Lisa Wyczesany
Lisa started improvising in 2012 after making the post-college leap to Los Angeles from Chicago. There, she graduated from the Westside Comedy Theater’s training program in Santa Monica and became a founding member of the long-running resident house team Air Force Fun. The team performed regularly across LA and beyond, including at iO West, UCB Franklin, Second City Chicago, ACME Hollywood, the Denver Improv Festival, and more. Beyond improv, Lisa dabbled in live and online sketch comedy, studied stand-up and TV writing, and even headlined the interactive rom-com improv show, Win a Date with Lisa Wyczesany (spoiler: no actual dates were won).
Lisa left LA in 2020 and returned to the Chicago suburbs, where she was thrilled to find another fun & welcoming “westside” community in Westside Improv.
Outside of improv, Lisa has worked for a variety of LA based TV production companies and advertising agencies, putting her DePaul University degree to good use. These days, she and her husband own and co-produce V is for Vino, an educational travel show about wine. They live with their adorable, chunky, one-eyed rescue cat, Babe—who, despite limited depth perception, remains the true star of the household.
UPCOMING SHOWS
PERFORMS WITH
Denise Arend
After a particularly rough day, I felt the urge to break free from my routine and step outside my comfort zone. That’s when I signed up for my first improv class. The supportive environment encouraged me to take risks, both on stage and in life. What began as a response to a tough day has become an adventure filled with creativity, friendship, and endless possibilities.
Denise plays on Murder Candy.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Dustin Maassen
Dustin began his improv journey at Westside in 2022 and was immediately hooked! Before starting improv, he spent long tedious hours animating and felt he was slowly losing his mind. Luckily, improv is a much more fun and faster way to madness. Originally from St. Louis, MO, Dustin moved to Chicago in 2012 and now enjoys the suburban life with his wife and daughter. Outside of improv you can find him drawing or writing other funny ideas that didn’t make it into an improv scene.
Dustin plays on Murder Candy.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Nate Ford
A software engineer navigating life one ADHD hyperfixation at a time, Nate began his improv journey in early 2023 and, as ChatGPT might put it, “quickly became engrossed in the art, channeling his ever-shifting focus into the spontaneity and creativity of the stage.” Nate performs with Westside house team Murder Candy and indie team Jukebox Takeover.
Nate plays on Murder Candy.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Nem Simeunovic
A lifelong fan of comedy, Nemanja emigrated from Yugoslavia with a dream: get some cool LEGO sets and computer games (he was a child). His respite from the endless pursuit of material happiness was comedies, opting to spend his weekends watching standup comedy and SNL instead of being invited to parties.
Eventually he would start performing at standup open mics and improv classes around Chicago for a few years before finding a home at Westside in 2022. When he’s not at Westside you might find Nem singing fake songs to his disillusioned dog or trying to convince his kids that the music he listens to is really cool, actually.
Nem plays with Sprinkles.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Grace Fill
Grace enrolled in the Level One class at Westside looking for some post-pandemic fun. Her addiction to improv was immediate and intense. Being a part of local live theater is a dream come true, and the joy of being part of the Westside community surpasses even the thrill of being on stage. You might also hear her on piano some nights. Honestly, she just can't get enough. She's just so happy to contribute and to support Westside in any way possible.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Nina Hysick
Nina started on stage in school plays and musicals. In the 90's she performed with the Rochester Radio Theater Guild. Nina came to Westside in 2019 and enjoys being a part of Players Workshop and now Sprinkles.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Joel Shick
Joel is just a dude going through life, improvising as he goes. He has had an on again off again relationship with improv dating back to 2014. He started performing at Westside with Players Workshop in 2023 and now performs with the good people of Murder Candy. Currently, his relationship to improv is set firmly to “on” as he continues his journey with his amazing friends at Westside!
Joel plays on Murder Candy.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Joleen Batek
Joleen took her first class at Westside Improv in the fall of 2022. She was looking to escape reality for a couple hours each week and wound up completely obsessed with this thing called improv. A quest to find a place to try something different for a few weeks became an arrival at a place where she felt free to be her true self. Landing in such a supportive environment and making friends along the way has been an unexpected gift.
