Betsaida's Info
Betsaida’s passion is creating art as a performer and teaching and coaching others to reach their maximum potential. She is an animated and engaging improviser that enjoys creating vivid characters and worlds on stage with her scene partners.At a young age she began entertaining family and friends performing improvised productions in her parents living room and staging elaborate improvised puppet shows with homemade puppets and sets with her siblings throughout Northern California. She discovered improv by accident in 2009 while studying in Spain and never looked back! She studied theater and psychology/education in college and studied and performed with IO-Chicago, ComedySportz, and Bay Area Theatre Sports (BATS). In 2011 she co-founded Blacktop Comedy in Rocklin, CA. There she performed in weekly improv shows, taught beginning to advanced improv classes, and directed several improvised genre shows, including a Shakespearean romantic comedy, musical, western, and teen slasher horror film. She also began performing in two indie improv troupes, Yada Yada Yada and Kooky Pants.
Combining over 12 years of experience in improv and her background in psychology and education, Betsaida's workshops include a unique blend of acting and life skills that reflect her philosophy that improv is all about life. She specializes in course topics such as playing bold and fearlessly, creating characters in the moment, full-body listening, scenic relationships (the art of 2 person scenes), and more! Her workshop credits include "Improvised Storytelling" at the Auburn Hip-Hop Congress, "Improvised Musicality" at San Francisco’s 2015 Femproviser Festival, and "Bold As F**k" at the 2016 California Comedy Festival. She has also served as a camp counselor at Camp Improv Utopia-East and -West. She co-leads the monthly workshop "POC Improv Space" dedicated to offering an opportunity for students who identify as POC to explore the comedic arts in a safe and nurturing environment.