The Musical Improv Mixer (2011)

T.J. Mannix (Producer/Talent Coordinator)

 T.J. is the proud founder of the NY Musical Improv Festival. He spent the last 12 years performing, teaching, and coaching at the Magnet, the PIT and the UCB. T.J. is thrilled to see the musical theatre and comedy improv communities come together. Special thanks to all of the performers in the Third Annual NYMIF and NYMF 2011 for donating their time and talent to celebrate Musical Improv and introduce it to the masses.

Robin Rothman (Producer/New Media and Design)

 Robin has an enormous passion for musicals, theater and improv and so she is positively thrilled to have had the opportunity to be a member of the producing team for what she hopes will continue to grow and develop for years to come! Having spent a considerable number of hours at her computer designing the nymif.com site - she has gained an even greater appreciation of interacting with people and performing for them as well!

Melanie Girton (Producer/Marketing and Benefit Coordinator)

 Melanie is pleased to have a hand in the first two years of  NYMIF and is even more delighted to be returning for a third year involving The New York Musical Theater Festival!  This year she took on yet another bold endeavor as the Coordinator of the Gilda's Club Benefit. She's produced previously with the Delancey Theater Collective, and assisted the initial production team of Martha Clarke's Garden of Earthly Delights last year. She currently lives in Manhattan with Van, Oona, Mr. Marshall and their cat, Dolce.

Mary Archbold (Producer/Sales & Ticketing)

Mary Theresa is thrilled to be joining the producing staff of NYMIF because it combines her two favorite things, improv and musical theater! She has performed improv and sketch here in NY at The Magnet Theater and at the PIT as well as past seasons of  NYMF! She also performed at IO Chicago and for the Second City. She recently had her short comedy video named as a finalist in the NBC Universal Comedy Shortcuts Film Festival where she was honored to be named Best Actor.

Frank Spitznagel (Pianist)

Frank can make up any song, any time, and can switch from leader to follower and back without anyone noticing. He's an instant composer (ed.). He is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory or Music, where he studied piano performance. He has been a musical director and accompanist in New York City for the past ten years. His work can be heard on several studio recordings. Frank has composed for Comedy Central and the Aspen Comedy Festival.

Steve Whyte (Percussionist)

Steve has been playing drums professionally for over umpteen years, primarily in San Francisco and Los Angeles, where he has worked in the studio and with various performing acts. He has probably played an equivalent amount of wedding receptions as to those following a Reverend Sun Myung Moon ceremony.  Since relocating to New York, he has played drums for The Made Up Musical, Baby Wants Candy, Choral Rage, Miracle Baby, and Trudy Carmichael’s Musical Mixer, and is excited to be playing with all these groups for the NYMIF.  In addition to hitting things with sticks, he studies and performs improv at the Magnet and UCB theaters.

His favorite form of improv is musical improv, and he thinks it should be yours as well.