Isabelle Valera

Isabelle is a French visual artist, designer, performer and improviser who has been exploring the stage, storytelling and the unexpected for more than 20 years. Today, she is an Artistic Associate at Close Encounters Theatre (CET), where she combines her creative background with her passion for improv, performance and community building.

Her journey into improv began almost accidentally in Lyon in 2001. Since then, she has performed across different countries and in different languages, believing that improv is a powerful philosophy in which emotional connection can foster greater understanding and kindness among people.

Isabelle has trained extensively with improvisers and theatre-makers in France and internationally. Her mentors include the performers and instructors of Amadeus Rocket (Lyon), as well as other artists such as Odile Cantero, Hila Di Castro, Andel Sudik, Jim Libby and Jacob Banigan...

In August 2026, she spent ten intensive days training at ReAct Improv with Patti Stiles, Shaun Kinsley and Steve Jarand, deepening her understanding of the Keith Johnstone tradition and its approach to spontaneity, status, play and storytelling.

Her artistic practice goes far beyond improvisation. Isabelle graduated from a School of Fine Arts (ESAD – École Supérieure d’Art et de Design) and trained as a visual artist and mural painter. She later founded her own graphic design practice, bringing years of experience in visual communication and creative direction to her work. For Isabelle, the connection between visual art and improv is natural: image, space, composition, material, rhythm and storytelling all speak the same language.

In 2024, Isabelle became one of the Festival Directors of the Zurich Improv Comedy Festival, the first English-speaking improvisation festival in Zurich, working under the artistic direction of Tara Brodin at Close Encounters Theatre. She continued in the role for the following editions, helping shape the festival’s artistic programme and community.

Today, Isabelle’s favourite part of her work is sharing what she has learned. At CET, she teaches and supports students while helping create a welcoming, playful and connected community around the performing arts.

For Isabelle, improv is much more than a performance technique. It is a way of being curious, listening deeply, taking risks, embracing failure and making space for other people. After more than two decades, she is still learning, still playing — and still saying yes to the unknown!