Laura Hart

Laura (she/they) has been performing for over fifteen years as an actor, improviser & drag king. They are a 2020 Covid Response Grant Recipient and 2017 Young Social Pioneer with the Foundation for Young Australians — developing and sharing their improv comedy program for people with anxiety.

They recently worked as the Improvisation and Casting Director on the series Limitless with Chris Hemsworth (Disney+ and Nat Geo).

Laura was a member of the first ITS all-women improv troupe Confetti Gun and toured to New York to perform in the shows Queer, Far, Wherever You Are and Confetti Gun.

They hold a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Charles Sturt University with a major in Theatre, and have trained in improv at ITS, Impro Australia and UCB. In 2022 they received an ACON honour award as recognition for their work in the LGBTQIA+ community.

You can listen to them on multiple episodes of the improv comedy podcast Wax Quizzical with Kyran Wheatley, as well as on the storytelling podcast Queerstories with Maeve Marsden.

Improv loves: Laura is particularly interested in how improvisation and mental wellbeing intersect. They see humour as a tool to build resilience, and use improv as a mindfulness practice.

Comedy heroes: Amy Poehler, Tig Notaro, Rhys Nicholson, Atsuko Okatsuka, The Bear Pack

Hobbies: Laura is the founder and host of The Kings – one of Australia’s biggest drag king shows. They broke the world record for the largest drag king performance, producing and hosting an event at Mardi Gras 2023. They have been featured on outlets such as Channel 9, ABC TV, ABC Queer, The Audrey Journal, TimeOut Sydney, FBi Radio & JOY FM as well as being on the cover of The Star Observer.

Favourite improv advice: Remember joy. It’s easy to get stuck in your head thinking about being “good” or impressing the audience. At the end of the day I think joy is the most important element. If you’re feeling discombobulated just hold on to joy and let everything else melt away!