HUDSON VALLEY IMPROV HOUSE TEAM

Tina (Polacco) Chambers is a Kingston native with 2 adult children.  She’s worked in the advertising/marketing business for over 28 years, roaming the streets, talking to strangers, working with many local businesses, and voicing radio commercials along the way.  Tina was pushed by a relative to try an improv class and she began studying at HVI. She was honored to be asked to join the house team but kept it a secret until her first show appearance! She collects anything with a squirrel on it.

Sam Irvine landed in New Paltz from Canada She is a self-confessed procrasta-baker and a proud Mom of 3 teenagers. Sam was inspired  to try Improv after watching her son perform with HVI.  Sam’s previous acting experience includes daily Imposter syndrome stints. Sam acts as if she can play hockey on a woman’s hockey team. Cycling, hiking, and yoga contribute to daily life. A board game with family, and baking in the warmth of her kitchen completes the perfect day.  

Philip performs and directs on the HVI House Team. He began his acting training at LaGuardia School of the Arts.  He has done community theater, television commercials, sung at Carnegie Hall and was recurring on PBS's Live From Off Center. He created  The Truth About Splatter which ran in the Hudson Valley and was a member of Uncle Cannibal.  A licensed social worker, Philip provides direct counseling and  systems work in health care settings. He relies on his husband and 2 daughters for sanity.

As a child, Lynda loved making sound effects and imitating people to amuse her friends. She has acted and sung in many area productions and directed children’s plays. Lynda has written several short plays that were produced locally. In her reinvented retirement life, she joined HVI and learned to play the ukulele. She loves being on the House Team. Lynda is happily married to her juggler husband, and has two talented adult children and one amazing granddaughter.  

James began his acting career at age 46 when he took Improv Empowerment at Hudson Valley Improv and he hasn't stopped since and is now a member of the HVI House Team. Theatre Credits include Hudson Valley STICKY and HVI's The Truth About Splatter. Film Credits include Flood, The Underpants Bandit, The Bowling Ball and No Hands. James lives in Saugerties, NY with his amazing wife Jen.

Kevin is a Hudson Valley native whose path has gone from the nonprofit world in DC to culinary school to the restaurant world to mead-making to catering, eventually ending up managing a property down a long dirt road in a state forest in Wawarsing. Improv keeps him from overthinking. When he's not spending time with his cats and dogs, you might find Kevin doing some stand up (Jim Gaffigan actually opened for him twice), community theater,or being cut from the background of a local film/TV shoot.

Michael is an actor and a founding member of Hudson Valley Improv. He has been hosting, performing and directing with HVI since 2014 in venues around the Hudson Valley. Theatre credits include Half Moon Theatre’s 10-Minute Play Festival, 20-Year Gala, and A Christmas Carol; Hudson Valley STICKY short play festival (2017 and 2018); The Voice Theatre’s All My Sons; and The Howl Writer’s Group. His film credits include Duality, Flood and The Underpants Bandit.

Raffaela lives in New Paltz, NY with husband Michael and daughter, Victoria.  She is a Speech Language Pathologist, Actor, writer and improviser. She was born with the gift of gab and gets to exercise it with the above activities. Raffaela has performed in multiple live improv shows and HVI short films such as The Underpants Bandit. She appeared as herself in an episode of The Doctors on CBS. Theatre credits include 90 Miles production of “The Blithe Spirit” and HVI’s  The Truth About Splatter.