zurich improv comedy festival "THE 20's" -> 13 - 28 JUNE 2026
JIM LIBBY
He was born in Maine, in the USA, but made his home in Vienna, Austria, and has built a pretty good reputation as a performer, director, and artistic consultant.
Jim has performed in some of Europe’s most illustrious theatres, worked continually in television and film, and he's a featured voice-over artist in several prize winning film, commercial, and art productions.
In the world of improvisational theatre, he does tend to get around. Jim is a founding member of the English Lovers and have performed with or taught literally thousands of actors, directors, dancers, musicians, teachers, business folks, and just plain people, working on the application of the ideas and techniques of improvisation:
From the creation of Kabarett, theatre and performance, to team building, communication skills, television shows, films, art projects, and more.
Jim helped to create, "Zwischen Frechem Volke”, the very first, fully improvised, performance piece to ever be taken into the repertoire of a German state theatre.
He also helped to create the very first, fully improvised, radio drama for the BBC, “A Time to Dance”, which was nominated for a Sony Acadamy Award,
and co-directed the first, fully improvised, feature film to ever be produced in Austria, “Another One Opens”, which after several cinema runs, and winning a few prizes, is now on Amazon.
Jim is also the artistic director and host of the upcoming: Moment! -Vienna’s International Festival for Improvised Theatre, in TAG, this October.
Currently he can be heard in the new feature films, “Moonbound”, “Razzennest”, and in the web series, “Socks Talk Politics”.
JACOB BANIGAN is a Canadian living in Austria, teaching and performing impro around Europe. He has been improvising since 1990, when he joined Rapid Fire Theatre to play THEATRESPORTS in Edmonton. Jacob was Artistic Director of Rapid Fire for nine seasons, creating CHIMPROV, The RFT Improv Academy, and Canada’s biggest impro festival IMPROVAGANZA.
Living in Graz, Austria, ensemble member of Theater im Bahnhof, he is director of the impro show MONTAG. In 2012, Jacob premiered the improvised solo show GAME OF DEATH. Jacob has lead workshops across the world for such esteemed groups as Dad’s Garage (Atlanta), Extempore (London), Die Gorilas (Berlin), Stockholms Improvisations Theater, and il Bugiardini (Rome).
Banigan is currently Senior Lecturer on Improvisational Theater at the University for the Performing Arts Graz. He is a member of English Lovers in Vienna, Gordon’s Big Bald Head in Edmonton, and Rocket Sugar Factory everywhere.
SHERRI D. SUTTON — Stand-Up Comedy Coach, Writer & Performer
Sherri D. Sutton is an internationally touring comedian, writer, and educator who uses humor to help people tell the truth—boldly and unapologetically. With over two decades of stage experience, she guides comics and storytellers to uncover their authentic voice and transform lived experience into laughter.
Her acclaimed solo shows Don’t Make Fun of Jesus, Taking Out the White Trash, and Dumped By a Clown, Living with Mama: not a metaphor have played to sold-out audiences from New York to South Asia. She’s appeared on two Winnipeg Comedy Festival Gala Specials (Hystereotypes and Women Who Kill), starred in the TV pilot Funhouse with Chris Lowell (GLOW), has written her first TV pilot Untitled with Brian McElhaney (Britanick and SNL), and co-created Jesus Freaks with Megan Hayes (Hunger Games).
In her recent TEDx Talk, Sherri explored the importance of amplifying marginalized voices in storytelling, underscoring her belief that comedy isn’t just entertainment — it’s social transformation in motion. Through her workshops, she helps performers balance structure and vulnerability, crafting material that is as insightful as it is hilarious.
KAISA KOKKO-PALMER (she/her) is an artist and a teacher from Finland.
