Founder: Kimee Balmilero is a Hawaii born actor who has been performing professionally since 1994 thanks to her first paying gig as “Woody Woodpecker” at an Earth Day Fair. Other professional credits include: The 3X Emmy Nominated series “Hi-5,” the Original Broadway Cast of “Mamma Mia,” “Miss Saigon,” and most recently, the recurring role of Dr. Noelani Cunha on “Hawaii Five-0.” While working in NYC and LA for 15+ years, she studied improv & sketch comedy at the famed Uprights Citizens Brigade Theatre in Hollywood.

Kimee has performed at such venues as: Radio City Music Hall, The Kodak Theater, UCB in LA, Second City-Hollywood and iO West and has been featured on “The Today Show,” “Live with Regis and Kelly,” and “The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.”

Since moving back to Hawaii in 2012, Kimee founded and is the “Head Sillypino” of improvhi a company and website dedicated to sketch and improv comedy in Hawaii.

In March 2015, she created and produced the first ever Hawaii Sketch Comedy Festival at the Honolulu Museum of Art’s Doris Duke Theater.

A lifetime student of the legendary Ronald E. Bright, Kimee made her directorial debut with the Hawai’i Premiere of “Mamma Mia” at the historical Diamond Head Theatre in Honolulu. The show was a hit with Hawaii audiences and was sold out for the entire run and extension.

In her spare time, Kimee enjoys karaoke-ing, garage sale-ing, instagram-ing, eating diner spaghetti, pretending like she’s a contestant on “Top Chef,” and dreaming about sinigang.

Producer: BizGym Foundation is a local 501(c)3 non-profit focused on empowering entrepreneurs with tools and inspiration to build a strong and sustainable future. BizGym Foundation produced events include: Lemonade Alley, Camp BizGym and The Hawaii Sketch Comedy Festival.

Producer: StoryU Arts is the newest division of BizGym Foundation focused on two things: 1) Empowering entrepreneurs with performances skills like improv and short form writing and 2) Empowering artistic entrepreneurs (creative writers, actors, film makers comedians, etc) with business skills and tools to help them turn their passion into a career.

HISF START UP TEAM WRITING COACHES:

Ann Maddox has performed at the UCB Theater in Los Angeles since 2005, in several sketch shows such as Baby Hungry, Charlyne Yi Show, UCB presents, Other people’s stuff, Make That Sandwich! and most recently, the one act sketch play Talking Is Hard, which just finished it’s year long run at UCB.

She has also performed improv on the Harold team Lincoln’s Bedroom and wrote sketch comedy for Maude Teams Nice Kitchen and Hot Mess. In 2011 she was a cast member of the annual CBS Diversity Showcase, featured as a performer and writer. She has written and performed her own UCB shows Machu Picchu and Battle of the Funny Bands with her music/sketch band Machu Picchu. They have appeared in stand up and variety shows such as Comedy Death Ray, Tomorrow Show, Garage Comedy and the Las Vegas Comedy Festival.
Ann Maddox has been in several commercials playing either a weird coworker and/or a stoner type. You may have seen Ann in The Office as a pregnant telemarketer, an artsy hipster in Two Broke Girls, a bubbly game show host on Fuel TV’s Stupid Face,eating bird poo on Web Soup, and a Japanese panda suited criminal in Todd Rohal’s Catechism Cataclysm (currently on Netflix)! She also often appears in College Humor and Funny or Die videos.
You can catch her this fall on TBS in The Pete Holmes Show and on IFC with The Birthday Boys!
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