What If Theatre's House Ensemble

What If Theatre’s house ensemble, Streaky Bacon Improv was formed in 2019, They went online during the pandemic and performed shows on Twitch, bringing on guest performers from around the nation. Streaky Bacon is dedicated to the craft of narrative improv – which basically means they like to tell stories. You can expect their shows to be funny, but also to have poignant and authentic moments.

The name Streaky Bacon comes from the Charles Dickens novel ‘Oliver Twist’, which states:

“It is the custom on the stage… to present the tragic and the comic scenes, in as regular alternation, as the layers of red and white in a side of streaky, well-cured bacon.”

The Cast

Colin Iago McCarthy

COLIN IAGO MCCARTHY (he/him) was born into a theater family (his parents met in a hippie theatre commune) so acting is basically the family business. He trained at Oakland's Pan Theater, performed with The Afters, and has studied with improv greats like David Razowsky, Craig Cackowski, and Shulie Cowen. For Colin, improv is all about connection, creativity, and lifelong learning.

Joy Carletti

JOY CARLETTI (she/her) lives and breathes improv. She trained at Improv Asylum (Boston) and has been a guest artist with ImprovBoston and Un-Scripted Theater Company. Joy was the founder of Pure Moxie Players, a Bay Area home for narrative improv. She served as the director for Bent Improv and Education Director at Voodoo Comedy Playhouse before co-founding What If Theatre.

Devan Meck

DEVAN MECK (she/her) fell into improv in 2013 and never looked back. A Bovine graduate and longtime Denver performer, she’s trained with instructors nationwide and specializes in narrative improv with a side of clown. Before improv, she led outdoor arts programs across the country. She loves using improv to build connection, spark creativity, and tell great stories.

Harrison Wilterdink

HARRISON WILTERDINK (he/him) is a solar cell physicist who has dabbled in improv since 2018. What started as a desire to inject a little levity and spontaneity in his life blossomed into a deep and abiding love of collaborative storytelling.

Dre Ford

DRE FORD (he/him) has been doing improv for over 11 years. It’s changed his life, sparked his creativity, and taught him to trust his instincts. He loves building weird, wacky worlds and finding joy in the moment with others. Dre has taught all levels, directed his own show, and performed with teams like On The Spot, Improv Cabaret, Marvelous Method, and The Complaint Department.

Reverie Klein

REVERIE KLEIN (she/her) graduated from Bovine Metropolis Theater in The Before Times (2018). She’s performed with Significant Otter, Carfish Starnival, and has been part of Streaky Bacon since day one. Reverie specializes in villains, chaos gremlins, and the occasional murderous housekeeper. She calls improv a “life staver," fending off boredom, empty-nest syndrome, and menopause brain.

Chloe Liz

CHLOE LIZ (she/her) caught the improv bug at age 7 after a life-changing monkey show at Casa Bonita. She has performed in the San Francisco Fringe Fest, the Dramatic Improv Fest, and the Denver Improv Fest, and produced film and theater on both coasts for over a decade. Chloe loves writing but hates finishing things so improv is perfect because she can be forever iterating!

Gretchen Grunzke

GRETCHEN GRUNZKE (she/her) has trained, taught, and performed improv in NYC, Minneapolis, and now Denver! She’s taught improv to adults and teens at theaters, schools, boardrooms—and the occasional broom closet. You can catch her performing with On The Spot, Improv Cabaret, and Team Schuckleberry. Gretchen wholeheartedly embraces the principles of improv onstage and off.

Nathan Berg

NATHAN BERG (any ol’ pronouns will do!) started performing improv in middle school and hasn’t stopped since. They love improv because it allows them to combine their love for absurd humor with their passion for pretending to cut vegetables. Nathan also loves birding, Indonesian food, and watching a good television program.

Kenneth Rivera

KENNETH RIVERA (he/him) has been involved in theatre for over 25 years and improv for the past five. His love for the stage began in childhood, growing up in NYC and visiting Broadway. He recently portrayed Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire at The Upstart Crow. He also performs with several Bond Improv teams For Kenneth, performance is all about bringing joy and being in the moment.

