ASAF RONEN
Co-Producer
ELLEN PIZAREK
Co-Producer
SHANNON MCCORMICK
BOARD CHAIR
ASAF is the author of Directing Improv: Show the Way by Getting Out of the Way. He regularly performs, teaches and produces in Austin where he is the Founder/Dean at the improv school, The Seed,. He has been the Education Director at The Institution Theater for eight years and the Conservatory Director at ColdTowne Theater.He has taught and performed improvisation in Canada, Great Britain, Norway and in twenty-eight of these United States with such groups as the B. Iden Payne Award winning Confidence Men (improvised plays in the style of David Mamet), Immigrants: The Musical (a Hamilton-inspired longform that explored the cast’s immigrant experiences), and imp (mostly silent improv). He was also producer on Trust Us This Is All Made Up, a documentary on legendary improvisers TJ & Dave that premiered at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival in 2009 and helped develop the improvised film Days of Delusion with director Scott Myers. In 1999, Asaf founded the improv website, YESand.com of which he was Editor-in-Chief.
ELLEN is a mom, molecular biologist, ceramic artist, and improv comedian who was almost on Jeopardy once – so yes, she knows things.She has been performing and practicing improv since 2010, and has appeared in the Ocean State Improv Festival, Big-Little Improv Festival, and of course, Out of Bounds. Her previous longform improv appearances shows include God vs. the Devil, Doctor When, Off the Reef, Tall Tales of the High Seas, and Mischief Managed. She also co-created, directed, and produced FLOW: Funny Ladies of Wrestling. Ellen has been part of the Out of Bounds staff since 2017. She loves secrets, pizza, and can name all the U.S. presidents in order…so she’s basically your weirdest and most delightful trivia night ringer.
SHANNON is a thirty-year veteran of stage and screen, as well as a writer and director. He has appeared in films and TV shows such as Breaking Bad, Les Misérables, Day 5, Red vs. Blue, RWBY, and Camp Camp. He has been involved with Out of Bounds since its inception in 2001, serving at various times as producer and now on the Board of Directors. He remains active in the local in the Austin improv community, with troupes Get Up and Just Be Sweet as well as many limited run improv productions.
COURTNEY HOPKIN
Marketing director
CLIF HIGHFIELD
Technical
Director
MARIA POND
Venue director
COURTNEY has been working in the Austin theater and improv community for 30 years, appearing in so so many plays and improv shows around town, teaching so so many improv classes at The Hideout Theatre and making graphics, posters and whatnot for shows all over Austin! Courtney’s first time performing in Out of Bounds was back in 2006!
CLIFTON is a current of the Harold Team Candy Necklace and has been teaching, performing, directing and producing improv comedy for 20 years. He taught long form improv formats and techniques to hundreds of Austin students at The Institution Theater (2010-20). Performance highlights include The Out of Bounds Improv Festival, Chicago Improv Festival, New York Fringe Festival, San Francisco Improv Fest, Michigan Improv Laugh Festival, Improvaganza (Hawaii), Toronto Improv Festival, and Miami Improv Festival. Clifton achieved a B. Iden Payne for ensemble work in both The Suitcase (2013) and Sextet (2024). He originally trained at ImprovOlympic (iO) in Chicago, at iO West in LA, studied at The Second City and taken classes at Upright Citizens Brigade in LA. Clifton is quoted in the book Theatrical Improvisation by Jeanne Leep, created creature voices for the feature film I Am Legend, and was an extra on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Locally, he has performed with improv teams at The Hideout Theatre, Coldtowne Theater, Fallout Theater, ComedySportz, a handful of coffee shops, a couple closed bars, and a backyard.
MARIA is a comedian, actress, and writer based in ATX. She’s been a part of the Austin community since 2012 and performed her first woman show at Out of Bounds in 2017. Catch her playing weekly with award-winning house teams Fuck This Week and Garage at Fallout Theater along with one of Austin’s powerhouse comedy teams and winner of Austin Sketch Fest’s 48-Hour Sketch Challenge, Big Fart! When not performing or creating with friends, she’s likely baking up something sweet or spending time with her two corgis & kitty.
CRAIG KOTFAS
GRAPHICS DESIGNER
KEITH RUCKUS
Events director
CRAIG has been in the thick of the Austin improv scene since the late 1990s, starting with Austin Theatresports/Heroes of Comedy, which built the Hideout Theatre. In 2004 he co-founded the multi-award winning troupe the Knuckleball Now which still plays every first Thursday at Coldtowne Theater, as well as other fine venues in the ATX area. When not on stage, he can be found pushing pixels as a professional Graphic Designer, which includes doing OOB graphics for more than two decades. Craig spends the rest of his time manicuring and watering his plants in the backyard, with a guitar always within reach.
KEITH has been creating unforgettable events in Austin, Texas for over 13 years. A veteran purveyor of live experiences, Keith’s work in macro-scale productions earned him a singular honor in 2017 when Mayor Steve Adler proclaimed it “Keith Ruckus Day” in recognition of his contributions to the city’s cultural zeitgeist.
In 2025, Keith was named a Finalist for the Austin Under 40 Awards in the Arts, Music, & Entertainment category. He’s also one-half of the duo behind Butt Stuff Bingo, Austin’s longest-running adult-themed comedy game show, and the owner of Ruckus Karaoke, a fan-favorite nightlife staple and two-time Austin Chronicle “Best Of” finalist.
From bold concepts to seamless execution, Keith brings energy, creativity, and a deep love for Austin to every event he touches.