Coonoor Behal
Washington Improv TheaterCoonoor Behal hails from Lima, Ohio and has been performing improv since she took a Washington Improv Theater class in 2011.
In addition to Love Onion, she has performed with indie troupe Press Play since 2012, including performances at the New York Improv Festival, Boston Comedy Arts Festival, LA Improv Festival, Chicago Improv Festival, and the Del Close Marathon. She also appears with Bombay Vindaloo, a show that improvises the artful craftsmanship of a Bollywood movie. Coonoor has studied at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and workshopped with Ian Roberts, Billy Merritt, Kevin Mullaney, Joe Bill, David Razowsky, and many others.
In her spare time, Coonoor ignores children and fawns over other people’s puppies. The two best things that have ever happened to her involved Mr. T and Coolio, separately. If you sit real close during a Harold show, you’ll probably smell the jitters-killing concoction of gin and Pepto Bismol on her breath.
In her spare time, Coonoor ignores children and fawns over other people’s puppies. The two best things that have ever happened to her involved Mr. T and Coolio, separately. If you sit real close during a Harold show, you’ll probably smell the jitters-killing concoction of gin and Pepto Bismol on her breath.
Coonoor Behal first learned about improv when she interned at Late Night with Conan O'Brien in college.
8 years later, she finally grew the cajones to take a class at Washington Improv Theater. A (healthy) addiction was born.
Coonoor loves teaching improv because she benefited from excellent, inspiring teachers and wants to try to do the same for others. Even in her work life, she tries to get people to take more risks in life and embrace change – just because it took her 8 years to do improv doesn’t mean it has to take you that long!
Coonoor has taught Level 1A and Level 1B at WIT and has TA’d for Harold. She’s a current member of WIT ensemble Love Onion. She also performs with indie team Press Play and is a founding member of Bombay Vindaloo, an ensemble that improvises a Bollywood movie in every show.
To manage pre-showcase jitters, Coonoor is happy to prescribe one shot of Pepto Bismol followed by a stiff gin and tonic.
Student feedback
“Coonoor has an amazing understanding of the art form and she conveys it with a lot of fun and passion”
“Conor gives fantastic feedback. She is good at giving constructive criticism without making you feel bad”
“Coonoor is amazing. She was very professional, took time to plan each class carefully, and gave us constructive notes and constant support. She is passionate about improv, comes with a lot of experience, is very creative, and has an intelligent sense of humor. She was a true inspiration!”
Coonoor Behal has been studying, performing, and/or teaching improv since 2011.
She holds an MA in International Affairs from the University of Chicago and a BA in Journalism from New York University. During her varied career, Coonoor has worked in international development for a DC-based NGO and in strategy consulting at Deloitte. While at Deloitte, Coonoor specialized in strategic innovation and design thinking, received advanced facilitation training, and designed and delivered workshops on innovation and collaboration that used the principles improv.
She is currently Founder & CEO of Mindhatch, through which she does business innovation consulting and creative facilitation.