Social Justice Improv Project

06/28/2022

ELECTION DAY! 💪🗳 🔗 in bio to find your polling site & candidates • New York: polls are open until 9pm!

06/28/2022

Ant Farm - w/ Kalynn Chambers & Xavier Pearson

SJIP Presents: It's A Riot!
6/26/22 - Magnet Theater (NYC)

06/27/2022

So much joy ❤️ We all needed it. Thank you all who came out last night. Congratulations to the entire cast, technical director Horacio Gutierrez (), and NEW DAD/house manager Mikey D ()- you all are rockstars 🤘

THANK YOU 1000x to for their support and and all of the things ❤️

It's A Riot! Comedy x Social Justice
Sunday 6/22 @7:30pm
Magnet Theater NYC

•Cast: Kalynn Chambers, Veronica Dang, Shari Hazlett, Portia Lundie, Dominique Nisperos, Xavier Pearson, Julia Schroeder, Dejen Tesfagiorgis, Jude Treder-Wolff, Shawn Wickens
•Music/Accompanist: Zarif Hasan
•Director/Producer: Shari Hazlett
•Presented by: SJIP Collective
•Graphic Design: Nikki Rodriguez ()
•Asst. Producers: Heather English (), Bradley Hall ()

This was SJIP's third show since October '21 - but what you see on stage is more than a show, it's part of a process of co-creating and developing work and trying new things and making art and having fun.

Even though you didn't see them on stage last night, what you saw was made possible by our original ensemble & company members & friends - Onyi Okoli (), Max Raymond (), Krista White (), Zach Lennon-Simon (), Charlsie Bastian (), Steve Howze (), Melody Louisdhon (); company members Jeff Kitt () and Aaron LaRoche (); guest teaching artist Blue Cavell-Allette (); tech Dmitry Shein (); artistic direction &

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

06/26/2022

06/26/2022

See you tonight. 7:30pm. Magnet Theater.

06/22/2022

MEET THE CAST: Shari Hazlett (director) is a Brooklyn–based director/writer/performer/producer and media professional who works at the intersection of storytelling, comedy, and technology to inspire civic engagement and social change.

Shari was a community organizer, public health educator, and program manager for the Congressional Black Caucus-funded (CBC) Medical Education Initiative, a direct intervention to fight healthcare disparities and remove barriers to HIV/AIDS treatment; she supported lobbying efforts for workplace non-discrimination ordinances and statewide education and mobilization for marriage equality with Equality Florida; and she was selected as a Fellow for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), where she trained with the nation’s top campaign and policy professionals and then re-elected U.S. Senator Patty Murray (Seattle, WA).

Shari was the co-founder of a full-service political consulting firm focused on campaign management, media, and content development to support digital organizing strategies for 15+ non-partisan and progressive campaigns; Digital Director for Reshma Saujani for NYC Public Advocate; digital strategy consultant for DNC Vice-Chair Michael Blake for NY State Assembly; and co-founder of Green Florida, a statewide organization focused on planting edible gardens (!) and environmental justice.

A creative producer and director, she’s worked with NBC-Universal; SiriusXM; Comic Relief/Red Nose Day; NYC Big Apps, American Cancer Society, among others. Her writing has been featured on WNYC and WBUR; The New York Times Live Broadcast of the DNC (Charlotte) and RNC (Tampa); The Stranger (Seattle, WA); Courier News - Election 2020 Series; and Creative Loafing, among others. Shari has performed at Magnet Theater (NYC); Dixon Place w/ Rubbish Comedy Collective (NYC); Tiny Cupboard (Brooklyn); QED (Queens); Upright Citizens Brigade (NYC), and on stages across NYC.

06/22/2022

MEET THE CAST: Dominique Nisperos is a comedian and sociologist who writes, performs, and gazes at the world from Lenapehoking (known by the colonial name Brooklyn, New York). Their mission is to create comedy that uplifts oppressed people, especially people of color, women, and nonbinary folks.
A recovering academic, former Doctoral Candidate in Sociology, and Ford Fellow, Dominique graduated with honors from the University of California at Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in Ethnic Studies and Sociology. Dominique currently co-produces and hosts Banna Ketchup a Filipinx-lead stand-up show highlighting diverse voices in comedy. They co-produced and hosted Comedy for Justice a show raising funds for Black Lives Matter, The Standing Rock Reservation, and other important social justice causes.

They have written for Blue Man Group, Hatched.NYC, and The Goss. Their groundbreaking writing also includes the first all-women-identifying Upright Citizens Brigaged Theatre (UCB) sketch team Grown Ass Women among others. They were also a house performer with UCB’s Dang Jo Jo! and the all-people-of-color team The Code Switch: “A team of fiercely funny POC performers [who] improvise sketches based on the awkward moments and strange social negotiations of intersectional life” – Time Out New York.

They have performed on FunnyorDie, Scary Mommy, Seriously.tv, TV Land, ABS-CBN Global, and at Toronto Sketch Fest, SF Sketch Fest, the LA Improv Festival, Steel Stacks Comedy Festival, and many venues across the United States and internationally. Dominique merges high concept social theory with lowbrow humor: imagine a gross pubescent boy who is also really into Audre Lorde. Their work is fueled by their love of social justice and rooted in their experiences as a multiracial Chicana and Filipino American girl growing up on food stamps in Stockton, California.

06/22/2022

MEET THE CAST: Zarif Hasan is a NYC-based musician.

06/21/2022

MEET THE CAST: Xavier Pearson is a Brooklyn-based improviser and actor. He performs all over NYC at Brooklyn Comedy Collective, Rubbish Comedy, Tiny Cupboard, and many others.

06/21/2022

MEET THE CAST: Portia Lundie is an interdisciplinary creative and educator from New York. Raised in the Bronx and educated on the Upper East Side—think Gossip Girl meets Get Out—Portia uses comedy, film, and fantasy to tell vivid stories about coming of age, American society, corruption, and witchcraft. She’s a filmmaker, a crossword constructor for the New York Times, a performer with Salem at Magnet Theater, and volunteer organizer with The Tenants Association in Harlem, advocating for tenants' rights since 2018.

06/21/2022

MEET THE CAST: Julia Schroeder is an actor/improviser/writer/comedian based in NYC. Originally from Metro Detroit, she started doing improv, sketch comedy, and plays in 2013 at Go Comedy! Improv Theater and Planet Ant. She’s performed sketch, improv, and characters all around New York including at Magnet Theater, People’s Improv Theater, UCB, QED, and Brooklyn Comedy Collective, and at comedy festivals across the country. Julia is also a proud Story Pirates actor and director. She performs in shows up and down the east coast and she’s a cohost of the upcoming Story Pirates sports podcast ‘Game On’ in partnership with Steph Curry’s Unanimous Media.