top of page

about

Mission

Our mission is to equip students with the building blocks for personal and professional success through the power of an improv education

Vision

Every child leaves school prepared to embrace challenge, seize opportunity and unlock their own potential

girl holding hands.png
MissionVision

our team

PTR Prof Cropped.jpg

Co-Founder, Board Member

Executive Director

Meera Menon

tFlanRickAndrewsHSFinals-2 - Rick Andrew

Board Member

Rick Andrews

Francine.Odri.jpg

Teaching Artist

Francine Odri

P1000100_edited_edited.png

Teaching Artist

Paul Deichmann

Philip PEP 2.JPG

Co-Founder, Board Member

Operations Director

Philip Chen

0c266804-8e47-402a-ac32-55c92bb5f16b.jpeg

Board Member

Kumud Goyal

JoshHW Headshot.jpg

Teaching Artist

Josh Holober-Ward

IMG_7622_3_650x650.jpeg

Teaching Artist

Ryan Pater

Karin Headshot.jpg

Program Director

Karin Potter -Simmons

0001.jpg

Board Emeritus

Dr. Marcia Ferguson

KPerry%20Teaching%20Artist%20-%20Katherine%20Perry-1_edited.png

Teaching Artist

Katherine Perry

Tanya Headshot_edited_edited.jpg

Teaching Artist

Tanya Morgan

1516882773116 - Will Crowley.jpg

Board Member

Will Crowley

Darryl%20pic_edited.jpg

Teaching Artist

Darryl Charles

Mary Carpenter Headshot (1).jpg

Teaching Artist

Mary Carpenter

Tara%252520Gadomski-064WEB%252520-%252520tara%252520gadomski_edited_edited_edited.jpg

Teaching Artist

Tara Gadomski

Tia Headshot 1.jpg

Teaching Artist

Tia Kemp

advisory committee

Dr. Angela Duckworth 

Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania

Chief Executive Officer, Character Lab

New York Times bestselling author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance 

​

Mae Early

Director of Education, Philadelphia Young Playwrights

 

John Gamba

Director of Innovative Programs, University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education

 

Kumud Goyal 

Senior Vice President, Genomatica

 

Greg Hagin

Partner and Managing Director, CCS Fundraising

 

Kristen Krista

Director of Major Gifts, Franklin & Marshall College 

 

Kelly Leonard

Executive Director of Insights and Applied Improvisation, The Second City 

 

Christian Talbot

Founder, Basecamp

​

Stanford Thompson

Founder and Executive Director, Play on Philly

founding story

P-100959-Master-V1-003X.jpg

We’re Meera and Philip. We met on the first day of college and immediately became friends, bonding over a shared passion for the performing arts. Through our theater and improv experiences growing up, we developed confidence, sharpened our communication skills, respected and worked with differing viewpoints, and became comfortable with vulnerability. As business students, we found that these very same skills have been instrumental to our success in both school and the workforce – we learned how to be articulate public speakers, how to better understand others’ point of views, and how to persevere in the face of adversity. Drawing from these experiences, we created Unscripted to equip students with the building blocks for personal and professional success through improv; we aim to provide its value to everyone, particularly to those who might not otherwise have access.

 

Launched through the generous support of The University of Pennsylvania’s President's Engagement Prize, we are deeply committed to taking a methodical and interdisciplinary approach in building an innovative and impactful program for the students of Philadelphia. This all would not be possible without the support of educators, advocates, volunteers, and numerous partners - we are so excited for you to join us on our journey at The Unscripted Project. 

bottom of page