Monday Musical Jam!

Austin Olson is a versatile theater maker, comedian, educator, and arts administrator with a passion for storytelling and community engagement. Austin started his comedy career in Seattle in 2012, and has been in love with the art form ever since. He moved to NYC in 2023 and has been part of PIT Ensembles and the sketch show “Oops, My Bad”. With experience also spanning theatrical producing, directing, playwriting, and performing, Austin has been recognized with a Gregory Award for “Yes Anderson” and has contributed to various productions such as “God of Carnage” and “Tartuffe”. He has directed classics like “Little Women” and “Jane Austen’s Emma,” while also bringing original works like “Last Call” and “Rolls, Romance, and the IRS” to the stage. Alongside his creative work, Austin has held roles in theater administration including ComedySportz, Bandit Theater, Pocket Theater, and Jet City Improv cultivating inclusive artistic spaces and championing local talent. Austin holds a BA in theater from Western Washington University.

James Navan is a pianist, singer, actor and improviser. As a musician, James holds an M.M. in jazz piano from Queens College, has toured the world with groups such as The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and also has performed at many of NYC’s finest jazz clubs.

As you may have heard though, musicians tend to take things way too darn seriously, so he’s really glad to have gotten into improv over the past few years. And now, he’s finding it hard to not take improv too seriously. Stop it, James! In particular, James really gets a kick out of musical improv, both as a pianist and improviser, and you can usually catch him accompanying the PIT’s musical improv jam every Monday night.