Our Team
We know you demand extraordinary results. Fishladder Inc. is committed to providing you with a quality team of people who deliver the customer service you deserve and expect.
Our team is made up of action-focused consultants experienced in best practices as they relate to improvisation in the workplace – beginning with our founder…
Mary Jane Pories
Mary Jane Pories (Master of Arts in Education, Actor’s Equity Association) is the president of Fishladder Inc. and an award-winning actor/improviser, writer and alumnus of the mainstage at The Second City. Mary Jane founded Fishladder in 1999 in direct response to particular needs within the business community. Fishladder designs develops, and facilitates corporate training programs for a wide range of clients, from Fortune 500 corporations to non-profit organizations. Mary Jane’s unique skills as an improviser coupled with her Master of Arts in Education creates training that is unique, experiential, and fun.
Liz Appold
Liz Appold (BA, Education) is our Administrative Assistant and has shared her skills with Fishladder since 2005. Her excellent organizational and people skills make her an invaluable member of our team. She often is first to make contact with our clients and provide the kind of efficient, intelligent, and personal response that is so integral to our providing the outstanding customer service that you expect.
Joe Anderson
Joe Anderson won an MTV stand-up comedy competition and performed with the famed The Second City touring company. He is the writer, producer, and director of the feature film Living with the Fosters. Joe travels nationwide performing his own stand up comedy as well as directing and performing in the game show, Make Me Laugh. He has been presenting corporate workshops as well as performing and writing with Fishladder Inc. since 1999.
Bob Dekker
Bob’s passion is long form improvisation. Besides performing long form whenever he can, Bob has also performed with River City Improv, Vidalia and Shy Quiet People. During the day, he and his wife Kris own and operate Viking Fitness, a retail store featuring high-end fitness equipment.
Kirsten Kelly
Kirsten is a theatre and film director who resides in New York City. Her theatre productions have been seen off-Broadway, in Chicago and regionally across the country. Kirsten and her film partner, Anne de Mare, created Spargel Productions which focuses on documentary film projects celebrating the human spirit. Film credits include “Asparagus! (Stalking the American Life)” (an award-winning feature documentary; PBS broadcast 2009) and productions for New York University, Strike TV and the Lincoln Center. Kirsten is a graduate of Julliard’s Master Directing program and has trained in clown along with Improv Olympic and The Second City.
Demian Krentz
Demian Krentz has been a corporate and club comedian for over 15 years. He co-produced Living with the Fosters and is the lead singer in a local band called The Marones. Currently Demian works for Harpo Studios in Chicago and is studying improvisation in the Conservatory Program at The Second City Training Center in Chicago. Besides performance, Demian uses his vast talent to help write customized material for Fishladder Inc.
Ralph Lister
Ralph was born in India, his late South African-born father working for the Government at the time. Educated in England he attended Marlborough College,Wiltshire and then University College at the University of Durham where he graduated with a BA(Hons)in Modern History. Following post-graduate classical training at LAMDA, Ralph spent 15 years in mainstage theatre in London, Madrid, Hong Kong and Edinburgh before moving to America to focus on film and television.
Joy-Elizabeth Lawrence
Joy-Elizabeth Lawrence is a freelance writer and part-time staff member at Calvin College where she is the costume shop manager for Calvin Theatre Company. After receiving her BA in English and music performance from a state school in South Dakota, she attended Regent College (Vancouver) where she graduated with a masters degree in Christian studies in 2005. Her interests include food studies, literature, writing, theology, women’s studies, theatre arts, and several failed attempts at gardening. (But she keeps trying.)
Stephanie Sandberg
Stephanie Sandberg (Ph.D. – California – Santa Barbara) is a professor at Calvin College who teaches Theatre History and Communication and is a director for the Calvin Theatre Company. While in University, Stephanie began working with the Lit Moon Theatre Company, an experimental company focused on the use of the human body to convey complex text and emotion using non-traditional training. She is especially noted for her work in using improvisation as a means for impacting social justice issues with a focus on managing boundaries and diversity in the workplace.
Teresa Thome
Teresa Thome is President of Enthusiastic Productions! where she also serves as Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-winning children’s show, “Come On Over“. Prior to her work at EP! she served as Executive Director of the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum. She has directed more than twenty theatrical productions in and around West Michigan and was a member of the performance troop, Last Minute Improv for eight years. Thome is an active member in her community, currently serving on the boards of Actors’ Theatre and the Downtown Improvement District.