Ryder Tam is a tall palm tree from Honolulu, Hawaii. As a Chinese-American actor, improviser, comedian and occasional aerospace engineer, he has a passion for science, soccer, and all things nerdy. He is the co-artistic director at The Pack Theater in Hollywood, where he is the creator and producer of Science Night Live. He writes and performs sketch and improv weekly at Pack Theater, Ledge Theater, Westside Comedy, and The Glendale Room. He also created the sketch comedy channel TVunscripted, and the original shows Dungeons & Dragons Unscripted, and Everyone Dies at the End (improvised film noir).

He headlined the Detroit Improv Festival and Trill Comedy Festival (Houston), and has performed internationally at Improfest Sweden and Improv Fest Ireland. Ryder has taught improv for Rise Comedy, Bird City Improv, Cornerstone Improv, Neighborhood Comedy Theater and 3E’s Comedy. He is a graduate of Upright Citizens Brigade, The Groundlings (improv), iO Chicago, and Rise Comedy.

Education:
Ryder holds a Masters in Business Administration from University of Colorado, where he also earned a BS in Honors Mechanical Engineering. He graduated summa cum laude while minoring in aerospace engineering, applied mathematics, and theatre.

He also competed on the track and cross country teams, representing UCCS at the National XC Championships. He was the first men’s cross country athlete in school history to earn NCAA DII Academic All American honors, and was selected as the RMAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.

Work:
Prior to pursuing comedy, Ryder worked for Lockheed Martin as a Senior Guidance Navigation and Control Engineer. He launched three satellites of the AEHF MILSTAR constellation, and supported the U.S. Space Force as a contractor specializing in satellite collision avoidance, repositioning, and orbit analytics. Fun fact: there is a polaroid picture of him in space ;).