Shana Merlin

The Founder of Merlin Works, Shana Merlin is one of the most experienced and effective improv teachers in Central Texas. The former Dean of The Heroes School of Improvisational Theatre, Shana has been an internationally touring performer and award-winning teacher since 1995. Shana has trained with some of the top teachers in the field of improvisation including Keith Johnstone, and members of Second City, The Annoyance, IO, The Groundlings and more.

Grace Pinegar

Grace Pinegar is a comedian, writer, and actor whose journey began in the Second City’s Conservatory Program in 2018. Upon graduating, she moved to New York City where she performed in sketch shows and short films, studied at UCB, and modeled for a prom dress company despite being the only model old enough to have already attended prom.

In 2020, she pivoted from group to solo art forms, pursuing both stand-up comedy and storytelling, as well as developing a TikTok following for her characters and stories. Back in her home state of Texas, she is a member of The Fallout Theatre’s improv and sketch house teams, a children’s acting teacher at The Zach Theatre, and the current Director of Operations and Marketing for Merlin Works.

Offstage, you cannot find Grace, as she is likely reading at home on her couch.

Tyler Bryce

Tyler Bryce has performed in thousands of improv, sketch, and stand up comedy shows through the years, beginning with ComedySportz Austin in 1991. He is a two-time finalist in the Funniest Person In Austin Contest. He began teaching and directing improvisation in 1995 through Zachary Scott Theater Center.  Tyler has taught hundreds of public and private classes improv through the years.

In 2000, Tyler was proud to represent ComedySportz Austin in the finals of the Comedy League of America National Championships, where they brought home the National Championship crown.

In 2001, he moved to New York where he studied long-form and sketch comedy at The Upright Citizens Brigade, The Magnet, and The People’s Improv Theater.  He was a regular cast member with National Comedy Theater and The Improv Asylum (New York).

Since returning to Austin in 2012, Tyler has produced, performed, and directed in many popular shows, including F*** It’s Hot, Thinning the Herd, and Flying Theater Machine. Tyler currently performs with ComedySportz Austin at Zach Scott North.

Estevan “Chuy” Zarate

Estevan J. (Chuy) Zarate is an actor/ director/coach/ corporate trainer from San Antonio who has been improvising in front of audiences since 1990. He is a member of The Big Bash at The Hideout Theatre, The Known Wizards (Merlin Works faculty troupe), Stool Pigeon at ColdTowne and more duos than he can count.

He teaches all styles and formats being that he has a very eclectic tool belt to reach into. If there is a scenario to be performed in, he has probably performed it.

With specialties in improv singing and grounded/character-driven scenework, Chuy has coached hundreds of kids, teens, students and adults for years to multiple successes.

You can also find him active on IG: @chuyzee

Jo Chauvin

Jo Chauvin is an improv teacher/coach and career consultant in Austin, TX. She took her first improv class in 2008, and while too shy to get on stage or even participate in class exercises, she quickly embedded herself in the Austin improv scene.

She was the house manager of the Hideout Theatre for 3 years and an integral team member in the beginning days of the Institution Theater. She has been teaching classes and coaching troupes since 2014, and it is absolutely her favorite thing to do in the whole world!

She also works as a career consultant and often incorporates improv exercises into her presentations regarding interviewing, networking, recruiting, and team-building.

Kristen Drenning

Kristen Drenning is an improvisor and storyteller in Austin. She has been a frequent performer at storytelling events such as Testify, Stories on the Lawn, The Moth, and Fallout Storytelling Hour. You can often find her performing with her troupes, Sorry for Partying, 48, Trouble, and Antisocial. She was part of the cast of numerous shows including Blvd. Q, Murder They Improvised, Into the Metaverse, and The Emma Dilemma.

She teaches improv to children through Coldtowne’s Excused Absence program and to neurodivergent teens through Hideout’s Building Connections program.

Anne Dowd

Anne Dowd discovered that improv was her love language at DePaul University in 2000. She studied improv at several Chicago institutions including the Second City Conservatory, iO Chicago and the Annoyance Theater. She has performed with various independent improv teams over the years as well as in scripted and musical theater shows in and around Chicagoland.

