SAM SHAW [director, heavy lifter for The Babcocks]  Sam Shaw is an improvisor, an actor, a director, and a writer (in that order). Raised at Oddfellows Playhouse in Middletown CT, educated at Wesleyan U., and trained through troupes with funny names like Gag Reflex, Renegade Duck, The Wild Rumpus, and Snafu, he devotes his life to pure performance improvisation. In 2002 & 2003 he produced visits by the Japanese power-quartet Yellow Man Group. As co-founder of The San Francisco Improv Co-Operative, he produced the 2004 & 2005 San Francisco Improv Festivals, numerous shows and workshops by visiting troupes and instructors, and the Monday Night Improv Jam, an open improv workout that is now in its fifth year. He currently performs improvised satire irregularly as The Sam Shaw Show.