Sarah is a teacher, writer, musician and performer. She is part of the long running improv show the N Crowd. She is half of the musical comedy duo Kathryn and Sarah. Sarah has written two musical comedies: “Only In Your Dreams” and “Becoming Vegan”.

Michael Yudell, the steady lecturer of Study Hall, is the Chair of the Department of Community Health and Prevention at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University. Yudell is a researcher in the fields of ethics, genomics and the history of public health. His work focuses on the history, risk communication and ethics of autism spectrum disorders, as well as the history of the race concept in biology.

Erin Pitts is an improviser living in Philly. She has been performing with Study Hall since 2019 and has performed with retired Philly Improv Theater house teams Zao Gao, Outside Voices, and Hooch. Erin served as director for PHIT house team Metropolis. Erin is a photographer and if you are interested in her services click the camera below.

Dan Corkery is an improviser and sketch comedian from Philadelphia. He also performs with the improv team Bat Stevens and is one half of the sketch comedy duo House of Solitude.

Keane Cobb (he/him) is an actor, improviser, standup comedian and writer from Philly. Keane has hosted at the Albany Funny Bone, Helium and Punchline Comedy Clubs. Keane performs with the Crossroads Comedy Theater show Study Hall: Comedy Inspired By Lectures as well as the podcasts In My Opinion: The Good Fight Podcast and Lockin’ Up: A Black Pro-Wrestling Podcast. Keane is also a member of the all POC comedy troupe NYTEShift and the comedic trio known as Black History Monthly, as well as a co-host of the podcast Alt-Black.

Aaron Unice is an improviser and engineer living in Philly. Aaron has been performing with Study Hall from the start when it was created by Philly improv Theater House Team “Asteroid!” for the 2013 Philly Fringe Festival.

Rob Alesiani has been performing improv in the Philadelphia area, and nationally, for over a decade. He is a proud member of Thank You, Places: An Improvised Musical, a show which creates an entire musical right on the spot. Rob is a regular voice on the Wooder Cooler Podcast Network of shows. He also creates small batch hot sauces with his company Trust The Sauces.

Frank performs, writes, and teaches comedy in Philadelphia. Since 2009, he’s studied with some of the best improv teachers from Philly, New York, and Chicago, and gotten to work on tons of exciting and silly projects over the years.

Marcely Jean-Pierre is a Philly-based comedian, improviser, writer, and performer from Willingboro, New Jersey. He is a head writer and performer for sketch and improv troupe NYTEShift and regularly performs improv with The N Crowd and Study Hall. A former improv instructor at Philly Improv Theater, Marcely also co-produced and directed sketch comedy shows and has coached and directed improv teams at PHIT.

Among his many comedic inspirations are Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, Key and Peele, Steve Carell, In Living Color, SNL, Martin Lawrence, and kids as well… Marcely also sometimes rhymes things unintentionally and has a background in writing and performing spoken word poetry. He is also social worker by day and occasionally sleeps at night.

Melinda Messina has been a member of the PHIT community since 2014 when she was first cast on Study Hall. You can also see Melinda on the PHIT stage performing with her house team, Overlook. In addition to improvising with PHIT, she is a performer and instructor at ComedySportz Philadelphia. Melinda also co-produces The Friday Night Chim Cham – a monthly showcase in South Philly with her indie team, The Teens.

Mike Marbach (he/him) is a Philly native and the founder / Executive Director of Crossroads Comedy Theater. Mike has been studying, performing, and teaching improv since 2005. He has taken classes with iO Chicago, The Annoyance Theater, and the UCB Theater in NY as well as numerous workshops from improv instructors from across the country. Mike worked with Philly Improv Theater (PHIT) from 2009 until it’s closing in 2020 due to COVID-19. In those years Mike served as Education Director and Artistic Director as well as director, performer, and instructor. During the pandemic, Mike moved to Indianapolis to be with family and started Crossroads Comedy Theater. Though he is currently living in Indianapolis, Mike oversees Crossroads shows and classes in Philly and travels back and forth when the stars align. Mike is the director / creator of long running Crossroads shows including Study Hall: Comedy Inspired By Lectures and Not Yet Rated: An Improvised Movie and the host of various podcasts for the Crossroads Podcast Network. When not doing Crossroads things Mike likes to watch tv / movies, go bowling, or work on a new celebrity impression.