The Cast

Colin Iago McCarthy

Colin Iago McCarthy

Colin Iago McCarthy (he/him) enjoys reading, basset hounds, and Star Trek. He began acting as soon as he could remember what he was supposed to say, and began improvising so he would never forget his lines. Ask him about his views on Escape (the Pina Colada song): they are strong. He hasn't read as many books this year as his amazing wife, but who has?

Joy Carletti

Joy Carletti

Joy Carletti (she/her) lives and breathes improv. She trained at Improv Asylum (Boston) and has been a guest artist with ImprovBoston and Un-Scripted Theater Company. Joy was the founder of Pure Moxie Players, a Bay Area home for narrative improv. After moving to Denver, she served as the director for Bent Improv and Education Director at Voodoo Comedy Playhouse

Devan Meck

Devan Meck

Devan Meck (she/they) is hard to pin down, she’s been an Outdoor Education Instructor, Indoor Education Instructor (cough, teacher), high ropes facilitator, low ropes facilitator, etc, etc, ad infinitum. Then she face-planted into improv in 2013, and has been gloriously stuck ever since. She can’t seem to get enough of this stuff, performing, teaching or just zipzapzopping into the sunset.

Harrison Wilterdink

Harrison Wilterdink

Harrrison Wilterdink (he/him) is a solar cell physicist who has dabbled in improv since 2018. What started as a desire to inject a little levity and spontaneity in his life blossomed into a deep and abiding love of collaborative storytelling.

Dre Ford

Dre Ford

Dre Ford (he/him) has been involved in improv for the last 9 years, it has changed his life and pushed him to do things he never thought he’d be able to. One of his favorite things about improv is the ability to create a fun, weird, wacky world that we all get to play in. The improv community has also instilled family values and the sense of belonging. Dre has taught various improv, directed his own show,

Reverie Klein

Reverie Klein

Reverie Klein (she/her) graduated from the Bovine Metropolis Theater in The Before Times (2018) and enjoyed playing Zoomprov with Streaky Bacon during lockdown. She’s played on teams as epic as Significant Otter and Carfish Starnival, with the even more iconic Streaky Bacon since its inception. She also enjoyed assistant directing “5280: Denver A-Z,” the Bovine Summer Sketch show in 2018.

Chloe Liz

Chloe Liz

Chloe Liz (she/her) has been doing theater and improv since the ripe old age of 7 when she first saw the monkey show at Casa Bonita and proceeded to make her cousins recreate it in painstaking detail over that seminal summer. Chloe has performed in the San Francisco Fringe Fest, the Dramatic Improv Fest, and the Denver Improv Fest, . She loves writing but hates finishing things so improv is perfect because she can be forever iterating!

Gretchen Grunge

Gretchen Grunge

GRETCHEN GRUNZKE (she/her) has trained, taught, and performed improv in NYC, Minneapolis, and now Denver! She’s taught improv to adults and teens at theaters, schools, boardrooms—and the occasional broom closet. You can catch her performing with On The Spot, Improv Cabaret, and Team Schuckleberry. Gretchen wholeheartedly embraces the principles of improv onstage and off.

Kenneth Rivera

Kenneth Rivera

Kenneth Rivera (he/him) has been involved in theatre for over 25 years and improv for the past five. His love for the stage began in childhood, growing up in NYC and visiting Broadway. One of his favorite recent roles was Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire at The Upstart Crow. He also performs with improv teams The Complaint Department and In Cahooties. For Kenneth, performance is all about bringing joy and being in the moment.

Nathan Berg

Nathan Berg

Nathan Berg (any ol’ pronouns will do!) started performing improv in middle school and hasn’t stopped since. They love improv because it allows them to combine their love for absurd humor with their passion for pretending to cut vegetables. Nathan also loves birding, Indonesian food, and watching a good television program.

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