Meet the Lab Staff
Joe Bolenbaugh
The roots of Joe’s improvisational experience were recently un-repressed, where extensive therapy sessions revealed that Joe and his high-school friends used to gather for Mock Congress, wherein they would each adapt the personality of a famous (or not) legislator, and hold session. On the weekends. For no school credit whatsoever.
Not much cooler now, his improv skillz have been on display for Stark Raving Theatre’s late-night series “The Writer’s Nightmare.” Also, he joined his good friend Scotty Iseri on an international tour (Canada counts!) of the largely-improvised ”Scotty Iseri & The Big Rock Show,” which featured Joe as a surly roadie with a drinking problem.
In addition to improv, Joe has been “script-acting” with companies all over Portland for the last 7 years, including Oregon Children’s Theatre, Theatre Vertigo, defunkt theatre, Triangle! Productions, Northwest Children’s Theatre, and Fall Guy Theatre. Favorite past roles include the aforementioned drunken roadie, a drunken journalist, an incestuous twin, a syphilitic doctor, TWO zombies, George Bailey, and a cat.
When he’s not on stage, Joe enjoys playing video games, playing with his cat, and avoiding doing anything serious or grown-up at all costs. Special thanks to Tony for taking care of the video games and the cat when Joe is not around.
Gary Hirsch
As a child, Gary spent many long afternoons in his father’s cardiovascular research lab playing with cute bunnies and that fun liquid mercury stuff that rolls all over the floor like it has a life of it’s own!
The result of this contamination is an extreme case of ADD which splits Gary’s attention between his wonderful family (two kids and lots of pets), On Your Feet (www.oyf.com) a consultancy founded 10 years ago that uses improv to help organizations create and communicate, Doodlehouse (www.doodlehouse.com) an illustration and surface design venture and Super Project Lab. Male cats peeing on trees have nothing over this guy.
Gary has been improvising for way too long (something like17 years) but doesn’t have the sense to stop. He loves walks in the park, King Charles Cavaliers, and warm sticky rice with mango.
Ralph Huntley
Ralph has been a working musician in Portland, OR for over 20 years. He, I mean Me, or rather, I….lets just say the three of us have been keeping busy the last few years performing, composing, and writing for Livewire Radio, DoJump Extremely Physical Theater, Klezmocracy, and very recently for Powells Books new documentary film series: Out of the Book.
Ralph, I, me, he, him, and His Excellency…..in fact, all six of us firmly believe in the motto: A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss. Or is that a proverb? Or maybe just a saying? Or is it a maxim? What the hell is a maxim, anyway? Why do people use that word if they don’t know what it means? In our free time, the six of us, seven if you count myself, enjoy hanging out in prisons, playing Dungeons and Dragons in the nude, and long walks. Call us……
Phil Incorvia
Phil Incorvia was raised by improvisers. Not literally, but his childhood proximity to Chicago gave the young lad a taste for making things up.
As founder of, and participant in many improvised ventures, Phil has had the honor of performing on four continents in large groups, intimate ensembles, and solo shows alike. One of his most exciting moments was being invited to join the cast of Chicago’s Second City for their traditional Saturday night improv set. He wishes he’d shaved before going to the show that night.
A technology trainer, multimedia producer and corporate branding consultant, Phil uses the power of improvisation—active listening, engaging an audience, comfort with looking like a clown, etc.—daily in both his professional and personal life. Ask anyone.
Shelley Six
Bio preface: anyone who has ever written a bio knows that I am simply self-promoting and therefore I refuse to speak in the third person. I have been studying and performing improv and sketch comedy for six years. For the last three years I lived in Los Angeles where I wrote and performed for LA’s longest running sketch show, Big News
I also took many a class with some of the best improvisers around and I am excited to be back to try out some of that training on the smart and savvy audiences of Portland (which is the complete opposite of LA [unless you're from LA in which case I thought you made a terrific audience member]). I can be seen in Brainwaves and Super Project Lab at the moment and hope to have a sketch show coming to a theater near you. Stay tuned!
Laura Faye Smith
Laura Faye Smith is thrilled to be embarking on a new improv adventure with Super Project Lab. She also finds it a bit surprising that she actually enjoys improv so much at this point in her life–especially after recently finding her college acting class journal, where her 19 year-old self had written “I HATE doing all this improv crap. I’d rather just ACT.”
In addition to Super Project Lab, Laura has worked with Brainwaves Improvisational Comedy for about 14 years, and has performed for many theatre companies in Portland, including Portland Center Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Triangle! Productions, Profile Theatre, Lakewood Theatre, Miracle Theatre, and Theatre Vertigo. She manages the Educational Theatre Program for Oregon Children’s Theatre, works with On Your Feet, and teaches at both Oregon Children’s Theatre and Portland Center Stage. She also has numerous film and voice over credits, and if you happen to be up late at night channel surfing, look for her in the Slendertone System Abs infomercial, interviewing people who are wearing a belt that gives their abs an electronic shock to make the muscles contract. Good times.
When she’s not working, Laura can typically be found riveted to whatever crappy reality show is playing on MTV, Bravo,or E!, or dressing up her miniature pinscher, Stella, in little pink doggie coats. She also enjoys getting drunk on ginger vodka martinis while her husband cooks dinner.
Matt Tabora-Roberts
Matt Tabora-Roberts has over 20 years of experience performing and teaching improv. He has taught improv, commedia dell’arte and physical theatre for Ensemble Theatre Community School, Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, Wesleyan University, Portland State University, Dudley Rigg’s Brave New Workshop, Sacramento Theatre Company, Cal Shakes and for a variety of high school and middle school theatre departments.
His improv training started before high school and continued beyond college when he attended the year-long physical theatre training program with Dell Arte Theatre School. Then, he joined their company, directed a couple of shows for other companies, and got an MFA in theatre from UC Davis, with a focus on actor training methods and character work.
His latest venture is a group called PLAY in which he works with other improv and theatre artist to find new ways to generate work and create new forms. Matt takes goofing off very seriously and is thrilled to be a new addition to SPL.
Chris Thompson
Chris is tired of spending his life near the end of the alphabet and sees nothing remotely fair about alphabetical order. A storyteller at heart, he began studying improvisational theater in 1991 with the Groundlings in Los Angeles. He was a performing member of the ‘BATS Improv’ mainstage company from 1996-2005.
A filmmaker since an early age, Chris graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in film studies. Chris has produced a children’s DVD and a 16mm film called ‘World Record Guy’ that was featured in prominent film festivals around the country.
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Show Dates!
Sunday, March 14th:
The Brody Theater Sunday, April 25th:
The Brody Theater Friday, May 7th:
Portland Center for the Performing Arts Friday, May 14th:
Portland Center for the Performing Arts
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