IMPROV FOR Brain Health

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Brent Hirose is an actor, writer, director, voice over artist and improvisor based in Vancouver, B.C. A graduate of the University of Winnipeg, Brent spent the first decade of his career in the prairies where he co founded Theatre by the River and the improv troupe The Horrible Friends. He has toured all across North America with his hit one-man plays including The Suckerpunch and Lost and Left Behind, before relocating to Vancouver and serving as co-artistic director of Instant Theatre from 2016-2019. As an improvisor he has performed a variety of styles, as a cast member of Shakespeare After Dark, A Fistful of Kicks and Hype! An Improvised Hip-Hopera. He has taught improv for The Young Actors Project, UBC Improv, The South Vancouver Youth Centre, Instant Theatre and now Tightrope Impro.  He is thrilled to be working with the team at Tightrope and sharing his love of narrative and character creation with new and seasoned improvisors alike!

Quinn is an alumnus of Loose Moose Theatre in Calgary, has been a member of Rapid Fire Theatre in Edmonton since 2014, and is the Co-Artistic Director of the Canmore International Improv Festival. A year spent working in every department at Alberta Theatre Projects in 2011 instilled in him a keen interest in the organizational side of theatres, and he went on to earn a degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of Alberta. He is an actor, writer, and co-founder of Marv n’ Berry - Sketch Comedy, cast member of Off Book The Improvised Musical, and has emceed the dog show at the Calgary Stampede for four years. Since 2015, he has been teaching improv for youth classes at the Citadel’s Foote Theatre School, has been a faculty member of the Rapid Fire Theatre Academy since 2018, and spent two years coaching the University of Alberta improv group. Teaching and performing has brought Quinn from coast to coast in Canada and the United States, around Europe twice, and as far as Dubai. He has created and co-created numerous new shows and formats that have been seen at festivals including: Den Andre Teaterfestivalen (Norway), Wurzburg Impro Fest (Germany), Improvaganza (Edmonton), Vancouver International Improv Festival, Bonfire (Edmonton), San Francisco Sketchfest, Seattle Sketchfest, Edmonton International Fringe Festival, Grindstone Comedy Festival (Edmonton), Montreal Skecthfest, Out of Bounds Comedy Festival (Texas), Philly Sketchfest, Floodwater Comedy Festival (Iowa), Hell Yes! Comedy Festival (New Orleans), SAC Comedy Festival (Sacramento), and Charm City Comedy Festival (Baltimore). He is beyond thrilled in this new position of Executive Director for Tightrope Impro Theatre as the dream of starting a theatre company close to the mountains is beginning to come true.