Our
Story
How Please Applaud Improv began — and where it’s headed.
Please Applaud Improv began in 2019, when founder Nico Herder first started offering community improv workshops in Chatham-Kent. What started as small, playful drop-ins at The CO. quickly grew into a creative home where people could gather, explore, and laugh together. When the pandemic paused programming in early 2020, PAI went quiet — but the spark didn’t fade.
Through those years, Nico continued training, teaching, and leading nationally with the Canadian Improv Games, strengthening the skills, vision, and community values that would shape PAI’s return. After moving back to Chatham-Kent in 2023, Nico began rebuilding from the ground up: coaching the CKSS Improv Team, leading school workshops, relaunching drop-ins, and reconnecting with local arts organizations.
In 2025, Please Applaud Improv officially re-opened with new momentum. We held our first troupe auditions, launched youth and adult programming, and sold out our debut show — proving what we’ve always believed: Chatham-Kent is ready for a joyful, accessible, and sustainable home for improv.
Today, Please Applaud Improv is a growing performance and education company focused on community connection, creative confidence, and laughter that brings people together. We offer drop-ins, workshops, troupe performances, and school partnerships, all rooted in the belief that improv thrives when people feel safe, supported, and encouraged to play.
And we’re only getting started...
Our long-term vision is to build a permanent cultural hub for live comedy, classes, and community gatherings — a place where people of all ages can learn, laugh, and discover what’s possible when we say “yes” to creativity.
Please Applaud Improv exists because improv transforms lives: it builds confidence, dissolves isolation, and reminds us of our capacity to create something meaningful together.
This is our story — and you’re invited to be a part of what comes next.
Who is Nico Anyway?
Hi! I’m Nico Herder — a queer, disabled, nonbinary arts educator and improviser from right here in Chatham-Kent.
I discovered improv when I was 13, starting a tiny improv club at my elementary school before joining the CKSS Improv Team, where I performed throughout high school and eventually became captain. Those early years taught me how powerful it is to listen, collaborate, and create something from nothing — lessons that have shaped my life ever since.
During the summers of 2018 and 2019,I trained at The Canadian Improv Games’ Improv University in Quebec; studying improvisation, leadership, and community-building. I successfully completed their leadership program and earned a place on the Dean’s List.
I founded Please Applaud Improv in 2019 as a way to bring accessible, joyful improv to my community. When the pandemic paused programming, I continued growing as an arts leader through national roles with the Canadian Improv Games — serving as Volunteer Head Referee, Trainer, and Sponsorship Committee Member.
In 2023, I returned full-time to Chatham-Kent and began rebuilding PAI from the ground up: teaching at CKSS, coaching the CKSS Improv Team, leading workshops, relaunching drop-ins, and connecting with local arts organizations. In 2025, I held PAI’s first troupe auditions, produced sold-out shows, and officially registered the business as a sole proprietorship.
Today, I lead PAI’s artistic direction, curriculum design, community outreach, and day-to-day operations. My approach is shaped by my lived experience: I believe in accessibility, representation, psychological safety, and the kind of joyful creativity that makes people feel seen and supported.
When I’m not running a show or teaching a class, you can usually find me hanging out with my three cats, making art, or playing my ukulele.