After moving to Austin, she found community through training and performing at the Hideout Theater and uncovered a zest for adult-themed puppet shows via zoom-prov and later directed Boulevard Q, an in-person queer improvised puppet show, at the Hideout Theater.

By day, she is a Speech Language Pathologist and works with young adults with communication needs. She enjoys playing the piano and guitar as well as performing with her two-person improv team Anne and Jan Have No Plan.

Amy Averett

Amy is a proud graduate of the Merlin Works School of Improv and learned everything she knows from Head Wizard Shana Merlin herself. She has been improvising on Austin stages since 2008 in mainstage shows and with various troupes. The first improv show she ever saw was Girls Girls Girls: Improvised Musicals and it was love at first sight. She joined the troupe in 2010 and has improvised hundreds of Broadway-style musicals ever since.  As a member of GGG, Amy has produced several musical improv festivals, taught musical improv workshops around the state, and has received several B. Iden Payne awards, including Best Improv Troupe.

She unapologetically loves glitter, karaoke, showtunes, RuPaul’s Drag Race and Taylor Swift. Her ex mother-in-law described her in a wedding toast as “smart, funny, and a little overwhelming”.

Katie Felton

Katie Felton has been performing stand-up comedy in Austin, TX since 2019. She has had the chance to open for comedians such as Jared Freid, and Katie Hannigan as well as having been featured on shows with Adam Ray and Steph Tolev. She can be found lip-syncing her face off at Cap City Comedy Club with her original comedy show Lip Shtick Battle or doing stand-up sets anywhere there is a stage around the city.

She regularly updates her performance schedule on her Instagram: @itsmekatiefelton.

David Ronn

David started performing improv in 2007, the same time he started playing guitar. In 2014 he started combining the two in musical improv and hasn’t stopped since.

David can be found performing musical improv throughout Austin with his musical duo “The Milk Spillers” and can also be seen accompanying improvised musicals on the guitar.

When not performing, you can find him chasing frisbees at Zilker Park.

Ana Wood

Ana Wood is a transformational coach, world-adventurer, spoken word poet, and stand-up lover turned improvisor.

She’s a graduate of both Merlin Works and The Hideout Theatre, where she’s been involved in various productions. She’s passionate about the power of improv to loosen people up and enhance the way we approach creativity and collaboration. She loves encouraging students to bring their own unique magic and style to improv.

In her free time you can find her hanging with her bunny, doing Brazilian dance, assisting equine therapy with kids on the autism spectrum, and other wizard stuff.

Marissa Wahkuna

Marissa Wahkuna Ponder got her start as an actress, musician, and dancer as a child and began a lifelong love of the Arts. With a BFA in Theatre Education and a Masters in Education, she spent 20 years as an all-age drama, music, and academics teacher. She trained in improv at Improv Asylum in Boston, and also performed long-form music improv with Boston’s Unscripted Musical Project.

Marissa began her joyful journey with Merlin Works in 2016, and continues to find teaching improv the career highlight of her life.

Gloria Rabil

Gloria Rabil is a storyteller, writer, and writing coach/editor. She is the managing owner of Prose Story Consulting.

She grew up in North Carolina but has called Austin home for a few decades.

When she’s not coaching storytellers or helping writers develop their projects, you can find her planning her next adventure or enjoying a good book or show from the comfort of her living room.

Danielle DaVerona

Danielle (she/they) began their improv journey in 2017. From there, they have become a performer, B.Iden Payne-award-winning director, and teacher of improv.

Outside of improv, Danielle is a full time artist – dedicated cat / plant parent – & consumer of all things true crime!

“My goal as a teacher is to help people utilize improv techniques in AND outside the theatre, and to empower people deeply understand, trust and appreciate themselves and their choices!”

Susan Pickover

Susan was first introduced to long-form improv at The Upright Citizen’s Brigade in New York City.  She went on to train and perform at The UCB, The Magnet Theater and the P.I.T. as well as various other theaters. She quickly fell in love with musical improv and was happy to use her four years of high school choir for something other than singing in the shower.

Susan went on to co-create and performed in NY’s first musical Harold team VEAL as well as perform on multiple musical house teams. After moving to Austin she was thrilled to be embraced into the AIC with open arms. Susan thanks Shana Merlin for giving her a chance at teaching, something she loves “almost” as much as performing.