2023 Summer Improvisers!

Deborah Arenstein has performed with Big Blue Door for 9 years, and credits improv with keeping her children alive. Her offstage life also includes her nonprofit consulting group, Board Whisperers, Irishdoodle Libby, partner Larry Goldstein and kickboxing.

Mel Belardi lives in Charlottesville. She is married. She went to UVA many moons ago and now does Learning Design. This is her first improv run with Big Blue Door.

Jordan Breeding is a comedy writer and video producer best known for his work rebooting the Cracked YouTube channel before starting his own channel “Dr. Jordan Breeding.” He currently lives in Charlottesville with his wife and three kids. This is his first improv run with Big Blue Door.

Todd Kasen was born and raised in the suburbs of New York, Todd Kasen uprooted his life to move to the greener pastures of Charlottesville in 2016. During the weekdays, Todd spends his time engineering all sorts of neat stuff, but when off the clock, he enjoys skiing, hiking, and hanging out with Sonic the sugar glider. Todd has a fond appreciation of lasers and traffic signs. He performed with Big Blue Door before Covid.

Debby Prum is a writer, editor, paints portraits and plays frailing-style banjo. Her family wishes that she play a quieter instrument. Originally from the Northeast, she currently calls Charlottesville home. Check out her latest writing here. She has frequently performed with Big Blue Door as a storyteller and improviser.

Daniel Rossberg runs a small business dog walking and pet sitting. He lives in Belmont and enjoys investing, beaches, and photography. This is his first performance run with Big Blue Door.

Marjory Ruderman is a writer of fiction, humor, and public health reports. She has performed with all the best Big Blue Door improv groups, and her spring 2020 debut as a coach was so stunning, the entire world went into lockdown. She is very modest.

Heidi Shaner is a Pilates instructor and an in-home counselor. (Check out her website for deets.) She is from Charlottesville, lives at Lake Monticello, and enjoys spending time with her family. Heidi is a veteran of our storytelling shows; this is her first improv run.

Rachel Showalter has a sharp sense of humor, which means many “regular” people are frightened of her. She’s considered quitting her day job to perform improv fulltime, but the spaceship offered her tenure. Her devotion to her offspring is apparent in the way she tenderly holds their secrets, unless she’s onstage. She has performed and coached many Big Blue Door groups.

Steve Sanderson is a lost, sad, and pathetic soul. His only solace is improv, music, and his cats. He barely fumbles through music and improv, and his cats just tolerate him. Life is tough, but he just takes it one day at a time. Please , pray for him. He performed with several Big Blue Door groups before the pandemic.

Erik Swanson is a Virginia native who has been performing with Big Blue Door since 2015. Erik is chief engineer and owner of Xdot Bearing Technologies, which designs and builds bearings for machines that spin really, really fast. He has been on many Big Blue Door performance teams, starting with Unusual Suspects and more recently Janky Scamps before the dark Covid times of no improv. He feels that doing long form improv validates his decision to never completely grow up.

Brian Weisbrod has performed and coached for Big Blue Door for many years. He is tall, emotionally intelligent and recently married (sorry, ladies!). He has some kind of job somewhere and likes to chase groundhogs in his free time. He’s studying German in preparation for the end days.

Adrienne Wood is a professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Virginia, where she studies social behavior. She lives with her husband, two hounds, and a cat. This her first performance run with Big Blue Door.

Teja Vadlamudi is a technology startup enthusiast who currently lives in Ruckersville with his wife and two cats. His passion in life is discovering tasty meals under $10 (inflation adjusted). Last summer he performed with Big Blue Door’s Story Saturday. This is his first improv run.