Playwright's Bio

Joe DeGise II

Joe DeGise II is a two-time MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets) award-winning improvisational comedian. He was a performer, director, and storyteller with New York City’s renowned improv group, Chicago City Limits, for over 25 years. He has written and performed for sketch groups, been featured at both the Aspen and Toyota Comedy festivals, and worked in television and film (including Hacks with Jim Gaffigan). Among other roles on the dramatic stage, he starred as an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse in the acclaimed play “Lemon Meringue.” He also teaches comedy and improvisation at The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and travels around the country using improvisational techniques to lead workshops in team building, presentation skills, and creativity in the workplace, and for major corporations. Clients include Intel, Merck, NYU, British Air, American Express, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

In addition to decades of honing his storytelling skills in front of audiences in real-time, Joe has written hundreds of short pieces, giving him authentic and hard-earned lessons in how to tell stories effectively. “A Blink in the Eyes of God,” his first full-length play, was selected as a finalist in both The New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest and The Chameleon Theatre Circle’s Annual New Play Contest.