Cast

September, 2020

It is late September. The cast members of the Mad & Noisy Improv Company are at work creating our Comedy Revue, led by the first Director of the Mad & Noisy Improv Company: Mr. Michael J Gellman. 

Michael is an alum of the Chicago Second City main stage and was a Resident Director for Second City in Canada and the USA for over 25 years. As Artistic Director of the Second City Toronto his shows were nominated for 7 Dora Mavor Moore Awards including twice for Outstanding Direction. He was a Senior Faculty and Founding Member of the Second City Training Center where he was a Program Head and Director of the NYC Training Center. He was also a Founding Faculty Member at Improv Olympic with Del Close, ten years Adjunct Faculty Member at Columbia College in the Film Directing and Comedy Studies Programs, Co-Founder and Company Member of Rendition Theatre, Artistic Associate at Organic Theatre, Founder and Artistic Director of both Theatre Works and Windy City Workshop and Co-Artistic Director of Wavelength. He is currently Co-Artistic Director of Process Theatre.

He has taught and designed classes and workshops in directing, acting and improvisation at such notable institutions as: Actors Centre London, The Audition Centre, Victory Gardens Training Centre, Act One Conservatory and Loyola Law School as well as master workshops for hundreds of Universities, festivals, theatre companies and improv groups around the world. He is credited with originating “Long Form” Improvisation and the book “Process: An Improvisers Journey” (Northwestern University Press) he co-authored with Mary Scruggs is a summary of his approach on improvisational training and Improvised Acting.

Over the past 40 years Michael has directed, taught, acted with and inspired some of the most notable talents in the world of film, television and theatre. We are humbled to have the good fortune of welcoming him into our family.