Nisha Chao – Theatre Artist & Improv Coach and Director from Taiwan

 

Short Version (for quick reference)

Nisha Chao (Taiwan) is an improviser, facilitator, and theatre artist with 19 years of experience. A longtime member of Guts Improv Theatre since 2009, she is the creator of the longform format “Welcome to Dystopia,” a show that reflects the human condition through humor and satire, and has been performed nearly 80 times in Taiwan and internationally.

Nisha brings warmth and depth to her work, blending her two-year Meisner Technique training with a heartfelt, presence-based style. She has taught and performed at festivals in Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Germany, and believes that every sincere moment of improvisation can plant a small seed of change in the world.

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Full Bio

Nisha Chao is a theatre artist and improvisation facilitator from Taiwan, who has been passionately involved in the field since 2006. While she graduated from Chung Shan Medical University with a degree in Nutrition, her heart led her to the transformative world of theatre.

Since 2009, Nisha has been a core member of Guts Improv Theatre, one of Taiwan’s pioneering improvisation companies, where she continues to teach, perform, and co-create.

She is also the creator of “Welcome to Dystopia,” a longform improvisational format that reflects the human condition through humor and satire. This signature show has been performed nearly 80 times, both in Taiwan and internationally.

With 19 years of experience, Nisha wears many hats — she is an applied improvisation facilitator, improv coach, director, performer, and a practitioner of Playback Theatre. Her heartfelt, presence-based approach brings people together through the art of storytelling and spontaneous connection.

She received two years of professional Meisner Technique training, which deeply informs her improvisational work — encouraging actors to stay fully present, emotionally truthful, and responsive to their scene partners.

Her journey includes working as a children's English teacher at Hess Educational Organization, a program leader and performer at Children’s Theatre, and a performer with Lan Jué Theatre Troupe. She is often described as warm, attentive, and deeply engaging — both on and off stage.

She has collaborated with various organizations, including:

• Center for Applied Theatre, Taiwan (Community Theatre)
  
  

• Even Nearer Theatre (Playback Theatre)
  
  

• Fu Jen Catholic University (Forum Theatre in Bioethics courses)
  
  

• J.H. Educational Foundation (Educational Theatre)
  
  

Her international experience includes:

• Attending Playback Theatre gatherings in Germany and Singapore (2005, 2011)
  
  

• Training with improv master Keith Johnstone (Ten-Day Workshop, 2015)
  
  

• Performing and leading workshops at the Australian Improvisation Festivals (2016, 2018)
  
  

• Ongoing training and collaboration with Bay Area Theatresports in San Francisco (2012–2022)
  
  

• Performing at the Manila International Improv Festival directed by Jonathon Pitts (2023)
  
  

• Teaching and performing at the Singapore Improv Festival (2024)
  
  

• Participation in Germany’s Impro React Festival (2025)
  
  

In addition to theatre, Nisha has a strong grounding in psychology, with nearly 300 hours of psychodrama training and experience as a volunteer counselor at the Taipei Service Center.

For Nisha, theatre is not just about performance — it’s about creating spaces where people can see themselves and one another with greater honesty and care. She believes that every sincere moment of improvisation plants a small, gentle seed of change in the world.

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