Wade is the founding member of The Improv Bandits and has performed, studied, taught, produced and directed improvisation internationally since 1994.

He’s a double world improv champion having won titles in Calgary (2000) and Chicago (2002) and has people travel from as far as Sweden, Finland, Holland and the USA to learn from him. He is very passionate about this wonderful art form and has seen thousands of people grow and develop as a result of being touched by it.

He is regarded by many as a leading authority in the art of improvisation and brings his variety of skills and talents to the stage. Fluent in Japanese with three internationally recognised black belts in martial arts, he is also a clincial hypnotherapist. When he’s not performing improv, he’s on stage around the world as an in demand keynote speaker. You can find more about Wade at www.wadejackson.co

Tony would have been a founding member but he had to finish his University study.

Originally from the deep south, Tony began his improv career early on at Otago University. He regularly performed at various venues and corporate events in Dunedin and in 1997 his team won the New Zealand Universities improv title. This was where he met Wade and in 1998 when he moved to Auckland, Tony joined The Improv Bandits. 

Tony performed with The Improv Bandits in their first international sojourn to Austin, Texas and was asked to audition for the US TV show ‘Whose Line is It Anyway?’ At this festival Tony also won the International All-Star Maestro Improv Title. Tony performed with the Bandits in New York and at the famous Improv comedy venue in L.A.  In 2000 shifting down to Wellington Tony performed with the Wellington branch of The Improv Bandits. 

He came back to Auckland having moved from handing out detentions as a Deputy Principal, to working in IT with robots and time machines. Now's he's gone back to his roots to Dunedin and performs with The Improv Bandits whenever he can. He loves music, sports, his wonderful kids and toast manifestations of the Dave Matthews Band. 

Geoff has been performing improv most of his life, showing a strong propensity for making things up at an early age.

After winning the University improv champs, he joined The Improv Bandits in 1998 and in 2000 formed the Wellington branch of the troupe. Geoff performed with The Improv Bandits in Vancouver and Toronto in 2003 and has wandered the globe, teaching and performing improv to anyone that sat still long enough. Having tired of the bright lights and stages of London, Canada and the U.S.A, Geoff has returned to New Zealand and currently lives in Wellington, Geoff always scrambles back to Auckland to join the Bandits on stage.  

As an economist and leader of a political party he draws on his improv skills to communicate complex messages in a fun, simple way through speeches, video and writing. Geoff speaks Spanish, is a JOLT trainer, a personal development system created by fellow Bandit Wade Jackson and has achieved his dream of being the funniest economist in the country. Not that there was much competition. 

Mark Scott’s 20 years of acting credits span feature film, television, theatre and numerous countries. 

In 2009, he achieved nationwide notoriety as the slightly inept Moro television commercial presenter and still now can be spotted in cameo roles in numerous adverts for different products.  Mark has performed with the Bandits around New Zealand, in Melbourne, Hawaii, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver and Belgium.  He has appeared in three televised New Zealand International Comedy Festival Galas and created and hosted official late shows for the first two Auckland Fringe Festivals. 

As a stand-up comedian Mark has commanded stages throughout North America, London, Australia and of course New Zealand, often as the headline act. His range of venues span from corporate box and cruise ship, to a moving bus and his own lounge. 

James is a proud Improv Bandit, and a member of the troupe that won the inaugural World Cage Match Championship at the Chicago Improv Festival in 2002.

He was in the televised NZ Comedy Gala in 2004 and has performed with the Bandits in Belgium, Canada and the USA. He was the founding theatre manager of the Covert Theatre and now holds a PhD in Theatre. He is currently living in the UK and is a theatre lecturer at the University of Greenwich in the UK and performs with the Bandits when he can including the 2015 Hawaiian Improv festival.

Tom Kane is a founding member of the Covert Theatre and after one season was quickly recruited into The Improv Bandits at the end of 2000.

