Craig Cackowski is an actor, improvisor and teacher based in Los Angeles. He has been involved with the iO and iO West (RIP) theaters since 1992, and was the three-time winner of the Del Close Award as Teacher of the Year at iO West. He has played numerous improv festivals around the country with his long-running three-man troupe Dasariski (with Bob Dassie and Rich Talarico) and his duo Orange Tuxedo (with his wife Carla!). While in Chicago, he appeared in and co-wrote 5 revues for The Second City, and helped create such improv forms as JTS Brown and Close Quarters. As an actor, he has been seen in recurring roles on such shows as Community (as “Officer Cackowski”), Bajillion Dollar Properties (as “Todd the janitor”), Veep (as “Cliff”) and as part of the ensemble cast of Drunk History. Other film and TV credits include The Mayor, Son Of Zorn, Girlboss, Comedy Bang Bang, Newsreaders, Welcome To The Family, The Mindy Project, How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Year Of The Dog, 21 And Over, The Kings Of Summer, Murder Bury Win, and Wine Country. He may be heard frequently on such podcasts as The Thrilling Adventure Hour, Spontaneanation and his own podcast Craig’s List, in which he makes Carla watch his 100 favorite movies.

Brian is a Second City and iO alum with nearly 20 years experience performing, writing and teaching comedy and improvisation. Brian has appeared in feature films including Blockers and television shows such as Key & Peele. He’s written for Girl Boss on Netflix and can be seen performing in Delicious Moments here at Westside!

Carla Cackowski is a writer and improviser living in Los Angeles. She regularly tours across the country with her two person improv show, “Orange Tuxedo”. Carla toured on boats with Second City and performed on Harold Teams at both iO West and UCB Los Angeles. She directed the International Ensemble at the Vancouver Improv Festival in the fall of 2018 and has traveled all over the world teaching and performing in comedy festivals. Carla is an improv teacher at The Second City in Hollywood and is the Training Center Director at Mi’s Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica.

Jeffrey Thompson is an actor and writer who performs on Gravity and Wasted History at the Westside and also helps produce the Westside Comedy Festival. He teaches psychology at Citrus College, works as a tax preparer, and produces short films with his group, Great Hair Productions. He’s also a huge nerd and can be found playing video games when he’s not performing somewhere in LA or buried under a pile of paperwork.

Al Garcia has been involved with the WCT for over a decade as a student/performer and is currently on the faculty. He has taught drop-in classes, workshops, and coached multiple teams… he incorporates both traditional and unconventional approaches to improv, with an emphasis on fun and mutual respect.  Al’s graduate work involved topics including anxiety reduction and neuroplasticity in the brain, which he also applies to the world of teaching and performing. Finally, he is a consultant and life coach for his business model called Unconventional Solutions.