Ark's Last Tape

For this performance, Ark Improvisational Theater takes inspiration from Samuel Beckett’s 1958 one-act Krapp's Last Tape, in which a man revisits tapes of his much younger self. As described by the ensemble, “So, the Ark began in 1981, and the remaining company members reflect on this passage of time.” Participating in this Ark revival are a mix of veteran troupe members and newer initiates: Dennis Kern, Mary-Elizabeth, Dan Bielinski, Peggy Rosin, Pamela Adams, Jim Krupski, Giuliana Miolo and Raj’r Taim.

media release: LAB^4 community curating team presents Ark's Last Tape, a performance by Ark Improvisaitonal Theater on Thursday, June 5, 2025 at 7:30pm.

“Ark’s Last Tape” was chosen as a name for our show to reflect Samuel Beckett's Play Krapp's Last Tape. In the play an old man reflects on his past as he listens to a tape recording he made at different stages of his life. So, the Ark began in 1981, and the remaining company members reflect on this passage of time. We are Seniors or Elders, and tonight we will revisit the years of learning, rehearsing, and performing along with the moments of success and failure as we dared to jump off the diving board into the pool of the unknown, the mysterious realm of the intuitive. We will pull back the veil to reveal the secrets of ‘funny.’ Yet, we cannot really promise that in advance. We can only follow and use the techniques, paths, and tools we have come to trust through years of work. We can reveal the tools, but only on the conceptual level. These tools are mystic and only become available in the intuitive, through trust, as we leap into the unknown. But, not to worry. We’ve made the leap many times in the past decades so the chances are very good that we will land safely.

Dennis Kern has worked and taught in the performing arts for over 50 years. He introduced Chris Farley to improvisation and is a contributor to his biography The Chris Farley Show. He taught Joan Cusack, Ron Bieganski (Artistic Director Of Free Street Theatre – Chicago), Todd Hanson (an originator of The Onion newspaper and "The Onion Movie"), and Brian Stack (writer for the "The Tonight Show" with Conan O'Brien).”

Dennis graduated from UW La Crosse in Wisconsin and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City where he was awarded the “Classical Actor Scholarship.”  He worked in the conservatory at Chicago's Second City and completed workshop training for "Play Back Theatre" in Poughkeepsie, New York. Dennis co-founded the ARK Improvisational Theatre in Madison, which produced, improvised and performed original and scripted works for twelve years.  

In her after work life, Mary-Elizabeth is an actor by trade. She trained at The Theater School of DePaul University. She has acted and directed shows in Chicago, Minneapolis and Madison including local Madison Theater groups: Mercury Players, Stage Q, Strollers, to name a few.  Being a newbie to improv she enjoys staying on her toes learning and playing with this uniquely fun and talented troupe.  

Dan Bielinski has pursued improv as a hobby for over 20 years, studying with highly respected and experienced improv instructors from the US and Europe. He is retired, after a wide-ranging 38 year career that included work as a business consultant, company executive and community college educator. In his 10 years as an Instructor in an Associate Degree Business Management program, Dan utilized improv exercises and tools in the classroom across multiple courses, to help students develop critical leadership and managerial skills.  

Peggy Rosin has decades of experience playing wonderfully wacky and complicated women on many of Madison’s stages. Some of her favorite past roles are Aunt Martha in Arsenic & Old Lace, Nora in Escape From Happiness, Masha in Vanya, Sonia, Masha & Spike, Marilyn Dunn in Ripcord, Violet Weston in August: Osage County, Violet Veneble in Suddenly Last Summer, and Mrs. Seizmagraff in Betty’s Summer Vacation. Her love of improv grew under the tutelage of Dennis Kern. She has performed improv at Madison’s Comedy Club and other venues. Along with acting and improvisation, she engages in commercial work, writing, story-telling and directing.  

Pamela Adams has performed with a variety of local and regional theater companies in Madison for over 40 years.  She is an actor, director, choreographer, and improviser.  She fell in love with improv and was given the courage to go on stage sans script when she met Dennis Kern in 1993.  She remembers fondly their Friday night improv shows at the now defunct Ground Zero coffee shop.  

Jim Krupski has always had a passion for the performing arts. Over the course of his lifetime he had performed playing the baritone sax through high school. He also acted in a tv commercial and independent films as well as in various theatrical productions in the Madison and Viroqua regions. He has performed voiceovers for an animated children's production. Most recently he has worked in improv under the tutelage of Dennis Kern.  

Over the past 25 years, Giuliana Miolo has acted with most of the local theatre groups in Madison. More recently, she enjoyed learning about the improvisational art form from the talented members of this ensemble.  

Raj’r Taim has been playing music around Wisconsin since he was a teenager.  Drawing inspiration from improvisational sources and influenced by music with emotional intensity, he has matured into a producer of unique live experiences.  You may know him from throwing events in the Driftless area from 2010 to the present, or with his band Barefoot Antennae.  From the many shows played in his rock band in Milwaukee, “Cashfire Sunset”, to various underground events under the Space 7 umbrella, or the handful of cameo appearances as Taimbot at various electronic music events over the past 6 years, Raj’r is a multi-instrumentalist who keeps a lot of risk on the table for his performances. He crosses many genres and stitches it together like an epic tapestry.