Aaron Merke

INSTRUCTOR: AARON MERKE

WORKSHOP: DEAD RECKONING – IMPROV DIAGNOSTIC MERK-SHOP

Aaron Merke started his career training under Del Close in Chicago — the same man who shaped the long-form tradition that now runs through virtually every serious improv school in North America. He performed at Second City Toronto tour Co. at 21. He served as a manager in the early years of People Improv Theater in New York City. He appeared on MuchMusic’s Video on Trial and hosted his own show, LOL. He is an ACTRA award winner and the co-founder of Royal Awesome Productions, a production company he runs with his creative partner Lauren Cochrane.

On screen, he plays the main villain Francis Zelk in Tubi’s Safehaven — and designed all creature designs and makeup FX for the show. He can be seen as Lewis Wilkes in the feature film Psycho Killer, he can also be seen in season one on Little House on the Prairie. He also appears as Clint in the upcoming Jon Hamm series American Hostage debuting Sept 20 and at TIFF. He specializes in improv, Comedy, Acting on Film and makeup FX character transformation. The throughline in all of it is a belief that the most interesting work happens when a performer is willing to be specific, to be honest, and to take the craft seriously without taking themselves too seriously.

Through MERK-SHOP, Aaron teaches comedy, improv, and character work to performers who want to grow with intention. His approach is direct, and grounded in the same principles he has applied throughout his own career — not theory about what good performance looks like, but practical tools for understanding what you actually do when you can be yourself and the artist at the same time.