Monster Improv has some of the most respected teachers of longform improv around. Each one has a unique approach that takes the best of what they know to help each student be the most authentic they can be. They also know how to foster a positive Group Mind that will enable ensembles to be the most connected and inspired as possible.
MARISOL CHAVEZ
Marisol Chavez (she/her) took her first improv class in 2012 and immediately fell in love with the art form. She is obsessed with the Harold format and the Invocation opening (and loves teaching both). She especially loves finding connections between improv and everyday life. You can see her perform regularly with The Neighborhood, The Collaboratory, VerizonQwest, Hale & Hearty, SUPERLOOP, and the Spanish improv group, Buenas Vibras.
CAITLYN ROGERS
Caitlyn (she/her) has been doing improv since 2014. She premiered at the Torch Theatre in Phoenix, released her sequel on The Bridge Improv Theater’s Mainstage, and cha cha real smoothed her way to Monster Improv to round out the trilogy. In 2024, she performed in Dublin and Belfast with her team, Minnesota Public Rodeo. Her style is grounded and vulnerable with satisfying big-laugh moments sprinkled in organically. She thinks well-timed edits are underrated and that running tech is the best way to practice how to do them. She makes her living as a high school English teacher in a dropout recovery program, and previously taught collegiate public speaking and communication courses.
JOSE GONZALEZ
Monster Improv founder and artistic director, Jose Gonzalez (he/him/él), is a native of Phoenix, Arizona (O’odham Jeveḍ land) who has been studying and performing improv comedy since 2001. Jose was a co-founder of Phoenix’s pioneering longform improv troupe, Galapagos (2003-2021); a co-founder and producer of the Phoenix Improv Festival (2002-2021); and a co-founder of Arizona’s first nonprofit improv theater, The Torch Theatre (2007-2022, RIP). He also founded the vaguely Halloween-inspired GHOSTFEST Improv Marathon in 2011, which happens every October.
For over two decades, he has taught and performed in numerous festivals and events with groups like Galapagos, VerizonQwest, and Minnesota Public Rodeo, all across North America and parts of Europe including the Belfast Improv Festival, Chicago Improv Festival, the Del Close Marathon (UCBT-NY), Out of Bounds Comedy Festival (Austin, Texas), the Twin Cities Improv Fest, Improv Fest Ireland, the Toronto International Improv Festival, and Improvaganza (Honolulu, Hawaii). In addition to performing regularly around Phoenix via Monster Improv and in Tempe at the Bridge Improv Theater — less regularly at NCT Phoenix, and Second Beat Improv Theater! — Jose is also the swing host for The Moth StorySLAM Phoenix, a co-host of the Sweet Podtato podcast, and a contributing writer to two ongoing, Los Angeles-based comedic content endeavors that are pretty fun.
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