Rob O’Neill is an actor, writer and improv performer based out of Philadelphia. He has been a member of the improv teams The Future, Not Yet Rated, Study Hall, Double Play, and Outside Voices, as well as the sketch comedy team Tiny Arson. He has appeared in numerous shows around Philadelphia including ‘SorkinCorp,’ ‘Shark Tank: The Final Episode,’ ‘Town’ and the House of Solitude shows ‘McNickel’ and ‘A Galaxy Uncherished.’

Brendan has been improvising in Philadelphia since 2013, performing in teams such as Sabotage, 1816, Overlook, Skeletons Etc, Stay Dead the Improvised Horror Comedy and Not Yet Rated: An Improvised Movie. He is the proud owner of four cats and 250ish composting worms, none of whom pay him any mind.

Joe Moore is a performer living in New Jersey. He likes pizza.

Tia Kemp is a performer based in Philly. In addition to improv and sketch performance, Tia also works as a teacher and consultant, using elements of improvisation to develop team-building. She is a part of the all POC comedy troupe, NYTEShift, and performs regularly with Study Hall. Tia is also the creator and host of “No Diggity,” an improv and trivia show inspired by old school hip hop and R&B.

Caitlin Corkery has been performing with Study Hall since its inception. She currently performs with the indie team Bat Stevens and former PHIT house team, The Future. She was also a member of the PHIT house team Asteroid! and the sketch teams Mani Pedi and House of Solitude. She taught improv at the Philly Improv Theater for six years and previously hosted the local Moth Story Slam.

Jacob Todd has been performing with Study Hall since 2014. He also performs with retired Philly Improv Theater house team Hoffman and current team Fan Club.

Stacie Lyons is a comedian based in Philadelphia. She performs with Study Hall: Improv Inspired by College Lectures and Not Yet Rated: An Improvised Movie, and is a podcast co-host of We Need to Talk About This Movie.

Fred is a performer, composer, teacher, and facilitator based in Ithaca, NY. He has worked as a solo performer as well as with various theater companies in Philadelphia and New York City to help create original theatrical works. As a facilitator, he uses the principles of improvisation and theatrical collaboration to help individuals become more effective leaders and to help high-performing teams work together more productively. He currently teaches improv through Ithaca Improv. Before moving to NY, Fred studied, performed, and directed improv at the Philly Improv Theater. Before that, he was a Latin and Ancient Greek teacher, holding a degree in Classical Philology from Harvard University.

James Knight (he/him) is a Philadelphia based stand-up comic and writer. James is regular performer in the Crossroads Comedy Theater shows Study Hall: Comedy Inspired by Lectures and Not Yet Rated: An Improvised Movie, a member of Philly’s award winning short-form improv group The N Crowd, and is the head video producer and writer with Philadelphia’s premier all-POC sketch & improv group, NYTEShift.

James is also a contributor to the satire website Flexx Magazine. James has performed at and has had his sketches performed at the Black and Funny Festival (MN), Philadelphia Fringe Festival (PA), Cinder Block Comedy Festival (NY), Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival (Canada), Chicago Sketch Fest, We The People Improv Festival (PA), The Black Friday Comedy Marathon (PA), Good Good Comedy Theater (two sold-out nights), and Philadelphia Public Access TV station PhillyCam. James directed and was a writer on Crossroads Comedy Theater’s Halloween sketch show, A Nightmare On Jawn Street: Liberty Hell and was head writer for the production in 2019.

Currently, he is the host of the Critical James Theory Podcast and co-host of Crossroads’ Lockin’ Up: A Black Pro-Wrestling Podcast. Should you encounter one in the wild, suggested talking points are new sneakers, hip-hop from the years 1985 – present day, and pro wrestling.