The Team

I love telling stories. I don’t love writing about me. So here’s the highlights: I’m proud to have some awards for directing and screenwriting. I earned an M.A. in English and an M.F.A. in Screenwriting, and I’m the founder of Crux Jinx Productions, LLC in San Francisco, CA.

I hail from the Midwest, but when I arrived in the Bay Area, my dreams of making films came true. And I’m really proud to be a co-founder of the Bay Area Film Mixer, which allows filmmakers from all over the Bay to network and create a tighter community of like-minded film professionals.

Drop me a note and say hello any time. We midwesterners love that stuff!

Marcus Sams is a multifaceted Entrepreneur, Business Owner, Community Organizer, Producer, Film and Stage Actor, Improviser, and full time teacher of Improvisation. He has a B.A. in Theatre Arts from California State University, Chico, along with a minor in Business Administration. Marcus is also the current Artistic Director of the San Francisco Improv Festival, has performed in over 65+ national improv festivals, and is the co-founder of the Bay Area Film Mixer.

He oversees and executes every aspect of Moment Improv Theatre including: Business Development, B2B Partnerships , Social Media, Marketing, Accounting, Show Production, Team Management and Coordination, Curriculum Development, Workshop Facilitation, as well as Performance.

Before starting Moment Improv Theatre, Marcus worked in the IT field for two companies that performed onsite IT work for companies with broadly diverse company cultures. By working in these environments he gained key insights into what makes teams in our workforce today work well. He has taught improv all across the country at improv festivals, universities, and at other theatre companies. He has taught team building workshops at Hass School of Business, Google, Netflix, eBay, Electronic Arts, and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts along with many more and the client list continues to grow with glowing reviews.

Marcus believes that improv skills are life skills and that life skills are business skills. His approach to corporate training is to explore improv exercises with a group and together, discover what makes these highly fun and engaging games work. By examining the required skills for success and noticing what we as individuals are coming into the room with, we quickly begin to draw parallels to various work routines and our relationships with co-workers. Lessons are gleamed and discussed in an interactive and positive manner, revealing profound and transformative lessons that are lasting.

Josh Rickert is a sound engineer, music producer, filmmaker, digital artist, and software engineer who has been a collaborator with the Bay Area Film Mixer since 2015. He spends his time creating films with Crux Jinx Productions, creating immersive art experiences with Synaesthesia Collective, running an independent media and technology consultancy, and producing and performing music as Toefood.