Ophelia's Rope
Longest performing improv duo in Houston, TX
Who We Are
Our Show
Ophelia’s Rope started in 2012 and is the longest performing improv duo in Houston. This two-person long form improv group takes its inspiration from you. That’s right, you. A typical show is kicked off by Ophelia’s Rope asking its audience one or two random questions, proceeding to morph the answers into a setting, plot, and duo of unexpected, and sometimes quirky, characters. With no story predicted, no ending forecasted, Ophelia’s Rope wanders the worlds of imagination, coloring surprising scenes their audiences inspired.
Our Background
Ophelia’s Rope comes backed with extensive experience in theatre, improv, dancing, singing, TV and film, and athleticism. Members Autumn Clack majored in Acting at Adelphi University in New York, and coupled it with a minor in Dance, emphasis on ballet and modern styles. After, she attended London Dramatic Academy where she dove deep within the world of Shakespeare. Additionally, Clack has acquired skills in stage combat, pointe dance, aerial, dialect detection, and choreography, making her a multi-threat onstage- especially while next to Ruth McCleskey, a very suitable improv partner, indeed. Ruth McCleskey graduated magna cum laude at the University of Houston, where she scored her BA in Theatre, emphasis on Acting and Directing. Since, she has continued learning in the fields of acting, improv, stage combat, TV and film production, and dancing in the forms of two-step, swing, tango, waltz, plus several more. The ladies of Ophelia’s Rope improv journey started in 2005 when they joined Massive Improv. There they participated on multiple teams, taking them to Austin, Chicago, San Francisco. Eventually, though, both Clack and McCleskey drifted from Massive Improv and it wasn’t until some time later that both heard the stage beckoning them to return to improv. And thus, Ophelia’s Rope was born! The team has performed in the Houston Improv Festival, the Austin Out of Bounds Festival, ComedySportz, Boston Comedy Arts Festival, Chicago Improv Festival, The Trill Festival, The Count Down Festival, The Balitmore Improv Festival, The Del Close Marathon and The PIT in NY.