CHECK OUT JACKIE'S SUMMER COLLABORATION WITH JINX! :
Audiences know them as "the funny ones." Local bar owners know them as "the loud ones." Jackie has six members but, as its name suggests, is one person. A single unit--a true ensemble--committed to emotional, character based longform improvisation. They use the power of their brains to make you laugh.
 | Ken Hays. Plucked straight from the rough cul-de-sacs of northern Virginia, WIT's training program honed Ken into a one-man improv machine. He began back in 2003 as a founding member of the troupe Jackie, and continued his lofty climb to the top of Mount WIT, receiving top honors in the 2008 Tournament of the FIST as part of the winning team Polygamy. He has gained further notoriety through the creation of the organic game "Calvinball", as well as the "Blow-up Edit" which he co-founded with Richard Nyman in the 2007 production of Interns. Ken is also known for his ruthless teaching methods and bloodthirsty directing style. Hey, the truth hurts. | |
.jpg) | Mikael Johnson is an actor, writer and comic living in Washington D.C. He has been a player with Jackie since mid-'06 and has even directed a couple of runs here and there. He currently teaches the "Scene" class, Level 3, for Washington Improv Theater and has directed a handful of other groups in the WIT community. | |
 | Aparna Nancherla is glad she found the longform improv scene known as WIT while experimenting with a gateway drug called stand up. What started with the training program quickly escalated into a full-blown addiction. She's now a hardcore user. As part of her 3.5 steps of recovery (she cut out the ones she didn't like), she occasionally watches A&E's Intervention, anonymously harasses her fellow Jackies and JINXies, and refers to herself in the self-deprecating third person. She is still waiting to be tagged out, but in the meantime, her characters keep raising the (mi)stakes... | |
 | Michelle Guardino Swaney is having trouble writing this bio because, being a lawyer, she generally writes only in the IRAC structure (Issue, Rule of Law, Analysis, Conclusion). Sometime in the past, Michelle performed with Boston College's improv troupe, My Mother's Fleabag, and then with East Bay Improv in California. Then she did very little that was creative for many years. Not long ago, Michelle signed up for WIT's training program and fell in love with improv all over again. It was like "The Bridges of Madison County," except that movie sucked. Michelle is married to a handsome genius. | |
 | Joe Uchno By day, Joe is a mild mannered engineer. Pocket protector, taped glasses; the whole deal. By night he is a surly pirate, or a condescending vampire, and once a highly suggestive stewardess with a heart of gold. This is not magic and Joe is not a superhero. This is due to the wonder that is improv. After spending his formative years in Pennsylvania, Joe moved to New York City and discovered improv at the UCB Theatre. Having settled in DC in 2005, Joe is now tickled pink to be a member of Jackie. Joe hopes to see you soon, and that you'll join him in his quest to bring the pocket protector back to prominence. | |
