Chapel Hill native and proud Carolina graduate, Zach Ward is the Founder and Executive Producer of DSI Comedy Theater and the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival. He has been performing and directing comedy professionally since 1993. Zach has received critical acclaim from the Chicago Reader and the Chicago Tribune for DUAL EXHAUST (Critic’s Choice, Highly Recommended, Top 10 “Most Influential Comedy Duos of the Past Decade”) and THE BEATBOX (Critic’s Choice, Best Bet). Zach continues to perform weekly at the DSI Comedy Theater.

Zach was asked to Chair the Carrboro Arts Committee in 2007, after graduating from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Leadership Program. He has been a featured guest on The Arts Spot with Jon Wilner and was presented with the Triangle Arts Award, shortly after accepting the New Business of the Year Award for DSI Comedy Theater from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce in 2006.

A coach and mentor for the improv community, Zach proudly serves on the Board of Directors for festivals and theaters around the country. He would love to have coffee and talk about DSI, the philosophy of improvisation, Sustainability and the impact Non-profit and For-profit Arts organizations have on the community and our economy.