Kat Koppett |
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Kat Koppett is the eponymous founder of "KopCo", formerly The Thiagi Playhouse. She is the author of Training to Imagine: Practical Improvisational Theatre Techniques to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork, Leadership, and Learning
A longtime disciple and partner of Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan, Kat has spent the last 15 years combining her knowledge of O.D., theatre techniques, and innovative interactive strategies for learning, and her articles can be found periodically in Thiagi's Newsletter. She was instrumental in creating the corporate training wing of Freestyle Repertory Theatre, in New York, and spent a decade as a performer, head coach and the Corporate Division Director of BATS Improv, one of the premiere improvisational theater companies on the West Coast.
A member of the National Speakers' Association and the Consulting Alliance, Kat has presented for the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA), Influent, International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI), the Rotary Club and the Young Presidents' Organization.
TheaterWeek Magazine named Kat one of the year's "Unsung Heroes" for her creation of the improvisational theater format, Spontaneous Broadway, which is now performed regularly around the world. She has been seen in television ads for Pillsbury, Quaker Oats, and Dr Pepper (she was a Pepper!). Her short play, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, was a winner in Playground's Emerging Playwrights Festival. She is currently the Training Director of and a performer with the Albany, NY based improv company, The Mop & Bucket Company.
Contact info: Kat Koppett, (518) 280-1089 |
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Michael Burns |
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Michael Burns, Artistic Director and Founder of our sister company, The Mop & Bucket Company, brings an eclectic mix of talents and experiences to KopCo. Our specialist in programs for those with learning challenges, Michael is well-known through out the Capital Region for his work in education and human services.
Before settling in the area, Michael studied theatre at SUNY Purchase, and then improv with David Shepherd in New York, where he directed for the American Modern Dance Theatre and the American Folk Theatre, and was a member of The Big Apple Experience, a short-lived but cleverly named improv troupe. He has since worked for several upstate theatres including Home Made Theater, The Theatre Barn, and Steamer 10 Theatre.
Contact info: Michael Burns |
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Dan O'Connor |
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Dan is co-founder and Artistic Director of the critically acclaimed Los Angeles Theatresports Company (Impro Theatre) as well as a co-founder of four other American Theatresports companies including Bay Area Theatresports. He performed in the Improbable Theatre’s production of “Lifegame” Off-Broadway and in the TNN television series of the same name. Other improv credits include: The long running Wrought Irony at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, Pulp Playhouse at the HBO-American Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen and Second City at the Murphy's Cat Laughs Festival in Kilkenny, Ireland. He has also taught the Spontaneity Shop in London as well as Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland Theatresports
Contact info: Dan O'Connor |
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Brenny Rabine |
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Brenny Rabine, actor, director, playwright, and trainer, developed the curriculum for New Visions Theatre Arts for the Warren-Saratoga-Washington-Hamilton-Essex BOCES in 2001. A resident instructional designer for Koppett & Co., Brenny has designed and delivered training, and created course materials for the Assisted Living Activities Association, NYS Tax Auditors, the Farm Bureau, Eli Lilly, Chanel, and ASTD, among others.
As a trainer with the company, Performance of a Lifetime, Brenny’s conducted workshops for Heifer International, Glens Falls Hospital, the US Olympic Committee, and PwC. For Thiagi Group, Brenny designed and delivered training for the Illinois Training Association. Holding a MA in composition studies, Brenny combines her more than twenty-five years of theatre experience with more than a decade of full-time teaching. Brenny is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Inc., teaching artist for Adirondack Theatre Festival, and guest lecturer at Toastmasters, Art ‘n Soul, Siena College, University at Albany, Saratoga County Arts Council, and Temple Sinai, among others.
Improv experience includes membership in Mop & Bucket Co. and Wit&Will. Brenny has studied with Keith Johnstone, William Hall, and Rebecca Stockley at BATS Improv Co., in San Francisco. She’s performed improv for conferences, award dinners, and as part of training initiatives.
Contact info: Brenny Rabine |
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Renu Ramakrishnan |
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Renu Ramakrishnan brings a global perspective to Koppet & Co.’s training programs combining her international experience with her background in marketing, advertising and journalism.
In the US, Renu has marketed brands such as BeechNut baby food, Hero jams and the Crayola line where she launched several new and creative products. She has conducted consumer research at Titan Watches Limited and developed multi media advertising strategies at J. Walter Thompson in India. Her clients included Boots Pharmaceuticals, Hindustan Petroleum and Ceat Tires, whose corporate campaign won acclaim at the New York International Ad Festival. In Singapore and now in the US, as correspondent for Clean India Journal she is always seeking out interesting topics to base her international feature stories on.
As cross cultural trainer, Renu teaches courses both through the Shenendehowa Advocacy of Gifted Education (SAGE) and the New York Capital Region Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and has presented at the Clifton Park Halfmoon Library, women’s organizations, area schools and the Girl Scouts of America to name a few. She is also a frequent contributor to the Multicultural Review, where she reviews books with cross cultural themes.
Renu has facilitated focus groups, brainstorming and idea generation sessions as well as conducted creative research for Crayola. She has studied storytelling with Jeanne Laverty, and continues to use all these techniques in her training programs.
Contact info: Renu Ramakrishnan |
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Michael Rock |
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Michael is a director, actor, playwright and Kopco trainer and facilitator. In addition to his work with Kopco, he has helped clients such as PwC, Deutsche Bank, Booz Allen Hamilton, Oxygen Media, Johns Hopkins and the US Olympics with the New York City-based executive education company, Performance of a Lifetime.
Contact info: Michael Rock |
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Geoff Tarson |
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Geoff Tarson is an actor, writer and teacher who has performed in theatres across the country and was a television comedy writer in Hollywood for ten years. His writing credits include "Suddenly Susan" and "That's So Raven" as well as selling a pilot recently to Disney Channel.
Geoff has been an improviser for over twenty years, working with some of the best improv talent in the country, including Wayne Brady, Michael McShane, Fred Willard and Kat Koppett, whom he met at Freestyle Rep in New York in the early nineties. Geoff also taught improv at Acme Comedy Theatre and at Los Angeles Theatresports.
He believes the world of television writing is quite similar to the corporate world: pitching ideas, being willing to adjust one's tactics to make a sale, trying to stay current as the marketplace changes, and often dealing with executives who have no sense of humor. His corporate training experience includes Eli Lilly, Charles Schwab and Western Union.
Contact info: Geoff Tarson |
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, published by Stylus Publishing Inc. in May, 2001. Kat holds a B.F.A. in Drama from New York University and an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. 
. When he is not designing and delivering training for Kopco, or directing, performing and producing for Mopco, Michael teaches video production and art at The Charlton School, a residential facility for adolescent girls with emotional and learning difficulties. 