By Jennifer K. Morita

June 17, 2026

Jessilee Windhaus has a problem — or so she jokes. 

It’s really more of a compulsion. 

The kind that drives her to establish a nonprofit arts collective. Or start a sketch comedy group immediately after finishing a tour with a traveling children’s theater company. 

And pull the trigger on a brick-and-mortar improv comedy theater in Old Sacramento because of a business incubator contest. 

“I love a challenge because I have problems,” Windhaus ‘13 (Theatre) said. “I was very excited to get to work learning the things I didn’t know, and so I was like, ‘Here we go.’”

Haus of Comedy offers live improv shows, adult classes, and team building activities in the renovated Eagle Theatre on the Old Sacramento Waterfront. But beyond the laughs, Sacramento’s only female and queer-owned comedy theater company provides a safe, inclusive space for people to find their voice, perform, and connect with others. 

“Sacramento is such a diverse place. It’s one of the beautiful things about our city, Windhaus said. “It’s really important that our community at Haus of Comedy is representative of all those populations. 

“It’s a challenge we’re always working towards.” 

What is improv? 

Improvisation is an unscripted form of theater that can be dramatic or comedic. 

Actors collaborate, working off each other’s spontaneous performances, to create something fleeting and in the moment. 

“It’s like a sport,” Windhaus said. “You have to practice the skills that are required to perform, rather than rehearse. And, just like a sport, on the day of a game, you hope that everything’s going to go well based on the skills you’ve practiced. 

“It’s sort of the red-headed stepchild of both the comedy community and the theater community, which is a real shame because I think it’s a beautiful and transformative art form.” 

But there’s more to improv than meets the eye. 

Studies show that improvisation skills are incredibly useful outside the theatrical world, including fields such as medicine, therapy, and even corporate settings. 

“I think what comes to mind the most is public speaking and confidence,” Windhaus said. “It’s also helpful in practicing pro-social skills. And the ability to collaborate, to take someone’s ideas and add to it, as well as listening, confidence boosting, being present, and mindful. Self expression. 

“I could go on and on. It’s very applicable to different settings in life.” 

Discovering theater 

Windhaus, who grew up in Orangevale, discovered theater and improv when she was about nine years old and “fell in love immediately.” 

“It’s always so cool when you’re doing something collaborative with a bunch of people and you spontaneously create something great,” she said.  

Although there weren’t very many improv opportunities for kids, Windhaus took whatever classes she could find and participated in an improv theater group while she was in college.

Sac State helped hone her acting chops while also teaching her all the aspects of running a theater and staging live performances. 

“I think there’s this stereotype or misconception of theater students as being very self-indulgent and perhaps lazy, but Theatre is an extremely challenging program because not only are you taking classes full-time, but the extracurricular demands are high,” she said. “You’re also in shows. You have to do shows in order to graduate.” 

After graduating from Sac State, Windhaus got a contract with a traveling children’s theater company which inspired her to start a sketch comedy group as soon as she returned to Sacramento. 

Members of That Plus Chips, which also branched into an improv group, wrote and produced over a hundred sketches. 

“It was such a fun experience, but it was also time-consuming,” Windhaus said. “And we also wanted to help people incubate their performing arts projects.” 

In 2016, Windhaus and Emily Perez founded Empire Arts Collective, a nonprofit providing resources, education, and collaborative opportunities to performing artists and groups in the Sacramento area.  

While she was there, Windhaus hatched ideas for Haus of Comedy. 

Calling All Dreamers 

In 2024, Windhaus applied for Calling All Dreamers, a business incubator program helping entrepreneurs develop business plans and financial projections to open storefronts in Downtown Sacramento. 

At the same time, she was also reaching out to Andy Sarouhan and Nick Armstrong, who would become her partners in Haus of Comedy. 

The six-month “boot camp” included workshops on marketing, human resources, financing, permitting, and pitching to investors. 

Her theater background and improv skills came in handy. 

“It’s always so cool when you’re doing something collaborative with a bunch of people and you spontaneously create something great." -- Jessilee Windhaus

“I’m no stranger to presenting, or memorizing, so I was just like, ‘Great. Let’s dust off the old skills,’” she said. 

Her pitch focused on how Haus of Comedy could help revitalize the struggling Downtown core, particularly Old Sacramento, where business had fallen since the pandemic. 

“Time and time again, it’s been shown that when you plop an arts business somewhere, it immediately starts feeding positively back into the economy,” Windhaus said. “We’re an experience-based business. When people come to us, they’re going to get coffee. They’re spending money on parking, maybe they’ll get a hotel or go to dinner. 

“People love entertainment.” 

It was more than a pitch for Windhaus, who also happens to love Old Sac. 

Not long after graduating from Sac State, she took a job at the Sacramento History Museum. Dressed in period costume and in character, she took visitors on underground tours of Old Sacramento, explaining how the streets and buildings were raised to protect the Gold Rush town from floods during the 1860s and 70s.  

“I got to know the history of Old Sacramento, and I just really fell in love with it,” Windhaus said. “I’m from here. I love Sacramento so much, and to be at the core of it, and to hear about the founding of our city from the earliest trials and tribulations was very cool.” 

Haus of Comedy was named a runner-up in the Calling All Dreamers contest, and was awarded $15,000 in prize money when Windhaus signed a lease for a site in Old Sac. When that lease fell through, she secured a spot in the Eagle Theatre, a reproduction of California’s first theater. 

The original structure, a wood frame and canvas topped by a tin roof, washed away three months after it was built in the flood of Jan. 4, 1850. 

Today the Eagle Theatre is part of California State Parks. 

“There’s definitely challenges to running a business there, like parking and the historic nature of the buildings,” Windhaus said. “But Old Sacramento is the lifeblood of our city. It’s the first spot tourists come to.” 

Wearing many hats 

Windhaus could probably teach a master class on multi-tasking. 

She was running Empire Arts Collective while working full-time as a project manager at UC Davis Health’s Early Psychosis Training and Technical Assistance Center overseeing a $27 million project that included 42 California counties. 

These days, she is the director for Sharks Barksley, the flagship improv team at Haus of Comedy that puts on shows every Saturday night. She also teaches improv, and performs while also serving as artistic director. 

When she’s not at the Eagle Theater, she’s across the way at the Sacramento History Museum where she conducts Underground tours again. 

“I take people by the Eagle Theatre on my tour because it’s part of the route,” Windhaus said. “It’s really cool to know the history of the theater, and then an hour later go there and do improv.”