Meet the Fools

Tom Bauer has little formal acting training, although he feels as though he has been acting all of his life. Whether it’s acting competent at job interviews, professional in business meetings or broke to Hare Krishnas at the airport, acting has played a major role in Tom’s life. He’s currently acting silly in April’s Fools, where he hopes to inspire laughter and world peace.

Debbie Bernardi has been committed to comedy since kindergarten, where she got in trouble for trying to be funny. Over the years she performed in goofy skits, sang with the Top 20 vocalists, and passionately performed karaoke off-key to entertain people. After developing a full-blown obsession with Seinfeld, she discovered improv in Manhattan Beach in 2019. She’s been making audiences laugh ever since.

Chris Brown has performed improv with The Second City and stand-up at The Comedy Store. He has written for network television (Friends), cable (South Park), and cartoons (What’s New, Scooby Doo?). Chris enjoys playing with Aprils’ Fools, being active in the South Bay community and the statute of limitations.

Becky Chang grew up on a 67-acre farm, and she had to give names to her favorite chickens and ducks so they wouldn’t be eaten. These feathered friends gifted their eggs to Becky as a gesture of friendship, so if you ask her nicely, Becky will give you an egg. Really, she will. And if you’re a fellow philanthropist, check out what Becky just hatched in the California State Prison system: The Improv Connection 501(c)(3). She gets to teach improv to inmates and, thankfully, they all have names.

Mike Copnall was a pretty bad child actor, appearing in multiple episodes of Library Playhouse, then Kidsworld, and his acting skills have worsened since then. He has been involved in improv since the late 1990’s, studying under Gloria Policare and performing with April’s Fools in venues around L.A. He also modeled and did TV commercials in Australia, Germany and Japan when he was younger, better looking, and had more hair.

Dave Fulton first tasted stardom in an “Intro to Theater” class… and got a “D”. Undeterred, he studied under the greats and even trod the boards with The Aerospace Players. These days he channels his performance energy into renewable energy consulting and serving on the Leadership Hermosa Beach board—where the drama is plentiful. He remains a devoted theater and musical fan, firmly convinced the best seat is in the audience. On weekends he still plays “Questions” on the beach volleyball court: “Does my whispering haikus help your spiking?”

Valerie Gorsuch is a SAG/AFTRA actor appearing in film, television, theater, music videos and commercials. She’s usually typecast as a murderer, whether killing hit men, children or even herself. She discovered that aging sometimes sounds like she makes no sense, but she just calls that improv! She’s a graduate of The Second City Conservatory, where her first teacher taught her “Dare to Suck!” and she’s made that her motto ever since!! Check out her work on YouTube, IMDB and Facebook.

Sean Hannaway has been performing improv for over twenty years. Prior to “April’s Fools,” he performed improv around Southern California in such groups as “A Work in Progress” and “Shenanigans.” In addition to studying improv with Gloria Policare he also spent two years at the Groundlings School in West Los Angeles. Sean also acts in theaters around the Southland as well as in TV commercials and television.

Ray Harrison is performing with us tonight as practice for when he has to “perform” at work or home to get out of whatever mess his condition of chronic rectocephalitis has gotten him into.

Adrienne Hedger has taken improv classes in Hollywood, Long Beach, Torrance and Manhattan Beach. She enjoys cartooning, and she captures life’s ridiculous moments in her webcomic, Hedger Humor. She also creates cards for American Greetings and is doing her part to keep the greeting card industry alive. She’s always looking for ways to bring more joyful nonsense into life, so when she found improv, she was hooked.

Lloyd Leifer has performed stand-up comedy throughout the years and began studying improv in 2009 with actress Melanie Chartoff. Since then, he’s studied long form short form, narrative and musical improv at the West Side Comedy Club in Santa Monica, Held2gether in Long Beach, the Impro Theater School in Los Angeles and the Groundlings Theater School in Los Angeles.

Steve Lurie grew up in the distant, cold and relatively unknown land of Canada. The extreme kindness of all his neighbors forced him to cling to moments of comedy as an escape from the horror of the genuine caring of those around him. Fortunately for Steve, he moved to the U.S., where the overwhelming kindness ceased but his passion for comedy never did. According to his beautiful and amazing wife Sharlene, Steve has been performing all of his life but only started performing improv on an actual stage in 2009.

Sandy Marchese is comfortable performing on the “Big Stage” Cerritos Performing Arts Center with Colin Mochrie or at smaller venues such as Hermosa Beach Second Story Theater, or various locations on the Westside. Starting as an improv performer has led her to directing many shows, and teaching improv comedy for over 10 years. She is active in community events and was honored as “Woman of the Year” by Redondo Beach. She genuinely believes that life is best with laughter. The April’s Fools Comedy Troupe is truly a family and a place built on trust and support.

