Marshall Stern

Marshall worked as a professional songwriter contracted by a subsidiary of Warner Chappel in Nashville and was also a moderator and critiquer for The Nashville Songwriters Association International. Many of his songs appear on albums across the US and internationally. Marshall is a longtime performer on the music scenes in New York and Nashville and is a member of BMI. Marshall has had songs recorded by Ricky Van Shelton, Slicker and First Church Unity to name a few. Currently Marshall is composing songs for theater including the upcoming production of "Journey To The Center Of The Uterus" opening at the Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater in Chicago.

Marshall is  the Artistic Director of  Chicago Improv Associates, has created and directed award winning improv troupes, received the Ruth Sweet Award for excellence in theater education, and in Chicago quickly became the Director of Players Workshop of the Second City. He produced, directed, and performed in the Music City production of MUSICAL! the musical, where he was also the Artistic Director of One Hand Clapping. Marshall joined with Nancy to create full curricula and a popular podcast based on his Zenprovmodel.

Nancy Howland Walker

Nancy is widely recognized as one of the foremost musical improv teachers in the United States.  She is the creator, producer, director, and a performer in the critically acclaimed show MUSICAL! the musical, America 's first two-act completely improvised modern Broadway style musical, which opened in 1998 at the Royal George Theatre, and has had runs in Boston, Nashville and various theaters across the United States.  (see clips here)

A SAG/AFTRA actor, Nancy has been performing, teaching, directing, and producing improv since 1989, has run casting sessions on three different continents, and is currently the Executive Director of Chicago Improv Associates.  For over a decade she has led business trainings for major corporations, including McDonalds, Oxford Instruments, and Amoco/BP, giving seminars in such areas of creativity, team building, and communication.