STAFF

AMY KNOP, Managing Director

**Amy Knop** (she/her) is a writer, performer, and award-winning producer/director of live comedy in Austin, TX. She is delighted, thanks to workshops of Austin Sketch Fests past, to have learned from comedy icons like Amber Ruffin, Mo Collins, and more. She is excited to co-direct her fifth festival with the goal of creating an experience that truly showcases the diverse voices of our sketch community.

Carolyn Kelleher, creative director

Carolyn Kelleher is a writer-director-producer-comedian-and-self-proclaimed-multi-hyphenate in Austin, Texas. In addition to her work with ASF, she markets shows for herself and other people and clamors for stage time.

Carolyn co-created/produces/directs/hosts Hysteria (FKA Whose Life is it Anyway?) a comedy variety show about bodily autonomy benefiting abortion access and gender-affirming care for Texans. She also does stand up and performs regularly with improv troupes Folxxx and Mother Wound.

XANDER NOLAND, Special Events Director

**Xander Noland** is an Austin, Texas based comedy writer, performer, and producer. He has won no awards but that hasn't slowed him down. In addition to working at Austin Sketch Fest, he is the Creative Director for GameOn! ATX. Really big fan of yours.

IVY LE, hospitality director

**Ivy Le** is a Vietnamese American comedian, actress, and writer based in Austin, Texas. She is the creator of the critically-acclaimed Spotify Studios podcast FOGO: Fear of Going Outside, a nature show by the most reluctant host ever, and hosts Tongue & Cheek, the only queer comedy open mic in Austin. This is her third year producing Austin Sketch Fest! Ivy is on a mission to queer comedy and decolonize everything.

Louis Birdsong, TECHnical DIRECTOR

**Louis Birdsong** is an improv comedian who knows about plants. Louis has been a tech at ColdTowne Theater for about a year now, and he's enjoyed every minute of it. You can catch Louis performing improv in Bird Mob every first and third Sunday at ColdTowne Theater, and in Lucid, an improv duo performing in various places at various times. Louis is happy to be here and thinks it's funny typing in third person.

ashley ellis, producer

**Ashley Ellis** is a sketch & improv comedian by night, and a responsible sourcing manager at a grocery retailer by day. Ashley was inspired to get into sketch comedy by Austin's own Sketch Fest stars, Strong Male Leads. Hailing from Los Angeles and currently based in Austin, Texas, she would like to know if anyone is mad at her for this?

yuki desouza, producer

Yuki Desouza is a Japanese-Brazilian-American writer-actor-improviser-musician from Atlanta. He started writing and producing live comedy shows in 2019, and has not wanted to do anything else since. His performances run the whole gamut, from hosting a cooking show to playing as the Principal Accompanist of a musical improv show. He recently co-founded a mime troupe as the Musical Director, pivoting twenty-something years of classical piano onto the comedy stage. Please don't tell his parents about that last part.

WILL CLEVELAND, Production Manager

**Will Cleveland** (Pro-choice) has been producing for Austin Sketch Fest since 2015, and has served as Artistic Director at ColdTowne Theater since 2016 where he directs, produces, and teaches sketch and improv classes. Among his favorite Austin Sketch Fest performances are *My Mans, Girls with Brown Hair, Megan Stalter, and Bellevue's Seinfeld Play "The Leaning Susan".*

DAVE BUCKMAN, Executive Producer

**Dave Buckman** served two years as Artistic Director of Boom Chicago in Amsterdam. He culminated his run in Europe directing Boom Chicago: RockStars, the second stage-swap with The Second City’s Main Stage in its 50-year history. After Europe, Dave worked as a director, actor, and teacher at The Second City in Chicago and in Cleveland, where he met his wife and creative partner, Rachel Madorsky. He spent 10 years as an artistic producer for The Out Of Bounds Comedy Festival and is now is in his 9th year as Executive Producer of Austin SketchFest. You can also hear him as a frequent guest on SNL-based podcasts: SNL Hall of Fame, SNL AfterParty and on the Saturday Night Network. Dave is currently Executive Producer at ColdTowne Theater, where he has been performing and directing since its opening in 2006. You can read about his experiences working with some comedy greats in Amsterdam during the turbulent 2000 Election and 9/11 in the recently released
”Boom Chicago Presents the 30 Most Important Years in Dutch History.”

MINDA WEI, Consulting producer & Creative Director emeritus

Minda Wei is an LA-based queer Chinese-Texan comedy writer and story editor for Spotify’s FOGO podcast. In a past life, she built the world's #1 supercomputer. Now, they shoplift chapstick. Minda has won the Austin Chronicle’s “Best of Austin” Comedy Critics’ Pick and performed at SF Sketchfest, Del Close Marathon, NYC Sketchfest (and more!). They’re stoked for a fifth year of producing this fun, chaotic, stupid, brilliant, punk-ass comedy festival. mindawei.com

KYLE ROMERO, Consulting producer & Artistic Director EMERITUS

Kyle Romero is a writer, performer, teacher, and director based out of Austin, TX. He is a graduate of the conservatory programs at Upright Citizens Brigade Los Angeles and ColdTowne Theater in Austin. He appeared in Bigfoot: The Musical, and directed the play Sex a.k.a. Weiners and Boobs, both central Texas premieres. He also performs improv a lot, but you don’t want to hear about that, because this is a sketch festival. He is on Twitter at @itskyleromero.