His physicality makes him a dynamo on stage and brings a great sense of fun and commitment to the stage. He performed in the Bandits live shows in Rarotonga in 2016. Tom has tread the boards in many productions and has acted in numerous short films, television commercials and voiceovers.  He has many television appearances to his credit, including guest roles on Shortland St, Orange Roughies and Hercules. Feature film appearances include supporting roles in ‘Orphans and Angels’, ‘The Devil Dared Me To’ and the lead role of Billy in ‘The Richmond Family Massacre’. 

Being a full time actor means Tom is also well versed in the art of painting houses, landscaping, furniture repair, and simulated bank robberies. He reckons he’d do the bank robberies for free.

Paul became an Improv Bandits in 2002, left in 2009 and then re-joined the Bandits in 2013.

He had the fun of performing at the Chicago Improv Festival in 2004 and then returned 10 years later in 2014. He has also performed at the Hawaii Improv Festival in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018 and the Rarotonga shows in 2016. A strong character actor Paul has been in feature films, the US TV show Legend of the Seeker and in the long-running NZ soap opera Shortland Street.   

Paul gets to use his improv skills daily but has found that he gets better results if he leaves his propensity for fabulous Shakespeare prose to the improv stage.

Michael had to come to New Zealand to learn how to improvise.

He calls himself a KiwiPom and embraces both steak & cheese pies and cream teas.  He joined the Covert Theatre in 2001 and ever since has performed in a wide variety of improv shows, including at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. An improv highlight was performing ‘Introducing Harold’ at the 2010 festival, the first time that the world famous Harold format had been performed in New Zealand.  He has also performed at the New Zealand Improv Festival in Wellington and harbours dreams of performing improv in Chicago. Or New York. Or Hawaii. Or Poland. As a Principal and father he has to make up stuff all the time. He prefers doing it on stage with the Bandits.

Michael had to wait a long time to become an Improv Bandit. 

Being their original teacher in 1997 & 1998, he found he wasn’t good enough to play with them so he went off to London to direct television for the BBC.  After winning a BAFTA, he decided to have children in Canada, and take on the role of improvisation teacher at the Vancouver Film School.  In the wee gaps that life presented he fell into over a hundred roles in film, television and theatre and won two world theatresports championships and performed, directed, and taught improv across Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand and London.  In New Zealand he’s best known for creating the Court Jesters improv company in Christchurch, directing the Queenstown Shakespeare Festival and for workshopping and directing the original production of ‘Bare’ by Toa Fraser. After guest performing at the Bandits 20th birthday show with Colin Mochrie from TV’s Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 2017 Michael became an official. Sure, he lives in Vancouver but what’s 7,000 miles between friends? 

CJ brings joy to the stage.

CJ started improvising because she thought she couldn’t, and kept going to see what would happen. She joined the Covert Theatre in 2011, and has performed in shows consistently since then. Highlights include playing in multiple New Zealand International Comedy Festivals, performing at the 2018 Hawaiian Improvaganza Festival, spinning Shakespearean verse in ‘A Bard’s Tale’ at the Pop-Up Globe, belting out tunes in Instant Broadway, and performing for our youngest improv fans in the Theatre’s family show Sunday Giggles. She loves to shepherd new improvisors through their first steps into the art form, and will take you on a magical journey too.

Edith joined the Covert Theatre in 2018 to learn more about the wonderful world of improvisation.

Her love for anything 'Theatre' started at a young age, and she gladly entertained her parents and unsuspecting guests, against their will, by singing and making up songs on the spot. At the age of 15 she joined her first theatre troupe and she has been performing both on and off stage ever since. 

As a member of the Covert Theatre she tries to be in as many shows as possible, with her favourite being Instant Broadway because she gets to sing and make up songs on the spot.

Improv has proven to be one of the most challenging and thrilling things she has ever taken on and being part of the legendary Improv Bandits doubles the challenges and the thrills. Bring it on.