List of improvisational theatre companies

An improvisational comedy group performing onstage.

Improvisational theatre companies, also known as improv troupes or improv groups, are the primary practitioners of improvisational theater. Modern companies exist around the world and at a range of skill levels. Most groups make little or no money, while a few, well-established groups are profitable.

Although improvisational theater has existed in some form or another since the 16th century,^[1] modern improv began with the teachings of Viola Spolin in Chicago, Illinois, USA and Keith Johnstone during the 1940-50s in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.^[2][3] Spolin's teachings led to the creation of The Compass Players, the first modern improvisational theater company, in 1955. The presence of The Compass Players, The Second City, and ImprovOlympic in Chicago created a strength in the form within the city that continues to this day.^[4] New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Toronto are other major hubs of improvisational theater in the North America.

Many companies host improvisational theatre festivals or give improvisational theatre classes. Professional groups often perform a regular stage show acted by the most senior members. Along with this, they host "house" improv teams made up of improv students or graduates from their classes. In the past decade, professional improvisational theater groups have gradually started working more with corporate clients, using improvisational games to improve productivity and communication in the workplace.

Major Professional companies have branches in more than one city, have touring groups, and/or host large-scale improvisational comedy schools. Professional troupes are those not affiliated with a university or secondary school. Collegiate groups are those associated with a post-secondary educational institution. If a company performs more than one type of improvisational comedy, they are defined as using Multiple improvisational comedy types. If it is unclear what particular kind of improvisational comedy a group performs, they are defined as Improvisational. Those marked Semi-improvisational generally perform shows that are partially improvised and partially scripted.

The following is a list of noteworthy improvisational theatre companies^{[nb 1]} from around the world.

Improvisational theatre companies in Canada

Name	Group Level	Improv Type	Location	Date Established	Reference
The Bad Dog Theatre Company	Professional	Multiple	Toronto, Ontario	2003	[5]
Die-Nasty	Professional	Television	Edmonton, Alberta	1991	[6]
Ligue nationale d'improvisation	Professional	Improvisational	Quebec	1977
Loose Moose Theatre	Major Professional	Theatresports	Calgary, Alberta	1977	[7]
Montreal Improv Theatre	Professional	Improvisational	Montreal, Quebec	2007	[8]
Projectproject	Professional	Improvisational	Toronto, Ontario	2007	[9]
Rapid Fire Theatre	Professional	Theatresports	Edmonton, Alberta	1982
GRIMprov	Semi-Professional	Improvisational	Ottawa, Ontario	2011	[10]
Staircase Improv	Professional	Improvisational	Hamilton, Ontario	1997	[11]
Theatre on the Edge	Professional	Improvisational	Waterloo, Ontario	1981	[12]
Vancouver Theatresports League	Professional	Theatresports	Vancouver	1980

