In 1993, after studying and performing at The Second City, Improv Olympic, The Annoyance Theater in Chicago for about 5 years, I decided to move back home to Colorado. Being from Boulder originally I joined an improv group in Boulder called HeadGames, which I later owned and directed for a year.

In 1995 I decided to start a sketch comedy troupe. At that point in time, no one in Denver was doing "Comedy Revue." I cast 16 people and taught them improvisation. After 30 some odd hours of instruction I picked 8 cast members to perform and asked the rest to understudy. The group was named "The ACME Comedy Players." We wrote our first show and performed it at the "Chicken Lips Comedy Theater" on Wednesday nights. The show was fun and the crowds were exceptional for a Wednesday night in Denver. Denise Maes ran the box office and front of the house as I ran the back of house.

As time progressed, attrition in the ranks required us to train more people how to improvise (although the show is written, scenes are based on improvisations and there is an improv set after the show). I had taught improv to people in other groups and through The Arvada Center for the Performing Arts. So, the Players Workshop West was created as an institution for the comedy community (named so in recognition of the Viola Spolin school in Chicago). Denise Maes was the class coordinator and classes were taught out of a basement. More and more people took the classes until today we currently have over 75 students in classes. Most of the ACME Performers are cast out of the classes to this day.

The ACME cast performed at The Avenue Theater for the next 4 shows, then to the Emerson Center and back to The Avenue Theater for show 6. During this time there was almost no attrition in ACME. The SansScript players, long form improvisation troupe was created as a place where students of the Players Workshop West could be invited to play and keep there skills sharp. ACME would then cast out of SansScript to fill any vacancies.

At this point in time I was teaching class, having a show, or rehearsing 6 nights a week, along with working full time as a trainer at US WEST. Denise Maes was running the shows and coordinating classes while working as a trainer at Merrill Lynch. A change had to happen. We had been looking for a space of our own for 2 years when we found The Changing Scene at 1527 Champa. We quickly signed a lease and have been here for the last year and a half.

We currently have 7 different shows doing performances 10 times a weeks. We have 5 classes currently in session and new classes starting every eight weeks. This is why we say "There is always something going on at the Bovine".