Who We Are
Mopco comprises two entities: Koppett, an organizational development consultancy, and The Mopco Improv Theatre.
The Mop & Bucket Company, the group that gave our company its name and still our flagship performance group, started in Saratoga in 1995. After a number of years getting gigs where we could, we fell into a couple of ‘homes”: First, monthly gigs at Steamer 10 TGheater in Albany, and then a 10 year residency at Proctors in Schenectady.
In October 2016, we opened The Mopco Improv Theatre in an old firehouse in Schenectady NY. The theater is now the Capital Region's premier hub for all things improv. The Mopco offers classes, shows, and special events. The theatre is also the active HQ for Koppett, the organizational development consultancy and world-renowned leader in applied improv.
In addition to to The Mop & Bucket Co., our “other” group, the very other Down the Rabbit Hole rehearses and performs at The Mopco.
We offer corporate & private event entertainment and in-school programming in the theatre or other venues.
We make stuff up.
We perform every weekend. We also have improv classes and special events, and do shows and workshops in schools and other venues. Our organizational development wing, Koppett, provides services to companies and orgs around the world.
Our improv company in residence, The Mop & Bucket Co., specializes in several completely improvised show formats.
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Michael Burns
Artistic Director
is the Artistic Director of The Mopco Improv Theatre and a Senior Facilitator with Koppett.
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Kat Koppett
Kat is the President and eponymous founder of Koppett, an organizational development company specializing in blending traditional organizational development tools and principles
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Winnie Ashby
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.
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Maria Ayoob
Maria Ayoob is a silly goose who wasted several decades of her life not doing improv. She played Sam (the right-hand man) in the 1989 production of The Pirates of Penzance at Rombout Junior High. In her spare time she has a job.
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Rachel Balon
Rachel Balon started taking classes at the Mopco, worked in the snack batr, has been lighting improviser for a lot of shows, and is also an improviser with Down The Rabbit Hole. She’s great. (She didn’t write this, by the way)
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Ali Baxter
Ali discovered improv in 2019 and has been hooked ever since. She volunteers with refugees and the Friends of the Pine Bush Community. She enjoys nature walks, dancing, and reading.
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Jason Burke
Jason started his improv career in 1995 as part of the mainstage cast at ComedySportz San Jose, performing in their home theater and at events such as the SoFA Street Fair and the 1997 NHL All Star Fan Experience.
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Drew D'Amelia
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Hayes M. Fields II
A musician and performer since he was a little kid, Hayes brings a joyful presence, humble affect, and a big talent to the Mopco stage.
Hayes not only improvises as an actor with the company, but often backs up songs guitar. He’s also a member of Down the Rabbit Hole.
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Leo Gagliardi
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
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Sam Gorenstein
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,
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Jennifer Lavenhar
My biography
Takes the form of a haiku
Isn’t that so clev—
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Sarah Maloney
Sarah has been around the Mopco since she was a kid, literally: Sarah was a member of our youth troupe back in the day, before we were even in this building. She is a comic, an improviser, and an awsesomje human being.
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Tom Mueller
Besides being a very funny improviser, Mopco member Tom Mueller is a counselor at Lincoln Elementary School in Schenectady. Tom recently got grant funding for a series of weekly improv classes at the school. Tom is a social activist as well, familiar to anyone involved in the fight for racial justice in the Capital Region.
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Charlie Owens
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.
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Alex Rabinowitz
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.
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Krisanna Scheiter
An artist of the moment, Krisanna embodies the essence of improvisation, effortlessly transforming the mundane into the extraordinary. With a knack for spinning tales on the fly and conjuring characters from thin air, Krisanna navigates any situation with lightning reflexes and sharp wit.
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Alex Shapiro
Alex comes to Mopco with previous experience at Comedysportz, Madison Wisconsin— A short form competitive improv comedy group performing four shows a weekend He has also been House Manager, taught improv workshops, worked with the highschool league, and worked the concession
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Mike Short (Piano)
Pianist, guitarist, folksinger, and yep, another company member who also performs with Down The Rabbit Hole, Mike is a genial presence who loves to insert little musical jokes into the sound track. When he’s not performing at the Mopco, you might find Mike singing at a local coffeehouse here or there.
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Heather Schwartz
Heather is the author of more than 200 children’s books for publishers and brands including Scholastic, Disney, Sesame Street, Time for Kids, and the Smithsonian. She is a former entertainment reporter and has published humor on the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop blog and Little Old Lady Comedy.
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