Improvisational theatre companies in the United States

Name	Group Level	Improv Type	Location	Date Established	Reference
ACME Comedy Theatre	Professional	Theatresports	Los Angeles, California	1989	[13]
American Improv Theatre	Professional	Long-form, Musicals	San Jose, California	2015	[14]
Awkward Compliment	Professional	Improvisational	Somerville, Massachusetts	2010	[15]
The Annoyance Theatre	Professional	Improvisational	Chicago, Illinois	1987
Arcade Comedy Theater	Professional	Multiple	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	2013	[16]
Atlas Improv Co.	Professional	Multiple	Madison, Wisconsin	2004	[17]
Baltimore Improv Group	Professional	Multiple	Baltimore, Maryland	2004	[18]
Bay Cities Improv Company	Professional	Shortform	Mobile, Alabama	2013
BATS Improv	Major Professional	Theatresports	San Francisco, California	1986
The Bent Theatre	Professional	Multiple	Charlottesville, Virginia	2004	[19]
Black Sheep Improv	Collegiate	Long-Form	Athens, Ohio	2007	[20]
Bovine Metropolis Theater	Professional	Multiple	Denver, Colorado	1998	[21]
The Brave New Workshop Comedy Theatre	Professional	Multiple	Minneapolis, Minnesota	1958	[22]
Carolina Improv Company	Professional	Multiple	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	2008	[23]
Charm City Comedy Project	Professional	Multiple	Baltimore, Maryland	2014	[24]
CHiPs Improv	Collegiate	Multiple	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	1995
Coalition Theater	Professional	Multiple	Richmond, Virginia	2009	[25]
Columbus Unscripted	Professional	Improvisational	Columbus, Ohio	2006	[26]
ComedyCity	Professional	Shortform	Green Bay, Wisconsin	1987	[27]
Comedy Corner	Collegiate	Multiple	Tucson, Arizona	1979
Commedus Interruptus	Collegiate	Multiple	Los Angeles, California	1989	[28]
ComedySportz	Major Professional	Shortform	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	1984	[29]
Compass Players	Professional	Cabaret	Chicago, Illinois	1955*	[30]
The Crazy Monkeys	Collegiate	Shortform	West Lafayette, Indiana	1988	[31]
Dad's Garage Theatre Company	Professional	Multiple	Atlanta, Georgia	1995	[32]
Defiant Monkey Improv	Professional	Short-form	Buffalo, NY	2009	[33]
The Denials	The Overtime Theater	Short-form	San Antonio, Texas	2009	[34]
The Diggers	Professional	Guerrilla	San Francisco, California	1966*	[35]
Endgames Improv	Professional	Long-Form	San Francisco, California	2010	[36]
Erasable Inc.	Collegiate	Improvisational	College Park, Maryland	1986	[37]
Face Off Unlimited	Professional	Multiple	New York City, New York	2003	[38]
False Profits Comedy	Collegiate	Multiple	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	2013	[39]
The First Time Offenders	Collegiate	Multiple	San Antonio, TX	2008	[40]
The Focus Group	Professional	Long-form	Bangor, Maine	2009
Freudian Slip	Collegiate	Improvisational	College Station, TX	1994
Friday Night Improvs	Collegiate	Improv Jam	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	1989
Full Frontal Nudity	Professional	Multiple	Columbus, Ohio	1993
Good On Paper	Professional	Short-form	Traverse City, MI	2010	[41]
Groundlings	Major Professional	Semi-improvisational	Los Angeles, California	1974
HUGE Theater	Professional	Long-form	Minneapolis, Minnesota	2005	[42]
The Immediate Gratification Players	Collegiate	Long-form	Cambridge, Massachusetts	1986	[43]
ImprovOlympic	Major Professional	the Harold	Chicago, Illinois	1980	[44]
Improv Asylum	Major Professional	Semi-improvisational	Boston, Massachusetts	1998	[45]
ImprovBoston	Major Professional	Multiple	Cambridge, Massachusetts	1982	[46]
Improv Everywhere	Professional	Guerrilla	New York City, New York	2001	[47]
Improv Hawaii	Professional	Multiple	Honolulu, Hawaii	2012	[48]
Improvhi	Professional	Multiple	Honolulu, Hawaii	2012	[48]
Improv Institute	Professional	Improvisational	Chicago, Illinois	1983*
The Improv Shop	Professional	Improvisational	Saint Louis, Missouri	2009	[49]
