Mission
Leela is a holistic improvisational theatre company and training center that strives to continue the great San Francisco improv legacy begun by Del Close and The Committee. Inspired by the ancient Sanskrit word, Leela was founded to create, support, and produce new original works while encompassing the art of improvisation. Every work created is based around Leela’s powerful mission of truthful, artistic play. Truthful: exploring the authentic truths of the artists involved on stage, Artistic: transforming these truths into compelling and accessible works of art, and Play: infusing the joy of childlike play into the process of the creation of these works.
Leela is deeply committed to collaboration and the development of the ensemble and strives to create a supportive, open, inclusive culture where a community of artists can grow together and take huge risks. We whole heartedly believe in a profound ensemble process where individuals can explore their truths and the power of group mind. For the more honest and genuine we can be, the greater the chance for an empathic exchange in a theatrical community.
History
Jill Mueller (now Jill Eickmann) and Christopher Eickmann founded Lila Theatre (now Leela) early February 2003. Fusing classic improvisational theories with their own theories of truthful, artistic play, Lila Theatre began offering its first Long-Form Improvisation class at Studio C in the Mission.
Shortly after, Lila Theatre cast its founding Resident Company and began performing sold out shows around the city. With a new community forming, Lila Theatre needed a permanent home to grow. So in July 2005 Lila Theatre moved into Stage 250 at the Off-Market Theaters in downtown San Francisco. Shortly after, Lila Theatre developed into a thriving company with a Resident Company, two Conservatory Programs, multiple classes, improv jams, and a ton of shows.
After a busy five years the founders decided to take a much needed break to recharge and refocus, ultimately leading to the decision to move the company out of the Off-Market Theaters. After a three year hiatus Lila Theatre reopened with the new name of Leela, returning to the ideals that the company was founded upon.
Timeline
2003 – Lila Theatre is founded by Jill Mueller (now Jill Eickmann) and Christopher Eickmann. The Lila Theatre Training Center begins offering long-form improvisation classes at Studio C in the Mission.
2004 – The first Resident Company is created and begins performing monthly sold out improv and sketch shows throughout San Francisco. Founding Resident Company members include: Michael Aho, Christopher Eickmann, Robert Hickling, Robin Honan, Casey Jackson, Jennifer Lucas, Stacy Malia, and Jill Mueller (now Jill Eickmann). Lila Theatre’s Monday night Long-Form Improvisation class is established. The Lila Theatre Resident Company performs at the San Francisco Fringe Festival.
2005 – The second Resident Company is formed and Lila Theatre moves into their new home, the Off-Market Theater/Stage 250 located at 965 Mission Street in the SoMa district of San Francisco. The Artist Way is added to the curriculum. Lila Theatre produces a new original sketch and improv show, Abbreviated Enlightenment.
2006 – The Conservatory Company is established, offering six month improv training programs in thematic and narrative long-form improvisation. Additional classes, the Harold Performance Lab and Roots of Improv are added to the curriculum. Temenos, a monthly Improv Jam is established. Leela collaborates with Dave Razowsky, the current Artistic Director of The Second City (LA) in creating The Razowskly Project.
2007 – How to Improvise a Full-Length Play; The Art of Spontaneous Theater, written by Lila Theatre Director Kenn Adams, is published by Allworth Press. Lila Theatre moves out of the Off-Market Theater/Stage 250.
2008-2009 – Lila Theatre goes on hiatus and restructures.
2010 – Lila Theatre changes its name to Leela and reopens. A new Resident Company is formed.
2011 – Leela’s monthly improv jam, ImprovLuv is established. Leela offers a series of Improv Intensives at the EXIT Theatre in San Francisco. Leela begins its new improv ensemble training/performing program, Performing Improv Ensembles (known as P.I.E.). The Resident Company performs at the San Francisco Improv Festival. Jill Eickmann (Artistic Director) becomes an Associate Producer for the San Francisco Improv Festival. A new monday night drop-in improv class, The Art of Improvisation begins in San Francisco while The Spirit of Play runs in the East Bay. Leela expands its digs into the Ninth Street Independent Film Center.
2012 – Leela signs a lease with Intersection for the Arts and moves into a new home at the SF Chronicle building. The Armando Company is formed featuring some of San Francisco’s best improvisors. Former Committee member and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Julie Payne makes a special appearance as “The Armando.” The Resident Company and Armando Company perform at the San Francisco Improv Festival. Artistic Director, Jill Eickmann, teaches a private improv class to cast members of Disney’s The Lion King – Broadway Tour.
