WHO: Veteran Upright Citizens Brigade improviser, teacher, standup, actor and writer Keisha Zollar will be appearing at Toronto’s Combustion Festival later this month – both as a performer and teacher. Keisha is best known to the world for her appearance on Orange is the New Black and her role in the Tribeca Film Festival award-winning film Women Who Kill. This fall, she’ll be seen on the new HBO series ‘Divorce,’ created by Sarah Jessica Parker.

WHAT: Combustion Festival: A week-long comedy party and celebration of unscripted theatre

Panels and workshops on May 28th-30th:

Keisha takes part in the Our Cities On Our Stages Symposium, a series of panels and workshops about diversity and inclusion on improv and comedy stages.

Performances on May 30th:

7pm: YAS KWEEN – the popular local showcase of funny women of colour (produced by Nelu Handa and hosted by Ify Chiwetelu) will welcome festival guests Keisha Zollar (New York), Marina Mastros (Los Angeles) and Cari Leslie (Amsterdam) for an improv set to kick off the festival8pm: FESTIVAL SAMPLER – meet some of the artists featuring at the 2016 COMBUSTIONfestival in this improvised comedy buffet designed to whet your appetite for the week ahead – including performances from: Det Andre Teatret (Oslo), the Sunday Service (Vancouver), I Love You, You’re Wrong (Keisha Zollar & Andrew Kimler, New York), The Unpronounceables (Minneapolis), Virginia Jack (Vancouver) and Rapid Fire Theatre (Edmonton).

9:30pm: BLIND DATE SEMI-FORMAL – our festival guests get improv-fancy and hit the stage when their numbers are called – meeting their scene partners onstage for the first time before performing for the audience.

WHERE: Bad Dog Comedy Theatre 875 Bloor St. W. Toronto, ON M6G 1M5

HOW: Festival passes and individual tickets available here – http://baddogtheatre.com/combustion-2016/

More about Keisha Zollar:

Trained at the New School for Acting, Keisha Zollar is also a comedian and creator who performs at the Upright Citizens Brigade and The Peoples Improv Theater, specializing in sketch, improv, and general weirdness. Her comedy is influenced by the Maria Bamfords and Andy Kaufmans of the world with a splash of Aisha Tyler. Bringing her performances to screen and stage, Keisha has appeared on Nickelodeon, MTV, Netflix, FUSE, Comedy Central, College Humor Videos, and even was a finalist for the 2012 Andy Kaufman Awards. She’ll have a role in Sarah Jessica Parker’s new HBO series, Divorce, later this year, and recently appeared in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black and the Tribeca Film Festival award-winning feature, ‘Women Who Kill.’ Born in California, Keisha now lives in New York City and is also a cooking enthusiast.