Our People

Bentwood Chair of the Board, Chief Enthusiasm Officer

Aden began improvising in 1986, and started taking it seriously in 2012. He has trained intensively at iO Chicago, The Annoyance, and with Jimmy Carrane, and has performed as far afield as Cape Town and Canberra. He’s also a member of Perth’s long-running performance troupe, The Big Hoo-Haa!

Aden delights in working with individuals and teams to help them rediscover play, embrace uncertainty and face the unknown with courage. In addition to running Only the Human, he runs corporate workshops and teaches Psychology at the University of Notre Dame.

Board Secretary, Cliche Hammerer

Rich discovered the magic of improvising in high school through playing saxophone and exploring jazz.

At university he lost class debates but left the audience in stitches by integrating prop-based comedy into his presentations. Rich continued his passion for performing with Scitech, producing and presenting shows across WA and internationally at festivals in Singapore and China.

As a parent of two energetic boys his improvisational skills are challenged daily. Professionally Rich is an experienced contract manager working in healthcare and he aims to squeeze a laugh out of every meeting.

Board Member

Tara joined Only The Human last year and experienced going from feeling like a nervous mess on her first free trial of improv to the high of performing at Comedy Underground - the feeling of euphoria from class and stage cannot be beat! She believes that feeling and all the laughter improv brings is the best antidote to the stress of daily life, and as a Board Member wants to contribute to ensuring everyone has access to improv comedy and the supportive network of amazing people that sit around that!

Tara is in the Emerging Leaders in Governance Program, which develops under 40’s to take on a board position in the NFP sector. She holds a Master of Organisational Psychology and works as a consultant to Not-for-Profit (NFP) organisations in Western Australia.

Board Member

Suren began his improv journey early in 2023 and was quickly hooked after attending a taster session.

Since then, he has immersed himself in the craft. He is on a mission to ensure that the same positive experience he had is accessible to everyone who wants to try it!

Board Member

Alice first found improv in 2017 and hasn't looked back since. She was taught improv by some of the best in OTH and has gone on to teach and coach herself. She also performs regularly in Comedy Underground.

Alice now serves as a member of the board and hopes to foster more connection and creativity within the community.

Board Member

Ashleigh fell head over heads in love with the art of improvised theatre when she first signed up for a course on a whim in 2016. The romance has continued over the years and she has been lucky enough to have trained in a variety of comedic and dramatic styles and performed in a range of short, long and narrative form shows in Canberra, Adelaide, Auckland and Perth.

Ashleigh performs monthly with Comedy Underground at Lyric Lane and has recently started teaching with Only the Human.

Ashleigh is looking forward to helping grow the Perth improv scene through her role on the board, so more people can fall in love with the art just like she has.

Executive Officer

Having started learning and performing improv. early in 2022, Don has jumped head first into the community. He is responsible for the founding and management of the Improv WA Discord server, where many of the OTH community now hang out and interact.

Founding member of the up-and-coming Comedy Improv Troupe ‘Samurai Gran!‘, Don loves the barely-contained chaos of improv and takes great joy in playing games, the laughs, and the highs of performing with a great team.

With significant background in management and leadership roles, Don’s experience is translating beautifully into assisting OTH grow, bringing the joy of improv to more and more people.

Teaching Faculty

Nathan got started in improvised comedy 20 years ago and has continued on and off since then. He is a graduate of the Upright Citizen's Brigade in Los Angeles and performed improv and sketch comedy with them and iO West in Hollywood before coming to Perth and joining Only the Human. He is excited to nurture the local improv community and drink amazing coffee, not necessarily in that order.

Teaching Faculty

Jaleesa Maher is an experienced comedic improviser, writer, teacher and performer. She has studied improvisation and sketch at The Second City and The Assembly in Toronto. As the founder of the hit sketch comedy group YAAAS KWEEN, she believes comedy can be made more accessible for marginalised groups.

She also holds a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing and works as a full-time Digital Analyst.

So, what gets Jaleesa out of bed in the morning? A flat white and the chance to make people laugh. She knows this line is corny, we told her.

Teaching Faculty

Jay Overington fell in love with improv in a Freo basement in 2016, and began performing and teaching soon after. A huge nerd, Jay has studied with iO Chicago, Chicago Improv Studio, The Assembly, and Magnet Theatre. He enjoys cooking, making dubious fermented drinks, and drawing portraits of Jason Statham.

Teaching Faculty

Anthony started improv in 2016 at Endgames Improv in San Francisco, and extensively studied there for four years, eventually co-founding a troupe "Stunt Dad" and performing fortnightly Harold shows in the Mission District. He also studied and performed in Oakland at All Out Comedy before moving to Perth in 2021 and becoming involved with Only The Human. He is fascinated by all things improv.

When he's not improvising he works as a software engineer, runs D&D games, and sends egg memes to his friends.

Teaching Faculty

Patrice has been improvising since she was born! Making it up as she went along. Expressing true emotion, building relationships, and sprinkling in some comedic timing is the space in which she feels most comfortable. She began her improv journey in 2015 through Only The Human and is also a member of the sketch comedy troupe YAAAS KWEEN.

Patrice is highly driven and excited to provide a space where people can be creative, unique, and have a laugh with fellow emerging improvisers. 

When she isn’t teaching improv, Patrice is creating opportunities for the community and child health research organisations to collaborate for positive impact and outcomes. She used to play WAFLW!