considering and reflecting? Carpe diem! With improv, you live in the moment, for the moment, and you can do no wrong as long as you follow the golden rule of "YES AND" -- hooray!
Kevin Nova
Kevin, is that you? Busted! That's actually a picture of Marc, who incidentally is Kevin's biggest fan :-) A hard core muppets fan, Kevin can do a crazy good imitation of Fozzie Bear. With many other colorful characters in his repertoire -- including "Hill Billy Sam" and "Old Fart Fred" -- Kevin is a sure fire chuckle inducer.
Steve Ketchpel
Ushering in the Improv 2.0 era, Steve Ketchpl has joined Flickr, Gabbr, and Zooomr in the Great Ultimate Vowel Drop. Stvvv first made his mark on the improv movement in college, receiving many imaginary standing ovations and earning a swift rejection from his college improv troupe. Never one to be intimidated by failure, Ktchl spent the next decade psyching himself up to get right back on that horse. Fortunately for us, he now finds himself a member of Blue Blanket Improv. When he's not on stage, .stv counsels web startup companies on user strategies and vowel retention. In his spare time, KTchPLL enjoys lending money to people he doesn't know.
Todd Sedano
Professor Todd is a highly esteemed member of Blue Blanket. Equally at home in the realms of high tech education and low tech preschool, Todd brings his diverse experience to bear on the stage by integrating topics from Apple stock performance to squinkies into his scintillating dialogs. We are lucky to have Todd in the troupe!