In Finland Kaisa runs an improv and acting school Impro Helsinki (est 2018) and aims to continue to build a loving and exciting improv community in the Helsinki area. Kaisa is an actor in Stella Polaris, Riskiryhmä, Improvokaatio & The Baddest, and travels the world with her wife Sara performing with their improv duo Crocodile Paws. Kaisa is known for her skills in bringing ensembles together, leading improvisers to a place where they can make new discoveries, and for her creativity in directing improvised theatre, her positive spirit & never ending enthusiasm towards improv as an artform.
www.improhelsinki.com/crocodile-paws
Photo: Susanna Hyvärinen
ALEXIS SAKELLARIS (@alexis_sakellaris) is a queer international artist with Italian, Greek and Austrian roots. Born in New York and raised in rural Germany, culture clashes have shaped his entire life, including UK boarding school (problematic), a botched attempt at medical school in Salzburg (do not recommend) and an undergraduate degree in German musical theater in Vienna (huh?). Performing, especially a deep love for singing and acting, have been the one constant.
A STAN IS BORN! is Alexis' debut show, written as a thesis while studying Musical Theatre at Mountview Academy in London. Despite not having been encouraged to write before, he decided to give it a shot after starting a part-time job at Soho Theatre, a comedy venue in central London. It was there that comedian Matt Rogers (known for the podcast Las Culturistas) heard Alexis singing in the office and offered him a gig on the spot, supporting him in the UK and US tours of his musical comedy show "Have You Heard Of Christmas?".
This experience inspired Alexis so much, he decided to focus on his original material and expand A STAN IS BORN! After successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and numerous London venues (including a sold-out Soho Theatre show), Alexis is writing a new show with drama school friends (ACHILLES: A New Musical, centered around the Trojan War) and is hoping to take this and A STAN IS BORN! back to Edinburgh Fringe this summer.
Trained as an Actor at the Russian School of Jurij Alschitz and at the Schott Acting Studio in Berlin with the former teachers of the London Drama Center. He worked for the European Association for Theatre Culture in Berlin. In Italy he founded THEATRO, a School of Theatre focused on Improvisation, where he teaches and directs the main company. He is head of the international Theatre Collective “gli Eredi” along with members form Italy, Paris and London. He works as an Actor and Director in Movies, Series and Theatre and host a radio program.
He devised his own training method, always in development and growth, out of the deep experiences and research all over Europe in theatre, mask, movement, body and voice work with a special attention in the field of improvisation and ensemble work.
ETTORE'S IMPROVISATION POINT OF VIEW: Improvisation is not nearly a a question of comedy or stand up comedy or sketches or just sport theatre. While potentially laughter oriented i see a deep artistic potential in it. For me Improvisation is the core of theatre and brings to light the creative act itself. Listening. Accepting. Letting go of judgment. Using mistakes and failure as creative tools. My aim as pedagogue is to lead my students to access the infinitude of creative possibilities and to tap in the subconscious energy to reveal the truth within. My expertise is providing a safe setting, while remaining demanding and challenging.
GEORGIA PALIOGIANNI is a multifaceted Greek artist based in Zurich. As a musician, physical theatre actress, dancer and clown, she can pull from an extensive and diverse range of skills. As a teacher, she focuses on creating a safe, expressive environment, emphasizing joy in challenges and finding innovative ways to blend dance and theatre in her classes.
Since the age of 8, Georgia has trained in dance, piano and musical theatre. She took workshops at Diagonal (Gr), TanzFabrik (Germany), Pineapple (London) and London Center Studio. She was a musician at the Philharmonic youth Orchestra of Thessaloniki for more than 14 years, a singer and musical performer at the Korais choir of Thessaloniki for 4 years and she created and presented her solo work ‘Avanti Maestro’ for 3 years in Greece, Germany and Bulgaria.
As a performer and teacher she has worked in Greece, Spain, the UK, Germany and Switzerland.An influential chapter in Georgia's career was her residency in January ‘24 with Gecko UK, a renowned physical theatre company. This experience profoundly shaped her life and teaching philosophy, bringing new perspectives and techniques to her artistic repertoire.Georgia's artistic journey is characterized by inspiring and diverse encounters and experiences. She values collaboration over solo work, believing that group achievements often surpass individual ones.
Academically, Georgia holds a MAT Pilates certification from MK Pilates (2016, UK), a BA in Physical Theatre from Accademia Teatro Dimitri CH (2022), and is currently pursuing her Master's in Dance at Zhdk, focusing on teaching and rehearsing.Overall, Georgia's artistic and academic pursuits showcase a passionate, collaborative, and dynamic individual who continues to evolve and inspire through her work in the realms of theatre, dance, and education.