JILL EICKMANN is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Leela, a holistic San Francisco based improvisational theater and training center. She is also a Producer/Board Member for The San Francisco Improv Festival and Founder/ Executive Producer for Femprovisor Fest: SF's all womxn's improv festival. Femprovisor Fest was a previous TBA Ca$h award winner. Jill has directed over 100 original productions. She has taught her signature style of improvisation to thousands of improvisors of all ages and walks of life. Jill currently performs in Leela's Armando Company and multiple projects with improvisors across the nation. She has directed many ensembles through Leela's Performing Improv Ensembles (PIE) Program. Most notably, she taught a private improv class to cast members of Disney’s The Lion King – Broadway Tour. She studied in New York and Chicago with some of the best from Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (UCB), The Second City, IO (Formerly Improv Olympic), and Annoyance Productions. Jill has performed and taught at improv festivals across the country including Seattle Festival of Improvised Theatre, Improvaganza Hawaii, Austin’s Out of Bounds Comedy Fest, Denver Improv Festival, Oakland Comedy Festival, Chicago Improv Festival, San Jose Improv Fest, California Improv Fest, Gainesville Improv Festival, San Francisco Improv Festival, and SF Sketchfest. Jill is also a licensed psychotherapist and drama therapist who continues to research and teach the psychological implications and therapeutic benefits of improvisation. She enjoys facilitating workshops with SF local start-ups, established companies, and business leaders to support a positive working environment while fostering boundless collective creativity. Past clients include The Clorox Company, Adobe, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Salesforce, Youtube, and Google (among others.)
