Cast and Crew Bios

Becky Eldridge is thrilled to be performing at Laugh Out Loud theatre. Becky has been performing improv since college, and has performed as part of the Second City at Sea on two cruise ships, with IO, The Playground and Improv Acadia (in Maine!). Becky has also co-written and performed in two original comedy musicals, Little House on the Parody and Band Geeks: A Halftime Musical, both of which appeared at the NYFringe. She grew up in Ohio, loves Chicago, and is grateful to Lillie for opening such a terrific theatre. Enjoy the show!

Bryce Wissel got his start improvising at Hanover College, where he recieved his BA in Theatre. He is a member of the nationally touring comedy troupe Mission IMPROVable, and regularly performs with Baby Wants Candy, The Improvised Musical. Bryce can be seen performing stand-up comedy around Chicago and as a member of the We Can Make You Laugh! National Comedy Tour. You can also read his regular column, “The Renaissance Man,” in Polite magazine.

Chris McConnell is far too busy to write his bio, but he’s from PA and has two lovely parents.

Christy L. Bonstell has been performing for over a decade and has recently become ambidextrous thanks to the birth of her son Keagan. She is a member of Baby Wants Candy, IO team Shadowfax, Speakeasy, Best Church of God and was, once upon a time, an understudy and instructor for Second City Detroit. She would like to thank Andy for being adorable and funny.

Chrissy Swinko performs improvisation in Chicago with Laugh Out Loud, War Dove, and International Stinger and was a cast member of Improv Acadia in Maine during their 2006 season. Chrissy also writes and performs sketch comedy, most recently as one half of “Swinko & Saunders Tell Jokes To Make You Laugh.” She completed The Second City Conservatory and the comedy writing and improv programs at the iO Theater. She was a cast member of Cabaret Dada Improv in Cleveland, OH and is a graduate of Denison University, where she had a radio show for four years on WDUB 91.1FM. Chrissy is from Litchfield, Ohio, and is a proud winner of a 4-H clock trophy from The Ohio State Fair.

Corey Rittmaster began performing improv and sketch comedy a long time ago in Kansas City with groups like ComedySportz and Der Monkenpickle before packing up and moving to Chicago in January 2004. Yeah, January. He knows. Since moving to Chicago, Corey has performed at such places as iO, The Playground, Act One, and the backrooms of bars too numerous to list. Corey is thrilled to be part of the cast of Laugh Out Loud, mostly due to its proximity to a Chipotle. You no-doubtedly recognize Corey from his numerous appearances in Missouri Lottery commercials during the late 1990’s.

A native of sunny Los Angeles, Freddie Sulit has been performing, studying and teaching improvisation for over ten years. Since moving to Chicago he appreciates L.A. weather more than ever but loves living in the Windy City. His stage credits include Execution of Justice (Victory Gardens), Band Geeks: A Halftime Musical (Theater Building) and Improvidate. You may also recognize him as a former teacher at the Apple Store, a Scion Product Specialist at auto shows around the country, or from random commercials on your tv at home. Freddie is living the dream. And yes, those are his real teeth.

Fuzzy Gerdes started improvising in a small town in Indiana and he’s not quite done yet. Fuzzy has had formal training at the iO theater (then the ImprovOlympic), at the Annoyance Theater, and with improv legends Keith Johnstone and Del Close. His two-man improv group Bare has toured several (well, three) countries and countless (about twelve) comedy festivals. He directed and acted in the critically-acclaimed Chicago Neutrino Project — a film/theater hybrid that creates an improvised movie while the audience is watching it. He currently performs at Chicago’s improv co-op The Playground with Pastor of Muppets, a swell group of fellows, and makes short films in his copious free time. He loves his wife, Erica, and thinks she deserves a “shout out” or “props” or whatever it’s called these days. Far too much information about his life and work can be found at fuzzyco.com.

Garin Jones runs lights and sound for the theater, and he has the best pimp name ever: Garin T. Jones.

