Rå Power

Rå Power

Rå Power is Amy Shostak and Joleen Ballendine. They are two improvisors obsessed with chasing joy in their scenework, and doing things that scare them. They embrace the brutally spontaneous nature of improvisation, and always challenge themselves to explore the edges of what is possible. Joleen likes to push Amy to do things like climb on boxes piled high and talk about her greatest regrets, and Amy likes to push Joleen to sing made up songs and even to spit on her. They love telling stories that matter, and they love making people laugh.

Amy and Joleen have been performing together since they met at Rapid Fire Theatre (Edmonton) in 2007, and have been touring as a duo since 2015. They have performed at The Sweden International Improv Festival, The Combustion Festival (Toronto), The Vancouver Improv Festival, Det Andre Teatret (Oslo), and The Ratibor Theatre (Berlin). Living in different cities, they spend most of their time together now on the road.

Please reach to Rå Power if you’d like to have us visit your city, or if you’re interested in collaborating with us on a project! :)

Joleen Ballendine is an improviser, actor and writer based in Edmonton, Alberta. She is a main stage cast member of Rapid Fire Theatre, Canada’s third oldest improv company. She started with the company in 2007 and in 2017 she became the Director of Education after running the Out-Reach program for almost a decade. She is also the co-director of the Sphinxes Out-Reach Program. The program aims to empower and employ female, trans, and non-binary improvisors by giving them the tools to teach improv and then deliver the workshops to other marginalized voices. Joleen performs weekly in Theatresports, Maestro, and serval long-form shows. Improv isn’t Joleen’s only passion, she also writes and acts. She is a two time Canadian Screen nominee for both her performance and writing in the Canadian sketch comedy show Caution May Contain Nuts on APTN. She and writing partners Gordie and Joey Lucius were recently selected for the NSI Totally Television program for their half-hour comedy, Lupita. Joleen loves Rock in Roll, lipstick and her Pitbull Homer!

Amy Shostak is an improvisor and theatre artist living in Vancouver, Canada. She teaches improvisation with Blind Tiger Comedy, directs a monthly Maestro show, and performs every Tuesday with Little Mountain Improv. She is Festival Director of The Vancouver Improv Festival, which takes place every September. She also is a Lead Artist in the Arts + Health Project at Carnegie Community Centre, alongside Jeff Gladstone, collaborating with seniors and Elders to explore improvisation. Amy started improvising with Edmonton’s Rapid Fire Theatre in 2002, and she served as the company's Artistic Director for six years. In 2015, she was honoured with an Excellence in Artistic Direction Award from the Mayor’s Celebration for the Arts in Edmonton. In addition to improvising, Amy writes and performs sketch comedy in her Canadian Comedy Award-nominated sketch duo Gossamer Obsessions with Paul Blinov. Amy is also passionate about dialogue and civic engagement; in Edmonton, she served as co-chair of Make Something Edmonton, and she recently completed a ceritficate in Dialogue & Civic Engagement from Simon Fraser University. She loves heavy metal, and nachos. www.amyshostak.ca