Meet your teacher
Mary Ashley Bannister’s love for improv was sparked in high school as a theater major at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, a less glamorous version of the FAME school in Lexington, KY.
Many years later, in Los Angeles, she became slightly obsessive and studied at IO West, Second City Hollywood, UCB, The Pack Theater, WE Improv, and MI Westside, as well as many workshops and master classes with some of the world’s best improvisers.
During her time in LA, Mary Ashley also performed regularly on a musical improv team and a monoscenes team.
Here in Albuquerque, she has taken classes at the Box and ImprovNM. She's been teaching since Spring 2025 and performing regularly since Spring 2026, coached by world-renowned improviser Jay Sukow.
She believes strongly in the power of improv for communication, self-confidence, resilience, collaboration, risk-taking, and, of course, the friends we make along the way.
Our philosophy & your rights as a student
We want you to feel empowered to define what is right for you in this art form.
We are committed to creating a safe and inclusive space, where everyone can communicate their needs and listen to each other with curiosity, kindness, and compassion.
● You have the right to feel safe during classes and performances.
● You have the right to be treated respectfully.
● You have the right to set boundaries regarding physical contact and subject matter that might trigger you. You have the right to dictate what kind of physical touch you will receive.
● You have the right to immediately step out of any scene, performance, or class activity in which you feel unsafe or uncomfortable, at any time, without explanation.
● You have the right to inform us of anything you want us to know ahead of time, such as physical or emotional conditions that might make playing certain games difficult or uncomfortably challenging.
● You have the right to speak to us regarding behavior by any person that you feel infringes on your rights.
● If you are personally aware of any conduct that would have been a violation of your rights if directed toward you, you have the same right to report that conduct as if you were the target.
● You have the right to define what feels fun and what feels comfortable (and uncomfortable) for you without judgment from others.
● You have the right to turn down a suggestion you feel is demeaning.
● You have the right to fail and be treated with compassion when you do. We all stumble as we're learning. This is part of growth!
● You have the right to be brilliant.
● You have the right to love your work.
● You are enough!
Questions?
Ask us anything - or just say hi!