William Hall Joined Company: 1986 First Improv Class: Boston University actor training (I didn't enjoy the improv they taught, it was about actor moments not about shared storytelling.) First BATS Class: 1986, the beginning of BATS. (We brought Rebecca Stockley down from Seattle to teach a group of actors interested in improv; within a few months we had formed BATS.) BATS Coach: Since 1986 Other BATS Service: Founder of BATS Improv; Past Board President; Bay Area Representative for International Theatresports Institute; served on numerous committees; Board Member, 2004-present Web Site: www.williamhall.net Myspace.com: http://www.myspace.com/weemsf Contact: company@improv.org

William Hall has been a professional actor since graduating from Boston University. He has appeared in numerous feature films including, The Right Stuff, Howard the Duck, Leonard Part VI, Murder in the First, Father's Day and Twisted (with Ashley Judd).

He is a founding member of Fratelli Bologna, a business theatre company helping corporations communicate using comedy and theatre. He has served as an entertainment consultant to Disneyland, the Queen Mary and The World of Coca-Cola.

In 1986 he founded the Bay Area Theatresports organization and The BATS School of Improvisation.

Q&A With William Hall

First BATS Show: The first show we ever did and I was in it. We performed in the theatre in the basement of 25 Van Ness. It was a sold out match against a team from Seattle. The exciting energy far exceed the skills of the performers. (I'm told a video of it exists somewhere!)

Favorite Formats: Theatresports, Gorilla Theatre, The Harold, and The Life Game

Best Moment on the BATS Stage: Before we had a permanent theater space, we would rent theaters as needed, occasionally the stage would already have a set on it. On one such occasion, I remember standing up on a platform about 10 feet above the stage and in the course of a scene I told fellow improviser Tim Ereneta that he couldn't get me down from there. Whereupon he and the other improvisers lifted me up, formed a human chain and passed me along (in slow motion) down to the stage floor. You never know what will happen on an improv stage.

Improv Advice: Improvisation is a world of limitless opportunities and an absence of rules.

Artistic Influences: The theatre training I received at Boston University, Impro by Keith Johnstone, and reading about Dario Fo

Favorite Movies: Marx Brothers A Night At the Opera, Mon Oncle with Jacque Taté

Favorite Music: Country Music