THE EDGE IMPROV

Ken is one of the founding members of the Edge and was the leader and mastermind behind all things Edge for over a decade, but has now retired into a performer position where he can concentrate on making the funny and leave the menial tasks, like writing his bio, to the rest of us. Ken has also developed and led many corporate Improv trainings, and has been performing in the Seattle area for over 30 years. You may have seen him onstage, in commercials, and if you were alert at a few low budget movies, you may have spotted him. Ken also practices Karate and is a master chainsaw artist.

Founding member of the Edge, former member of Seattle Theatersports, been happily immersed in Improv for most of my adult life.

John loves living life the improvised way, making it up as he goes along. He loves his fellow improvisers, loves his community, and loves to make people laugh. “Thanks Bainbridge for supporting the EDGE for all these years.” Besides Improv, John has appeared on this stage in Noises Off, Annie, Born Yesterday, Guys and Dolls,A Midsummer Night’s Dream,As You Like It, ‘Art’ and Sylvia. He’s really proud of being co-author of the book (with Andrew Shields) for the original musical “Harry Tracy, a Bainbridge bandit”which was produced here at BPA to great acclaim.

Cynthia Lair has been the Edge’s favorite naughty girl since 2000. Meanwhile, she has written three cookbooks, given the TEDx talk "How to Cut an Onion", and has regularly performed and taught improvisational theater at Unexpected Productions since 2015. Professor, producer, wife, and whatever comes next. Yes and.

Susan began improvising in 1983 and has not stopped since. She was a founding member of Seattle TheatreSports/Unexpected Productions and has worked with Seattle Improv, None of the Above, and has been a member of The EDGE since the Dark Ages. In her spare time she is a Postpartum Doula using her improv skills to calm new babies and the parents of new babies. And if that weren't enough, she also uses her improv skills at another job - cooking breakfast for the folks staying at an all treehouse B & B in Issaquah - owned by Pete and Judy Nelson, who have their own reality show "Treehouse Masters" on Animal Planet. She loves Bainbridge Island and camps at Fay Bainbridge Park in her vintage British caravan despite havingto pay more for 1 inch of extra height on the ferry. Her only daughter seems determined to be a Geo-physicist.

Bhama started doing Improv at age 16 when she joined the Improv Troupe at Booker T Washington School of the Arts in Dallas, TX. She moved to Seattle in 1997, and joined The EDGE in 1999. In addition to Improv, Bhama appears regularly in local and regional theatre, on the hit web shows Cookus Interruptus (along with fellow Edgers Cynthia Lair and Frank Buxton) and Wrecked, for which she received an Indie Series Award for Best Actress in a Comedy. In Los Angeles, Bhama performed at Bootleg Theatre, the Hollywood Improv, MBar, and El Cid, as well as appearing in an episode of Grey's Anatomy. Recent stage appearances include Dorine in 'Tartuffe' at Seattle Shakes, and upcoming: Quincy/Bart in ACT Theatre's production of 'MrBurns'. Keep an eye on the interweb for 'The Bhama Show,' a revamping of material from 2013's 'Hippiecrit' Solo Performance and latest collaboration with the Island's own Honey Toad Studios. When not performing, Bhama is a freelance audio producer for casual games and online learning. You can follow Bhama on Facebook at The Bhama Showand on Twitter @bhamaroget.

Andrew Shields has performed everywhere from his mother’s living room to Carnegie Hall. An award-winning composer, he has a degree in Music from Stanford, and wrote the music, lyrics, and script for the original Reefer Madness: The Musical as well as music, lyrics, and (with fellow EDGE member John Ellis) script for the musical Harry Tracy: A Bainbridge Bandit. He has music-directed shows at ACT, Village Theater, Tacoma Actors’ Guild, the Bathhouse Theater, Second Story Repertory, and Bainbridge Performing Arts, among others, and played Harold Hill in a production of The Music Man at BPA. He has enjoyed every minute of his seventeen years with this wacky bunch.

Playing with The Edge is a wonderful new chapter in my twenty year improv adventure. I've enjoyed exploring, performing and teaching improv in the Puget Sound area and beyond, always finding improvisers to be my favorite people to be with. The Edge players are no exception...what a terrific crew!

Matty has been performing on stage and doing Improv with the EDGE for over 27 years. He had the pleasure of working with Dina Martina in many of her shows at Re-Bar, and other shows, including Pirates of Lesbos, Deflowered in the Attic. Annex Theater (The Women) and Alice B Theatre (The Holiday Survival Game Show). He’s been with The EDGE since the year TWO, and offers up the most outlandish characters and situations to our proceedings, Matty would like to dedicate all his shows to his mom, who he misses very much. Ok, let’s make up something weird!”