2022 Guest Instructors

MATT
Armstrong

Matt Armstrong has been performing improv for nearly 20 years and coaching for nearly a decade, supporting performers in his own independent productions and directing at the Covert Theatre's regular shows. Matt has performed in New Zealand, USA, and Japan and studied with ComedySportz, UCB, and WGIS.

WADE
Jackson

Wade Jackson has spent the last 25 years mastering The Cinema Game and is nowhere near it. He is however able to show others the path to one of the most demanding acting exercises of all time.

Wade has taught this workshop in Australia, Belgium, Canada, USA and all throughout New Zealand and performed it on the IO stage in the Chicago Improv Festival in 2002, in what was the winning performance of the World Cage Match Championship.  

MATIAS
Avaca

Matias Avaca is an Argentinian improviser residing in New Zealand who has performed and coached in more than 15 countries around the world.He is the co-founder and artistic director of ""Mabel Impro"", the first Spanish speaking Improv group in Australasia and co-founder and co-director of “Laenye Productions” a performing arts production company based in Auckland (New Zealand); which goals are to create opportunities for Spanish speakers to express their artform and to promote Spanish and Latin American culture, art and languages.Matias is the founder and director of the Auckland Improv Marathon and co-founder and director of the Auckland Improv Festival. He is also a performer, instructor and producer at the Covert Theatre, in Auckland (New Zealand).

CHINA
Gonzalez

China Gonzalez is a writer, producer and performer of comedy and drag. They started their stage career in Aotearoa in 2016 and have been an active member of the local comedy scene since. Their first show in the New Zealand International Comedy Festival was in 2017 and they have participated in every edition since. They are the founder of Spanglish Comedy, a bilingual comedy project which has had a number of solo standing shows and three successful participations in the NZICF. Last year in 2021 they debuted their first solo stand up hour Better than tacos in a short season at the festival which was a sold out hit, featuring separate performances in English and in Spanish. Following the show's success at the festival they were invited to produce a season of this show during their winter season at The Basement theatre. China started doing basic drag for stand up back in 2018 when they started their own gender identity gender and they debuted in their first show as a Drag King in 2021.