Gillian Bellinger was an ensemble member with The Second City Musical House Ensemble, Minneapolis ComedySportz, Chicago ComedySportz, Improv Kitchen and was an Acme Comedy Club’s Twin Cities Funniest Stand-up Semi-finalist. Gillian currently performs with Laugh Out Loud, Chemically Imbalanced Comedy, and at the Playground Theater. She has done a variety of commercials, short films, and industrials. So if you’re up late and think, “Hey, was that…” Probably.

Greg Guiliano is a California transplant unused to the arctic North of the Midwest. Currently a student of Columbia College, he has also taken several classes at Second City in various programs. He’s stage managed around town and performed here and there. His bios, unlike his underwear, he prefers to keep brief.

Guy Wicke is very excited to be working with such a fantastic group of people here at Laugh Out Loud. Guy fell in love with improv at the turn of the century and has been performing ever since. He is a founding member of pH Productions, a Chicago improv and comedy company now in its sixth year, and has appeared in a variety of shows and comedy festivals. He often dabbles in sketch and stand-up comedy as well. Guy is a graduate of the Low Sodium Entertainment Improv Comedy and Performance Conservatory, the most prestigious training center in Chicago.

J. Ben Parker is originally from Louisville, KY. After touring the country performing children’s theatre, he moved to Chicago in 2002 to study improv. He has trained at The Annoyance and iO theatres. He performs at iO with The Confessional and at The Playground with International Stinger. Ben is very excited to play at Laugh Out Loud and help bring the funny to the people. He would like to thank his wife Carrie for her love and support.

Jamie Buell is excited to be playing with the super-funny folks at Laugh Out Loud Theater. He’s been seen at some other places around town, some of which can be mentioned in polite company. Among them are: The Lakeshore Theater with Blewt! productions’ “Impress These Apes”; The Playground Theater Chicago with The Fling; IO Chicago; at the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival with Booper; and in Wildwood, NJ opening for B-Mo’ Honey. TimeOut Chicago has called his past performances fearless and “the funniest thing we’ve ever witnessed” (that’s true – google it!); The Chicago Tribune has called his writing silly, satirical and acerbic (once he looked that word up, he realized it’s a compliment); and the Chicago Reader has called him mediocre and misguided (meh, what do you expect from a paper that just lays around in coffee shops all the time).

Jeremy Schaefer started doing improv comedy as a child because he couldn’t read or write. After becoming literate he continued to improvise with pH Productions, Storybox, the Improv Playhouse and several other companies. He’s performed at both the Chicago Improv Festival as well as The Out of Bounds Festival in Austin. He’s also an ensemble member with Imagination Theater and he’s performed stand up in various venues around Chicago and London. In his spare time he’s become an avid reader who occasionally struggles with cursive.

Jin Kim once played a virtuous young woodcutter in a school play and has never looked back. The UNC graduate has performed with several companies over the years, including iO (formerly ImprovOlympic), the Chicago Neutrino Project, Second City, the Playground, ComedySportz, WNEP, the Chicago Comedy Company, and the Cornservatory. Most recently, you may have caught Jin as the show-stealing foreign exchange student, FEUNG SCHWEY, in The Awesome 80s Prom. Jin’s voice has also been featured in video games such as Mortal Kombat, John Woo’s Stranglehold, and NFL Blitz. Many thanks to Lillie for keeping the popcorn machine, and for the opportunity to make others laugh at Laugh Out Loud Theater.

Joey Cranford has been a professional actor/comedian for almost 5 years. He has toured the country for 3 years with an improv group called Mission Improvable, performing at comedy clubs, colleges, and venues with up to several hundred people in attendance including the 2006, and 2007’s Lollapalooza. He has been a featured guest of the Second City, performing in their improv set after several shows. He currently performs on a Harold team at I.O. (Improv Olympic), and of course, right here with Laugh Out Loud. In his off time, he is a double decker tour guide in Chicago. There has actually not been a time in the past 5 years when he wasn’t in front of somebody, somewhere, doing something.