2013 – Leela celebrates 10 years since it’s founding by launching a seven level improv training program. A second drop-in class, The Art of Improvisation is added on Thursdays to the weekly line up. Leela begins corporate improv training with Adobe, Google, and many others. Leela expands its digs into San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking.
2014 – Leela launches a new Musical Improv Program and a new annual women’s improv festival, Femprovisor Fest (in April). Leela expands the Performing Improv Ensemble program. Leela expands its digs into Kunst-stoff Arts.
2015 – Leela begins weekly Saturday night shows.
2016 – Leela’s weekly shows move to Stage Werx Theatre and a new Leela Training Center opens on the third floor of the SF Chronicle Building.
2017 – Leela adds Friday night shows to the weekly line up and moves into residency at the EXIT Theatre.
2018 – Leela celebrates 15 years since it’s founding and 5 years of Femprovisor Fest. Leela begins the Musical P.I.E. Program with Major Sixth.
2019 – Leela builds a new Training Center in the SF Chronicle Building.
2020 – Due to the pandemic Leela suspends all in-person events and begins offering online shows and classes.
2021 – In-person classes re-open in June.
2022 – In-person shows re-open at the EXIT Theatre.
2023 – Leela builds a new theater in the SF Chronicle Building and expands to the east coast – offering improv classes and corporate training in Raleigh, NC and throughout the triangle.
2024 – Leela begins offering Musical Improv courses in Raleigh. Christina Stoffan joins the Leela NC faculty.
2025 – Leela opens a second location at 309 N Boylan Ave in Raleigh, NC. Starts First Friday jams and offers weekly drop-in classes in Glenwood South.
Artists
Jill Eickmann, MA, LMFT
Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Jill Eickmann is an improviser, director, licensed psychotherapist, and educator whose work bridges theatrical craft and psychological depth. For over two decades, she has devoted her career to advancing improvisation as both an art form and a transformative relational practice.
As Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Leela Improv Theatre, Jill architected Leela’s seven-level curriculum and stewards its artistic standards and pedagogical philosophy. Her approach integrates long-form improvisation, drama therapy, ensemble training, and embodied presence into a rigorous yet deeply human practice. Under her leadership, Leela has become known for thoughtful, emotionally intelligent improv that balances playfulness with truth.
Jill leads Leela’s Corporate Programs, designing and facilitating experiential training for organizations seeking psychological safety, collaborative agility, and creative resilience. Drawing on her clinical training in counseling psychology and drama therapy, she applies improvised role play as what she calls “Rehearsal for Life” — a method that strengthens relational awareness through lived experience rather than theory alone. Corporate partners have included Adobe, The Clorox Company, IBM, Meta, Google, Levi Strauss & Co., LinkedIn, McKinsey & Company, Coinbase, Walmart, and YouTube.
A licensed psychotherapist and drama therapist, Jill has facilitated therapeutic and educational groups across diverse communities, including individuals navigating social anxiety, foster parents, artists, and executive leaders. Her work consistently explores the intersection of performance, vulnerability, consent, and connection.
As a director and performer, Jill has conceived original long-form formats that expand the possibilities of improvisation — from psychologically driven narrative structures to movement-based and hybrid theatrical forms. She has directed multiple resident ensembles and developed innovative approaches that integrate contact improvisation, playback theatre, self-revelatory performance, and ensemble experimentation. She has studied extensively in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco with leading teachers from Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, The Second City, iO Chicago, Annoyance Productions, and Magnet Theater, and has collaborated with notable improvisers across the country. She also customized a private improvisation program for cast members of The Lion King Broadway Tour.
Jill received her BFA in Theatre (Acting) from the University of Florida and her MA in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Drama Therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Her artistic mission is to elevate improvisation as a disciplined, connected, and courageous practice — one that awakens authenticity, strengthens relationships, and invites people to live and create with greater truth.
Christopher Eickmann, MFA
Co-Founder & CEO
Christopher Eickmann is a musician, producer, recording artist, and theatre leader devoted to one central idea: truthful artistic play transforms people — and when nurtured with care and vision, it can transform communities.
He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Leela Improv Theatre, where he has produced hundreds of original improvisational theatre productions in Raleigh and San Francisco and helped guide thousands of students through Leela’s curriculum. As Music Director, he designed Leela’s musical improv training and continues to steward the company’s long-term vision alongside his wife, Jill Eickmann, Leela’s Co-Founder and Artistic Director. Together, they have built Leela into a creative home for thoughtful adults seeking connection, courage, and authentic self-expression.