In Between The Lines Comedy Improv Troupe	Collegiate	Shortform	Rochester, New York	1999	[50]
Jet City Improv	Professional	Multiple	Seattle, Washington	1992	[51]
Just Add Water	Collegiate	Improvisational	New Haven, Connecticut	1986	[52]
Just The Funny	Professional	Multiple	Miami, Florida	1999	[53]
Laughing Matters	Professional	Shortform	Atlanta, Georgia	1985	[54]
Lee County Flannel Club	Collegiate	Shortform	Auburn, Alabama	2011	[55]
Leela	Professional	Multiple	San Francisco, California	2003	[56]
The Lobby	Professional	Shortform	Fullerton, California	2005	[57]
Madcap Theater	Professional	Shortform	Westminster, Colorado	2006	[58]
Magnet Theater	Major Professional	Long-Form	New York City, New York	2005	[59]
Monkey Business Institute	Professional	Shortform	Madison, Wisconsin	2004	[60]
My Mother's Fleabag	Collegiate	Short-form	Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	1980	[61]
The N Crowd	Professional	Shortform	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	2005	[62]
The National Comedy Theatre	Major Professional	Shortform	San Diego, California		[63]
On Thin Ice	Collegiate	Shortform	Cambridge, Massachusetts	1984	[64]
Peoples Improv Theater	Major Professional	Multiple	New York City, New York	2002	[65]
Philly Improv Theater (PHIT)	Major Professional	Multiple	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	2005	[66]
The Playground	Professional	Long-form	Chicago, Illinois	1997
Providence Improv Guild	Professional	Multiple	Providence, Rhode Island	2013	[67]
The Purple Crayon of Yale	Collegiate	Long-form	New Haven, Connecticut	1985	[68]
Sacramento Comedy Spot	Major Professional	Multiple	Sacramento, California	2004	[69][70][71]
SAK Comedy Lab	Professional	Multiple	Orlando, Florida	1991	[72]
The San Francisco Improv Alliance	Professional	Multiple	San Francisco, California	2005
The San Francisco Improv Co-Operative	Professional	Multiple	San Francisco, California	2000
San Francisco Improv Collective	Professional	Multiple	San Francisco, California	2013	[73]
Sea Tea Improv	Professional	Multiple	Hartford, Connecticut	2009	[74]
The Second City	Major Professional	Semi-improvisational	Chicago, Illinois	1959	[75][76]
Second Nature Improv	Collegiate	Long-form	Los Angeles, California	2002
SEE Saw Comedy	Professional	Multiple	Sayville, NY	2006	[77]
Sick Puppies Comedy	Professional	Multiple	Boca Raton, Florida	2012	[78]
Silverbacks Improv Theatre	Professional	Multiple	Lafayette, Louisiana	2012	[79]
State Theatre Improv Fun Force	Professional	Multiple	Eustis, FL	2015	[80]
Starla and Sons	Collegiate	Longform	Providence, Rhode Island	2006	[81]
Steel City Improv Theater	Professional	Longform	Pittsburgh, PA	2010	[82]
Syracuse Improv Collective	Professional	Multiple	Syracuse, New York	2011	[83][84]
Theatre Strike Force	Collegiate	Multiple	Gainesville, Florida	1989	[85]
Tucson Improv Movement	Professional	Multiple	Tucson, Arizona	2012	[86]
The National Comedy Theatre	Professional	Multiple	Phoenix, Arizona	2007	[87]
Unexpected Company	Professional	Long-form	Warwick, Rhode Island	2003	[88]
Unexpected Productions	Professional	Theatresports	Seattle, Washington	1983	[89]
Under the Gun Theater	Professional	Multiple	Chicago, Illinois	2014	[90]
The Un-Scripted Theater Company	Professional	Multiple	San Francisco, California	2002
Upright Citizens Brigade	Major Professional	Multiple	New York City, New York	1999
Vaudeville Performing Arts (Vaudeville Central Florida)	Professional	Short Form/Improvisational	Orlando, Florida	2015	[91][92]
Washington Improv Theater	Major Professional	Long-form	Washington, DC	1995	[93]
Whole World Theatre	Professional	Shortform	Atlanta, Georgia	1994	[94]
Wing-It Productions	Professional	Multiple	Seattle, Washington	1992	[51]
The Yale Ex!t Players	Collegiate	Short-form	New Haven, Connecticut	1984	[95]
WHIP Comedy Improv	Collegiate	Multiple	Westfield, Massachusetts	2012	[96]

