Winnie has been doing theater since they were 3 years old, and stumbled upon MopCo when a friend invited them to a Jam. Since then, Winnie has known that improv is something special, and is thrilled to join the crew here at MopCo. Winnie has a history in dance, singing, oboe, acting, and various other arts and crafts, but earns their keep by being a forester! Though Winnie is new to improv, they have a long history of performing, and an even longer habit of playing pretend. Improv is a kind, supportive, and stimulating creative environment, and Winnie is excited to keep playing with this crew.

Drew loves to make movies, music, and the occasional blanket fort. The founder of media company Scatterset where he’s written and performed sketches, video essays and more, you just might know him from one of his many YouTube videos (but it’s probably the math one). He’s thrilled to hop into Mopco for a refreshing new way to improvise as the elaborate long cons were getting old.

Kat Koppett is the President and eponymous founder of Koppett, an organizational development company specializing in blending traditional organizational development tools and principles with cutting-edge improvisation and storytelling techniques to enhance individual and group performance. Kat holds a B.F.A. in Drama from New York University and an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. In addition, Kat is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, and the co-director of The Mopco Improv Theatre.

Her book Training to Imagine: Practical Improvisational Theatre Techniques to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork, Leadership, and Learning, is considered a seminal work in the field of Applied Improv and is used by professionals around the world. Kat has presented at Stanford, RPI, UC Berkeley, Skidmore and Union Colleges as well as ATD, ISPI, NSA, the YPA, and many other organizations with initials. She has given two TEDx talks on the use of improv to enhance non-theatrical performance.

In 2019, Kat was awarded NASAGA’s Ifill-Raynolds Lifetime Achievement Awards for her work further experiential learning. She is currently the Vice-president of the Applied Improvisation Network and the host of the podcast Dare to be Human.

Kat has designed and delivered programs for a diverse roster of organizations, large and small, including the Clinton Global Initiative, Apple, Facebook, Prezi, Massachusetts General Hospital, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Havas Health, Eli Lilly, AAA, JPMorgan Chase, Kaiser-Permanente, Merck, NASA, and GE, in places such as India, Brazil, Paris, London, Dublin, and Budapest. She is currently sharing working space with her daughter, husband, three dogs and a cat.

Charlie Owens (he/him)Charlie Owens (he/him) has loved making things up with MopCo for years. Previously a member of The Regicides of New Haven, CT (house team of A Broken Umbrella Theatre). Off-stage Charlie has a wonderful habit of supporting New York nonprofits as an event manager, etc. @cwowens, not on tiktok.

Hayes has been in front of audiences as long as he can remember. He began singing with his mother and his sisters in a well-known gospel group named the Fields singers. He then was introduced to theatre formally through the Harlem Children's Theater Co. Hayes was able to perform in Europe and Africa because of this troupe, as well as most of the major stages and Off-Broadway stages in New York City. Hayes sings, plays guitar, writes music, and has created some music videos on social media. Hayes is probably the worst dancer that has ever performed in theater. He has however been allowed to do movement in two productions of Ain't Misbehavin’ in Albany New York. Hayes was formally introduced to the world of improv through The Mopco Theatre of upstate New York. His passion for this form of theater continues to grow by leaps and bounds, because of great instructors like Michael Burns. Hayes is currently pursuing his dreams of theatre in every form, including voiceovers, film, stage, and whatever opportunity presents itself. However dancing, he shall eschew as though it was an ancient plague that has been enclosed in a sarcophagus sealed by an evil wizard's curse.

Alex Rabinowitz has been studying, performing, and teaching improv for 7 years — and is thrilled to be joining MopCo! Most recently, Alex was a house team member and instructor at AdLib Theater in Orlando, FL. As a former mainstay at the Harrisburg Improv Theater in PA, Alex helped create new formats, taught classes, and performed in musical and long-form shows. Alex has also been featured as a guest performer on improv stages in NYC (Del Close Marathon), Asheville, and Berlin. Alex is a social media director by day and has a marginally useful degree in film from Syracuse University.

Artistic Director of The Mopco Improv Theatre and a Senior Facilitator with Koppett, our organizational development consultancy. Koppett.com 

In his 50 year career Michael has specialized in introducing improvisational theater to all kinds of people, from the street to the C suite. He has particularly enjoyed working with   many disenfranchised folks– prisoners, patients, the elderly, “at risk” youth, and physically and intellectually challenged persons. He believes in the power of improv to unleash everyone’s individual genius.

Along the way, he’s acted and directed scripted theater, written a couple of plays, and worked in more day jobs than he can count. 

The luckiest day of his life was the day he met another improviser by the name of Kat Koppett. Kat and Michael became professional partners, then personal partners, then they married. When the opportunity to purchase a derelict building in Downtown Schenectady arose, Koppett put it succinctly: Well, we can have a retirement, or we can buy a firehouse.”  Michael is very grateful that the retirement is postponed in favor of running a quirky little theatre, especially with a partner like Kat.

Leo Gagliardi is fresh out of Union College and rotten to the core. He pretends to be an energetic, athletic theater kid with nothing to lose, but Leo secretly plays tabletop role-playing games, is getting his masters degree from Clarkson University, and is generally a massive engineering nerd. Beware his offers to go climbing or hiking unless you are prepared to be force-fed the entire lore of Game of Thrones, Star Wars, or Dungeons & Dragons. Above all else, he enjoys good company and a long night of laughs.

Sam is a writer, comedian, and journalist from the Albany, New York area. He graduated from SUNY Albany in 2013 with a B.A. in English, minoring in Theater and Journalism. Prior to MopCo, he was a member of the UAlbany Sketchy Characters, serving as writing chair from 2011-2012, and improv chair from 2012-2013. In the Summer of 2013, he studied at the Upright Citizens Brigade Training Center, and is a two time participant in the Del Close Marathon. You can often catch him doing stand-up comedy around the Capital Region, or trying to shoehorn self-referential endings into otherwise straightforward bios.

Mike comes from an improvised family. His brother, Patrick, got him in touch with Michael Burns when Mopco was looking for a backup keyboard player. Michael sent him Down the Rabbit Hole while waiting for the primary piano player to bolt, and there’s been no looking back. Mike likes to play strange, slightly clueless, but reasonably nice characters, in other words himself, when he’s not providing the instrumental platform. He’s a songwriter and performs in concert settings when not making stuff up. Mike is the oldest “Mopcoian.” He is, in fact, 206. He’ll do this until he can’t drive at night.