Tyler Smith is an actor, improviser, writer, director, and producer.
Tyler started acting when he was seven years old. Through the years, he's acted in countless shows, ranging from musical theater to comedies to dramas to operas to television to film. He's performed at such theaters as the Kennedy Center, Pritzker Pavilion, Symphony Center, Annoyance, iO, The Playground, Hangar Theatre, Studio Theatre (DC), Round House Theatre (DC), Improvacadia (Bar Harbor, ME) and numerous others. He currently lives in Chicago, IL, where he studied improv at iO and attended workshops with Mick Napier, Susan Messing, and Mark Sutton.
He is also the co-founder and executive manager of Claymore Productions, producing improv shows, sketch shows, videos, and a television pilot. With Claymore, he performed in the Chicago Reader Recommended "The Free Improv Show (Admission $5)" at The Playground for four years. Claymore has also improvised at the Chicago Improv Festival, Del Close Marathon, Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, and the Toronto International Improv Festival.
Also under Claymore, Tyler co-founded and produces the critically-acclaimed sketch show "Exquisite Corpse," now entering its fourth year. "Exquisite Corpse" has produced 14 original sketch shows with Tyler contributing as performer, head writer, staff writer, and director. For "Exquisite Corpse," Tyler has helped produce several comedy videos. In 2011, "Exquisite Corpse" won the Christopher Wetzel Independent Short Comedy Film Award for the video "Tool T-Shirt," screening at the Gene Siskel Film Center at the Just for Laughs Festival. Tyler was the main producer on the video.
In 2013, Tyler was the main producer, performer, co-writer, and co-director for the "Exquisite Corpse" television pilot. The pilot would go on to be an official selection at the New York Television Festival, where Tyler and the three other creators (Peyton Brown, Brian Hurwitz, and Josh Segovia) would win the Best Actor Award for the entire festival.
To further cultivate his writing skills, Tyler is currently an MFA Screenwriting student at DePaul University. He is working on a short film for this Spring.