*This group is no longer performing.

Improvisational theatre companies in the United Kingdom

Name		Group Level	Improv Type	Location	Date Established	Reference
The Comedy Store Players		Professional	Improvisational	London, England	1985
Spontaneous Theatre Company		Professional	Improvisational	Bristol, England	2013		Shoot From The Hip!		Professional	Multiple	London, England	2011	[97]
Men With Coconuts		Professional	Multiple	Edinburgh, Scotland	2013	[98]
Improverts		Collegiate	Theatresports	Edinburgh, Scotland	1989
The Oxford Imps		Semi-Professional	Improvisational	Oxford, England	2003	[99]
Showstoppers		Professional	Musical Theatre	London, England	2008	[100]
The Shrimps		Collegiate	Shortform	Sheffield, England	2006	[101]
The Suggestibles		Professional	Improvisational	Newcastle upon Tyne, England	2001	[102]
Shellshock!		Collegiate	Multiple	Durham, England	2002	[103]
Hoopla		Professional	Multiple	London, England	2006
Music Box		Professional	Longform	London, England	2009
Do Not Adjust Your Stage		Professional	Longform	London, England	2010	[104]
The Spontaneity Shop		Professional	Multiple	London, England	1996
The Antics		Collegiate	Shortform	Sheffield, England	2008	[105]
The Maydays		Professional	Longform	Brighton, England	2003	[106]
To Be Continued...		Professional	Multiple	Edinburgh, Scotland	2009	[107]
Upstairs Downton		Professional	Longform	London, England	2012	[108]
CSz Manchester...		Professional	Multiple	Manchester, England	2001	[109]
Monkey Toast		Professional	Multiple	London, England	2013	[110]
The Free Association		Professional	Multiple	London, England	2014
The Nursery		Professional	Multiple	London, England	2011
Austentatious		Professional	Longform	London, England	2011
Mischief Theatre		Professional	Multiple	London, England	2008
The School of Night		Professional	Esoteric / Poetic	London, England	2005	Ken Campbell#The School of Night

Improvisational theatre companies in Australia

Name	Group Level	Improv Type	Location	Date Established	Reference
The Sherbet Underground Improv Theatre	Amateur	Longform	Brisbane, Queensland	2009	[111]
ImproMafia	Amateur	Multiple	Brisbane, Queensland	2004	[112]
Edge Improv	Amateur	Multiple	Brisbane, Queensland	2001	[113]
Improvactually	Amateur	Longform	Sydney, New South Wales	2009	[114]
Ivan Chew - Improv Your Life	Professional	Multiple	Sydney, New South Wales	2011	[115][116][117][118][119]

Improvisational theatre companies in other countries

Name	Group Level	Improv Type	Location	Date Established	Reference
Stranger Things Have Happened	Professional	Multiple	Groningen, Netherlands	2009	[120]
Boom Chicago	Professional	Multiple	Amsterdam, Netherlands	1993	[121]
Impromptu	Professional	Long-form	Amsterdam, Netherlands	2002	[122]
IGLU Theatre	Professional	Multiple	Ljubljana, Slovenia	2013	[123]
Narobov	Professional	Theatresports	Ljubljana, Slovenia	2004
Tokyo Comedy Store	Professional	Multiple	Tokyo, Japan	1994	[124]
ImproBeirut	Professional	Multiple	Beirut, Lebanon	2008	[125]
Improvtheater - Israel	Professional	Longform	Tel-Aviv, Israel	2009	[126]
Foxy Freestyle	Professional	Longform	Berlin, Germany	2007	[127]
Impro Brasil	Professional	Shortform	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	2013	[128]
Théâtre de l'Oignon	Professional	Multiple	Strasbourg, France	2003	[129]
Kinengkoy Comedy Express	Professional	Short & Longform	Bacolod, Philippines	2000	[130]
Os Improváveis	Professional	Multiple	Lisboa, Portugal	2008	[131]
Instantâneos	Professional	Multiple	Lisboa, Portugal	2011	[132]
KurzFormChaos	Amateur	Multiple	Darmstadt, Germany	2010	[133]
Zigzag Improv Geneva	Amateur	Multiple	Geneva, Switzerland	2010	[134]

See also

• Commedia dell'arte
• List of comedians
• List of improvisational theater festivals

Notes

1. A company is presumed noteworthy if it has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the company and satisfies the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article.

External links

• improv groups worldwide

References

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