Kate Cohen has been improvising in Chicago for 4 years, and is delighted to be a new addition to Laugh Out Loud! Kate is from beautiful Bethesda, Maryland and has a very useful BA in Theatre from the University of Arizona. She is a graduate of The Second City Conservatory, and has studied improv at iO, The Annoyance, and ComedySportz. Kate has performed with The Second City Educational Touring Company, pH productions, ComedySportz Battleprov, and in many other great and almost-great improv and sketch shows all over the city. Kate thanks, loves, and would be a total wreck without all 4 of her parents, Alexis, Grams, The Piece, and Drew.

Lillian Frances began acting, improvising, and directing at Northwestern University where she received a Bachelor of Science in Theater. She has performed with improv ensembles at iO (formerly Improvolympic) and other venues in Chicago, and assistant directed and performed at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam. Directing credits also include a Second City National Touring Company, the all women’s improv groups Jane and Sirens, the critically acclaimed sketch groups GayCo and Stir Friday Night, and various ensembles at iO and The Playground. She worked for several years as a lead facilitator for Second City Business Communications where she designed and facilitated training programs for Fortune 500 companies and worked as a Core Faculty Member for the Second City Training Center. She currently teaches at Columbia College, owns and runs Laugh Out Loud, and gets very little sleep. She is thankful every day that she gets to say “I love what I do,” and for her husband Scott who helps her do it.

Matthew Mages came all the way out here from Colorado just to be a part of Laugh Out Loud Theater. A graduate of Second City’s Conservatory, iO Chicago’s training center, and Colorado State University’s Zoology program, Matthew also performs at The Playground Theater with The Senate and at Stage Left Theater with pH Productions. He is an instructor with pH’s training center, and coaches Droppin’ Science at Columbia College. He can be also seen in some really great short films, a couple bad commercials, and really cheesy online advertisements.

Mikala Bierma is super excited to join the Laugh Out Loud family. You can catch her performing around town with Shadowfax (iO) and Attila. She is also a company member of Barrel of Monkeys.Mikala loves her mom, dad, sister, Mike and Gilbert.

Monique Madrid started performing musical theater when she was a little kid. Of course back then only her parents enjoyed the show. Her improv career began later when she performed at Comedy Sportz in Kansas City. After being tricked into moving to Chicago (she fell for the lie that it’s not that cold here) Monique has studied, performed and written for such theaters as iO, The Playground, Second City, The Annoyance, and various independent projects. She is also a hair and makeup artist. She loves being a part of Laugh Out Loud, not just because they let her throw in shameless plugs, but also because the people are so awesome!

Patrick McIntyre is thrilled to bring laughter to Schamburgians so they don’t have to go into “scary” Chicago to find joy. He is a very successful drop out of Bovine Metropolis (Denver), Brave New Workshop (Minneapolis), and IO (Chicago) schools of improv, proving you don’t need to finish school to get ahead in life. For three years, he toured across America with Mission IMPROVable, performing improv for those not fortunate enough to live in the center of comedy, Chicago. He lives with his wife, two dogs, and completely crazy cockatiel. Thank you for reading his bio, and more importantly for supporting improvisation (comedy, not jazz).

Patrick Walsh wants to thank everyone, his family, his friends, his girlfriend, and his two cats. Aw shucks, he wants to thank you too.

Robert Reid hails from Jacksonville, Florida where he was an ensemble member of MadCowford Improv. Before joining MadCowford, Robert briefly trained with Theater Strike Force at the University of Florida. Robert moved to Chicago in the fall of November (bad timing right?). Since his arrival, Robert has performed with pH and trained with iO, Second City and The Annoyance. Robert is extremely excited to have the opportunity to perform with Laugh Out Loud and loves every stinkin’ minute of it.

