Carla Cackowski, Patrick Rowland, Craig Cackowski, Chris Alvarado &Amey Goerlich

Teaches at M.i.'s Westside Comedy Theater

Carla Cackowski is a writer and improviser living in Los Angeles. She regularly tours across the country with her two person improv show, “Orange Tuxedo”. Carla toured on boats with Second City and performed on Harold Teams at both iO West and UCB Los Angeles. She travels all over the world teaching and performing in comedy festivals. Carla is an improv teacher at The Second City in Hollywood and is currently the Artistic Director at Mi’s Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica. www.carlacackowski.com 

Patrick Rowland is a writer/performer/teacher from Chicago. He has trained at The Second City and iO Chicago. Patrick is a recipient of 2014 Bob Curry Fellowship, is an alum of the Second City House Company, and has performed as an understudy for the Second City mainstage, aboard the NCL Gem, as well as two revues with Diversity and Inclusion Program. He performs with his independent sketch/improv troupe, 3Peat whose video with Comedy Central, “The Blackening”, has over 15 million views. As an instructor Patrick has taught the improv, conservatory, writing, and long form improv programs at Second City Chicago, and the improv program at the iO Theater. His workshops have sold-out across the country as well as London. www.patrickrowland.net 

Craig Cackowski is an actor, improvisor and teacher based in Los Angeles. He has been involved with the iO and iO West (RIP) theaters since 1992, and was the three-time winner of the Del Close Award as Teacher of the Year at iO West. He has played numerous improv festivals around the country with his long-running three-man troupe Dasariski (with Bob Dassie and Rich Talarico) and his duo Orange Tuxedo (with his wife Carla!). While in Chicago, he appeared in and co-wrote 5 revues for The Second City, and helped create such improv forms as JTS Brown and Close Quarters. As an actor, he has been seen in recurring roles on such shows as Community (as “Officer Cackowski”), Bajillion Dollar Properties (as “Todd the janitor”), Veep (as “Cliff”) and as part of the ensemble cast of Drunk History. 

Chris Alvarado is an actor, improviser, teacher, and writer here in Los Angeles. He’s trained and performed at the Second City in Chicago and L.A., UCB, and iO West. He’s crazy about the community here at the Westside Comedy Theatre where he currently teaches advanced improv and can be seen monthly performing with Pretty, Pretty Pony. Chris is half of the improv team Nice Chris with Chris Gorbos, a close personal friend. You can also find him weekly at iO West performing with the award winning improv team, Heyday. www.Chris-Alvarado.com 

Amey Goerlich started doing long form improv in 2001 at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NYC. She was a performer there until 2016 when she moved to LA to teach at Westside Comedy. She has been teaching her Game of the scene workshops all over the country since 2004 at improv festivals, theaters and to Highschool students. She teaches people improv from other countries online and in person. She has been on dozens of improv podcasts and can be seen in the documentary The Girl in the Show about woman in comedy. You can also catch her onstage at Westside every month in the Shows Improv Famous, Women Aren’t Funny and The Faculty Show.