Christopher’s career in the entertainment industry spans more than 25 years and includes work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, national touring, and regional productions. He improvised music with Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) and Asad Mecci (MTV) on the international tour of Hyprov: Improv Under Hypnosis. In 2018, he received the “I Got Your Back Award” at the San Francisco Improv Festival — an honor reflecting his deep belief in ensemble, generosity, and shared success.
He produced the Grammy®-nominated album In Love and Longing and also produced and performed on Medicine Melodies: Songs the Healers Hear, released by Sounds True. His work bridges improvisation, contemplative sound, and cinematic composition, with a focus on emotional presence and sonic depth. Whether on stage or in the studio, his work centers listening — to story, to silence, and to the people in the room.
Christopher received his M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Writing from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. His artistic foundation integrates theatre, music, and contemplative practice; he holds a certificate in Sound, Voice, and Music Healing from the California Institute of Integral Studies and completed the Teacher Training Program at the Vox Mundi Project School of Sound & the Voice.
He began improvising theatre in 1996 as a member of Theatre Strike Force at the University of Florida and has studied with respected leaders in improvisation and music including Del Close, Mick Napier, Bobby McFerrin, Meredith Monk, David Worm, David Darling, Silvia Nakkach, Laura Hall, and Michael Pollock. He began improvising music in 1981 and has performed as a percussionist and pianist in symphony orchestras, pit orchestras, jazz bands, rock bands, and studio ensembles for over 25 years.
Christopher began his professional theatre career working as a technician for Walt Disney Entertainment at the Comedy Warehouse — an early experience that shaped his respect for craft, collaboration, and the invisible work that makes live performance feel effortless.
He is a member of ASCAP, the Dramatists Guild, IATSE, NARAS, and The Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL).
As CEO, he approaches leadership the way he approaches improvisation: with attention, courage, and trust in the ensemble. He believes creativity and enterprise can move together — that art, when built with integrity and long-term vision, can shape culture while sustaining a thriving life.
He has been improvising theatre since 1996 and improvising music since 1981, and remains inspired by what becomes possible when people truly listen and create together.
Leela means love. For Christopher, that is both philosophy and practice — and the foundation for everything he is building.
Nick Parker
Instructor
Nick Parker is a performer and instructor with over a decade of experience in improvisational theatre and live comedy. From 2011–2015, he trained and performed with the short-form ensemble Horrible Folks under the direction of Brian Dukes, developing a strong foundation in ensemble-based performance, disciplined listening, and grounded scene work. He currently performs with the short-form ensemble The Unnecessaries in Fayetteville, coached by Brian King.
In 2019, Nick expanded his practice into stand-up comedy, further refining his command of timing, presence, and direct audience engagement. His work is marked by clarity of point of view, confident adaptability, and bold choices rooted in emotional truth.
In addition to his performance work, Nick is a fitness coach who enjoys supporting people of all walks of life in reaching their personal and creative goals. He brings this holistic, process-driven perspective into the classroom, emphasizing presence, trust, and sustainable growth within an ensemble.
At Leela Improv Theatre, Nick co-hosts First Friday Jams, teaches Improv 1 and Thursday night drop-in classes, and performs regularly with fellow Leela faculty members on Leela stages and throughout the Triangle.
Christina Stoffan
Instructor
Christina Stoffan is a seasoned improviser, educator, and facilitator whose work bridges performance, personal growth, and professional development. She discovered her love for improv on stage with the Charles Darwin Experience while earning her BA in Theater Arts at the University of Arizona. Since then, Christina has trained, performed, and taught across major improv hubs including Phoenix and the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was also a cast member at Made Up Theatre.
Now based in the North Carolina Triangle, Christina performs with her teams Capital City Culture Club and C3 and joined the faculty of Leela Improv Theatre in Raleigh in 2024. She is known for creating smart, supportive, and high-energy learning environments that help students grow quickly and confidently.
Beyond the stage, Christina brings a strong background in facilitation and applied improv. She has worked with individuals navigating social anxiety and shyness, supported community-based training, and facilitated corporate improv workshops that strengthen communication, collaboration, and adaptability.
Christina embraces improv as a powerful tool to let loose, build genuine connection, explore character, and develop real-world skills—and she invites her students and clients to do the same.