Sarah Reule is from Michigan, where she received a Masters in Theater from MSU. While in Chicago, she has peddled KFC, Sam Adams, and Taco Bell on TV and radio, and sexed up corporate comedy for clients including Yahoo! and US Cellular. She performs with The Second City Music Improv House Ensemble, Laugh Out Loud, The Indie Darlings, and ImprovAcadia in Maine during their 2008 season. Sarah has written and performed in notable sketch shows, including “Improvidate,” “Always Hungry,” and “Listen, Kid…” Films credits include the award winning “Mercy Date” with Popcorn Island. She can’t wait to meet the guy she’ll thank for support in future bios. www.sarahreule.com

Sayjal Joshi is wicked excited to be performing with Laugh Out Loud. Hailing from North Carolina she earned her BA in Theater from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In 2001 she co-founded and performed for three years with Greensboro’s first and only improv club, The Idiot Box. Past Chicago credits include ComedySportz, The Beatbox, and improv competition Battlejam Amsterdam 2006 winners, The Chicago Bobs, at Boom Chicago. Current Chicago credits include iO Chicago’s Hot Pocket, the critically acclaimed Asian-American Sketch group Stir-Friday Night!, and understudying with The Second City National Touring Company. You might also see her on TV stuffing her face with a Cookie Dough Blast for Sonic Drive-In. Love, love, love to Mom, Dad, Jay, and Demian.

Shana Martin has been working the performing arts scene for over ten years, and can now say “whew, I’m glad I decided to work on the play instead of trying out for the freshman volleyball team!” She holds a Bachelor of Art in Theatre from Marquette University, where she worked every single technical role known to mankind. She has worked a multitude of technical roles at St. Francis High School and Circle Theatre, and joined Laugh Out Loud, formerly the Chicago Comedy Company, in 2006 as a stage manager. She enjoys a nice glass of cab aside a roaring fireplace. That’s actually a lie – she doesn’t have time for that, but it sounds like fun!

Shelby Jennings graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Theatre Education. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Theatre, Media, and Communications from Northeastern Illinois University. During the day she teaches drama in Evanston public schools and in the evenings you can see her performing with Cowlick (The Playground Theater), AIRBOURNE (iO Theater), and The Fowler Family Radio Hour. She would like to thank her friends, family, and new hubby Joe for their love and support.

Tami Torok has appeared with shows in Mexico and Greece, and in roughly twenty states across the country performing Improvisation, Greek Tragedy, Shakespeare, Children’s Theatre, Contemporary Works and World Premiers. For two years, she performed with Improv Kitchen; an interactive, improvisational, television, dinner experience in Chicago. She is a graduate of The Second City Conservatory, has trained with The Annoyance Theatre, attended the Goldston and Johnson School for Mimes, and was certified and recommended as a stage combatant. Tami holds a BFA in Acting from The University of Arizona School of Theatre in Tucson.

Tony Lentino is a graduate of Elmhurst College where he studied music business and theater with a focus on Improv comedy. Tony was a four year member of the college’s Wasteful Thinking Improv Troupe where he spent the last two years as student director. Tony has spent much time on stage in Schaumburg as well, where he has had lead roles in several musicals. Tony has studied with the Second City Training Center and has led several workshops at the Illinois High School Theater Festival. Tony is thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Improv to his hometown of Schaumburg.

Tracy Meyer is stoked to be performing with Laugh Out Loud. Yes, totally stoked. Since moving to Chicago in 2001, she has improvised and performed with Shanz Theatre company, iO Theater, The Playground, The Laboratory Theatre Project, The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, and pH Productions at Stage Left Theatre. She can also be seen in various regional and national commercials, radio, and print ads. Tracy volunteers for This Is ME!, teaching improv and theatre techniques to young girls. And finally, hooray for her new husbands: Jermaine Dye, LeBron James, and Jack Bauer!

When not performing with Laugh Out Loud, you can find Vincent Lacey rocking out in Chicago with pH Productions and the Playground theater’s incubator team CLOAKA. He pokes fun at all things serious and not-so-serious in the hit satire Big News at iO. Vincent is happy you if you will come and laugh with him, not at him. He’s sensitive.

Past Performers