Rashel Mereness has been performing as a member of April’s Fools since 2017 and is so happy to bring improv theater to the South Bay. She is excited her acting career is expanding! Having recently played “the victim’s mother” for Investigation Discovery, she has now been cast as a dead body for an upcoming film. She thanks the April’s Fools community for sometimes letting her play characters that speak.

Jim Micali was born too late to make his mark in disco, so he turned to performing improv in 2003 under the tutelage of Gloria Policare. As a member of A Work In Progress, Jim performed in and around the SoCal improv scene. Then, taking a slightly different approach, Jim honed his improvisational craft as a management consultant and banking executive. After a lengthy hiatus from the stage, Jim enthusiastically joined April’s Fools in 2012 in search of the answer to “yes, and…?”

Wade Murphy was born and raised in Southern California, as part of a family of musicians, artists, singers and other artistic types. Having no artistic or musical talent, he quickly found that being a smart-ass was a good way interject himself into family get-togethers. He’s been acting crazy to get attention ever since. Wade loves chicken and rice and believes it’s a safe dish to order anywhere in the world… even though it may not always be chicken. He’s had the same hairstyle since 1985 and feels it’s too late to mix things up this late in the game.

Nathan Norrington-Herr has been teaching yoga, dance, and fitness in the South Bay and New York City for over 10 years, giving him plenty of practice pretending to stay centered. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, he studied improv at UCB and has appeared in musicals, plays, and improv productions on both coasts. When he’s not performing with April’s Fools, teaching at Equinox, or leading sound meditation sessions, Nathan can usually be found trying to convince his two cats that he is in charge.

Linda Paterson Okimoto found improv at 40—just as she became a mother—and quickly adopted “yes, and…” as a survival skill. What began as a creative outlet became a practice in listening, connection and collaboration. A long way from her Taming of the Shrew days in college, she now loves using creative storytelling to embrace the unexpected with a talented group of players. Offstage, she works at the Charm School for Wayward Cats, where patience, humor and adaptability are always in demand.

Edmund Perou moved to Los Angeles from London and began his illustrious improv career by signing up for improv classes in Manhattan Beach before becoming a Fool. Outside of improv, Edmund is a big film fan, and he also enjoys camping and hiking, going to gigs, and starting his weekend by waking up early to watch his beloved “soccer” team lose.

Katrina Straub has studied improv with improv Olympic (iO West) and The Second City. She loves comedy, and you can often find her watching the newest comedic hit show, brainstorming a new sketch idea, or making a fool of herself in front of audiences. Katrina also enjoys spending time with her husband and miniature poodle, traveling, and visiting family and friends in her native Washington state.

Aki Umemoto grew up in South Central L.A. and used comedy as a weapon; he eventually honed his humor into writing, directing, and acting. He started improv in 1984, studied with Bob Rosenfarb, the L.A. Connection, and graduated from The Second City Conservatory program. He joined April’s Fools in 2004 and never looked back. He has also appeared in numerous commercials, TV shows, and films, including The Jay Leno Show, Tosh.0, 1,000 Ways to Die, and Die Fighting. He is also a noted filmmaker with hundreds of videos and commercials to his credit. He loves physical comedy and dancing and can play Beethoven’s Ninth on the harmonica.

Doris Usui is a SAG/AFTRA actor/lifestyle model/teacher. She has been doing improv since 2001 and also teaches improv for the city of Manhattan and Hermosa Beach. National commercial/print credits include McDonalds, Target, Atelvia, Ameriprise, VW Jetta, Charles Schwab, Home Depot, Verizon, Wells Fargo, B of A, Chase, Ulta, Princess Cruises, and the cover of TIME. Her TV/film/internet roles include Hacks, How I Met Your Mother, Strong Medicine, Senior Project, and A Necessary Death. She was professionally trained under Howard Fine, Margie Haber, Stuart K. Robinson, Terry Berland, and The Second City Conservatory. Find complete credits at www.DorisUsui.com.

Leah Wyman has more than 10 years of improv experience and trained at The Second City and Groundlings. She has done stand-up comedy for 13 years and performs at The Comedy Store, The Laugh Factory, Flappers Comedy Club, and casinos in five different states. Leah enjoys taking ballet classes, where she also makes people laugh, but for different reasons. When she joined April’s Fools, her friends and family told her that they always knew she was a fool, and they were glad it was finally official.