HUDSON VALLEY IMPROV HOUSE TEAM

Jamie is excited to be a new member of the Hudson Valley Improv House Team but he’s not new to improv. He’s been part of other improv teams with such names as The Sean Cassidy Fan Club, Razor Spirits and Pork Pie Hat as well as attended classes with Second City NY. Jamie can also be found teaching art as well as making art (sometimes) here in the Hudson Valley. Although Jamie has never appeared in a movie, one of his paintings has. It’s a long story.

Heather once quipped, “oh, I could NEVER do improv!” And then, of course, she tried it. Never one to do things nonchalantly, she immersed herself in improv and was very “chalant” about it all. When not creating with castmates, Heather tours her solo show No Hope for OZ.  She's a MOTH Story Slam winner, and performed at QED in New Tricks Stories. Ham-it-up-Heather lives in the sleepy town of Pine Plains with her supportive spouse and their three not-so-nonchalant children.

Since stumbling upon a kindred band of merrymakers at Hudson Valley Improv, Melinda DiMaio has embraced  "Yes, And"  as a spiritual teaching. A theatre major, turned music major, turned arts educator, Melinda enjoys spinning tunes as a performing songwriter, both solo and with various playmates. An admittedly overly enthusiastic kitchen dancer, Melinda is the mama to a fully grown person and a 15 pound bundle of canine joy who (benevolently) supervises her every move.

Patrick is a recovering theater kid who rediscovered his love for performance through taking classes at Hudson Valley Improv. Patrick seeks to continue growing as an artist and exploring new creative outlets, like writing and performing monologues. Patrick's past credits include choking on a piece of chicken during his high school production of Inherit the Wind. Patrick lives in Rensselaer, NY, and has two incredible kids that he will someday push into performing… but in a totally healthy way.

Jen began her improv journey as a proud mom inspired by watching her son on stage. After much cajoling, he convinced her to try it herself. She’s been learning ever since.  Her previous credits include performing stand up at the Secret Open Mic and read alouds as a classroom teacher. Her other favorite activities are walking the rail trail with her dog, playing board games with friends, and spending time with her handsome husband and two amazing kids.

Susan is delighted to be fulfilling a long-held dream of performing improv and is elated to be on the HVI House Team! She recently returned to the New York area after nearly 30 years in California’s Bay Area, where she performed sketch comedy and lots and lots of karaoke. She started taking improv classes at HVI as soon as she hit town and hasn’t looked back since. A collector of wind-up toys, Susan lives in Poughkeepsie with her husband Jonah and their two dogs.

Gina is an attorney, advocate, mediator, cyborg, and former engineer, who fell in love with visual and performing arts as a teenager. Since being diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s in 2015, she has devoted her life to raising awareness and changing stereotype. Gina credits improv with helping her rehabilitate after undergoing deep brain stimulation surgery in March 2023 and is thrilled to join the House Team. 

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.

Laura took her first improv class in 2009 to try to be less of a control freak (jury's still out). She's a leadership coach some days, and other days, she's playing music, podcasting, or laughing too hard with improv friends. Laura is on a mission to make life as much like theater camp as possible. She lives in Modena with her amazing husband Cody, and their pets Rocket and Ringo. If you talk to her about Disney World, just be prepared. www.laurawestman.com or instagram.com/westygrammed

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.