Aside from improv, Joleen thinks each day should include a cup of tea, a book, conversation, laughter and music. You can find her working in the children's department at a west suburban public library. Shh...don't tell the kids how she behaves on stage.
Joleen plays on Murder Candy.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Zach BiancoSmith
Zach is a full-grown middle child from Southern Illinois. He has been training and performing at Westside since 2022 and enjoys the camaraderie among improvisers.
Zach loves his family, his dog, and Hallmark movies.
Zach plays on Murder Candy.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Dan Kozuchowski
An accountant by trade, Dan's improv journey began back in August 2022 when he happened to walk by Westside and decided to sign up for a class that very day having never seen done or seen an improv show before and fell in love with the art form after only 3 classes.
In his free time, he can be seen umpiring youth baseball, mishitting his driver on the golf course, geeking out about poker percentages or proving that accountants truly are not funny.
Dan plays on Shade Tree.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Rob Atkinson
Rob was introduced to Improv via two co-workers turned friends., one of whom encouraged him to do what he thought he couldn't... take a class at Westside! That was 2019. After stumbling through three levels of improv classes, a sketch class (and show), and a few years in the tech booth, Rob was welcomed into the Shade Tree family.
Rob plays on Shade Tree.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Carrie Bastin
Wife, for most my life. A girl mom of two! A self-proclaimed Midwest donut connoisseur living my best life in the healthcare corporate world. I've been at the WS Studio since January of 2023 and joined Shade Tree November 2024.
Carrie plays on Shade Tree.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Jim Mocarski
Believe it or not, Jim’s sense of humor wasn’t always appreciated during his Aerospace and Defense career. Hoping to reignite his creative side after too much corporate training tried to stamp it out; he started classes at Westside in 2023. After taking just about every class Westside has to offer, Jim is convinced that the key to a good set is wearing his cerulean blue improv shoes. He is grateful to his wife Chris for encouraging him to try new things and for the Westside community’s inspiration and support to follow through.
Jim plays on Sprinkles and Futon Music.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Thurston Stevenson
Thurston, doesn’t take life too seriously and it shows! Thurston started improv out of necessity then fell in love with it! . Thurston's comedic presence is impossible to ignore. He has his bachelor degree in comedy writing and performance from Colombia college Chicago. When he’s not doing improv he’s on the stage solo as a stand up comedian. Or teaching drama to the next generation!
UPCOMING SHOWS
Kim Woods
Kim found improve and Westside in the fall of 2022, and she’s grateful for the community and opportunities to learn, play, grow and laugh here. Her only previous stage experience was as an inexperienced vocalist and percussionist (the shaker, tambourine and cow bell) with an adult band through School of Rock. She got to play at the iconic Double Door in Chicago which was pretty cool though not as cool as playing at this great improv studio in Wheaton.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Kayla Pernai
First love dogs, natural love music, unexpected love IMPROV! Kayla works as a marketing professional by day, but outside of work, she's passionate about theatrics and music. She used to do choir and was even part of a country cover band. She once wished she had red hair like the original Annie and might have cried herself to sleep about it as a kid (maybe even more than once!). Joking aside, Westside put a pulse back into her life and reignited her creative side, which she'll forever be grateful for! Since November 2022, she's been taking improv classes at Westside, discovering new ways to express herself artistically, and having a blast with fantastic people in this community. Kayla is excited to be performing with the team Blank Slate!
UPCOMING SHOWS
PERFORMS WITH
Hillary Prager
Hillary fell in love with the stage ever since landing the coveted role of Marshmallow in her first grade Christmas school play. She found the spotlight and never looked back! Hillary is a graduate of the training program at iO (improvOlympic) and studied improv at the Second City and the Playground Theater in Chicago. She took a little break (about 20 years) from improv and became a middle school teacher. But because she missed the stage so much, she made her way back and was lucky to find Westside where she couldn't be happier.
UPCOMING SHOWS
PERFORMS WITH
Hannah Fowler
Hannah Fowler began studying improv and sketch comedy at Second City and IO in Chicago in 2015. See was a founding member of The FeLions all-female sketch comedy group and has appeared in multiple web series, including Stuck In Realty, an official selection of the 2023 HollyShorts Monthly Screening Series. Catch Hannah performing with Blank Slate at Westside!