Mars (he/they) is an emerging writer, director, and multi-hyphenate who seeks to center the inherent humanity of art. Hailing from Philly, he’s equal parts cheese and whiz. Their specialty is bringing together communities behind the scenes and in the audience, with a particular focus on queer experience and expression.

No relation to the planet of the same name.

Fletcher is thrilled to join the PIT as the theater’s new General Manager. Prior to the PIT, Fletcher served as the Managing Director of Shop Studios, a TV/Film soundstage located in Hell’s Kitchen. Having loved his experience as a PIT improv student, he is excited to continue advancing the PIT’s goals alongside the staff and administrative team. Fletcher grew up in Rhode Island and has been writing and acting in New York City since 2018.

Tisza comes to the PIT with over 15 years experience in improvisational instruction, language instruction, script writing, event management / event production for Renaissance Entertainment Productions, Preferred Brands International, and Mid-Atlantic Promotions. She is also a Co-Founder and Artistic Director for Megara Media & Entertainment.

John is an award-winning actor, award-winning software engineer, award-winning mathlete, award-winning little-leaguer, and award-winning participant in numerous summer camp activities. His life philosophy is Paragon from the Mass Effect video game trilogy. He is perhaps best known for singing the Tiny Tunes theme from the special summer episode live on Z100 before putting on his suit for his job at a corporate bank one morning.

James Navan is a pianist, singer, actor and improviser. As a musician, James holds an M.M. in jazz piano from Queens College, has toured the world with groups such as The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and also has performed at many of NYC’s finest jazz clubs.

As you may have heard though, musicians tend to take things way too darn seriously, so he’s really glad to have gotten into improv over the past few years. And now, he’s finding it hard to not take improv too seriously. Stop it, James! In particular, James really gets a kick out of musical improv, both as a pianist and improviser, and you can usually catch him accompanying the PIT’s musical improv jam every Monday night.

Ava Whiteley is a comedy writer and performer originally from Peachtree City, Georgia. She graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Media Arts Production and a minor in Comedic Writing and Performance. During her time at Emerson, she was heavily involved with on campus comedy organizations and developed a passion for advocating for increased accessibility for underrepresented communities in the comedic landscape. She is beyond thrilled to be joining the PIT team and continuing her journey in providing access to comedic arts education!