About Deana

Creative Consultant | Applied Improv Specialist | Disability Advocate

Everyone can play. Everyone should play.

Harnessing the power of play to create fun, interactive and meaningful training sessions for groups of all sizes. From individual public speaking coaching to group play sessions, I deliver corporate and school-based training sessions that help your team reach its full potential.

I also offer special rates and custom sessions for neuro-diverse and physically diverse populations. My experience with all ages in the special education setting combined with my years in the corporate and k-12 worlds help me create transformative experiences for participants, staff and family care providers.

Reach out so we can work together to create the perfect solution for you and your team!

More about Deana

Deana Criess has been a professional improviser for more than 20 years. A master instructor, director, and performer, Deana has done shows and workshops at festivals, theaters, colleges, and Fortune 500 companies all over the country. Deana’s work has been featured on PBS, NPR, KBS (the Korean Broadcasting System), The Boston Globe, CNN, and Slate.com. She is the founder and former Director of IBCreative, where she created training programs for corporate and academic settings. She has worked with hundreds of corporate clients including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Intel, Novartis, Moderna, Procter & Gamble, Ocean Spray, and many more. Her academic work ranges from pre-K through post-grad programs including work at Harvard School of Business, MIT Sloan, Northeastern, Emerson, Berklee School of Music, Boston University, Boston College, and others. She also has extensive nonprofit experience including her wellness workshops at Childrens’ Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, her programs for dementia patients and their caregivers, and her current work at Perkins School for the Blind. 

During her years in comedy, she has worked with some amazing artists including Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons), Laura Hall (Whose Line Is It Anyway), Kevin McDonald (The Kids In The Hall), Shantira Jackson (SNL), Lauren Ash (Superstore), Ryan Stiles (Whose Line Is It Anyway), Eric Drysdale (Full Frontal), Jen Kirkman (Drunk History), Janeane Garofalo (Wet Hot American Summer), Dave Razowsky (The Second City), Faith Soloway (Transparent), Josh Gondelman (Desus & Mero), Richie Moriarty (Ghosts), Anthony Atamanuik (What We Do in the Shadows) and many more. 

She currently tours with The Witches Of, a character-based trio with San Francisco’s Diana Brown, and Betse Greene of Portland, Oregon. She also directs and performs with NightWingz, a completely improvised musical, completely in the dark.

Deana is currently the Senior Organizational Development Specialist at Perkins School for the Blind. There, she uses applied improvisation to help staff and students unlock their full potential.