How does Ben Schwartz and friends get an audience of 3,500+ people to pay $60+ to see a show, but my local Chicago improv theaters can’t get 30 people to spend $10 to see a show?

Clearly people enjoy the art form, why can’t we turn it into regular audiences at our theaters?

Ben Schwartz is touring, but no site lists who the co performers are. Can anyone who has seen the show say the location and who was there?

I was at the Milwaukee, WI show last night, but missed the intro of everyone's names! Such a fun night though, and I'd like to know more about the other actors.

There are multiple theaters in my city and the most popular/biggest one is known to have an owner who yells at performers, sidelines affinity teams, bans people for performing at other theaters, etc.

Unfortunately, this is an open secret and folks keep performing there because it’s the biggest theater in town rather than supporting other, smaller theaters. It’s also not particularly high quality in terms of training or shows.

Do you have any experiences with this in your city? Thoughts on how to shift the culture?

Hey everyone! I'm heading down from Vancouver to the Bay Area for a work trip on October 26-29 (specifically Walnut Creek).

Anyone have some show/jam recs to see that would be easy to get to via public transit? I don't know which nights I'll have free but would love to see a show while I'm there or join a jam!

See above and comment below to be included

So I love singing, and can sing well, I also love the idea of improvising a song.
I came across the improvised music stuff on Dropout, which is pretty much what I'm looking to improve in.
Realistically this isn't going to be all about singing I know, I just don't know how to improve my general like improv skills so I can create these stories and lyrics on the spot?

Any tips are welcome lol

I'm brand new to improv and am looking for a group. At this point it could be online. I just want to do improv. I don't have friends I could do it with. Where is a good starting place. I checked my town, not much here. What do you guys suggest?​

TONIGHT AT 8PM - SIDE QUEST IMPROV hits the stage at Comedy Bar Bloor. Come on out and see what journey Madelyn Gragasin, Sarah Jenkins, Greg Langstaff, Ian Mills, Tim J Noble, Sam Nowicki, Jim Schaming, Karen Scora and Adrian Yasay take us on next!!

Opening tonight is the hot troupe from Studio Mondays at Comedy Bar - Danforth; Insufferable Spiritual Retreat!!!

Tickets: https://comedybar.ca/shows/side-quest-improv

I've only ever been through or taught at theaters that advance everyone, regardless of ability or how much they're grasping the tenets of improv. I've often wondered what it's like in programs that don't advance everyone, eg, Groundlings. Is it always or even mostly the case that people who advance are necessarily "good" at improv? Have you ever seen people who suck get advanced? Is there more at play like appealing to a certain teacher, being in an 'in' group, personal feelings that get people advanced or denied sometimes? Have you ever been denied to advance a level? Did you think it was fair?

I'm an improv enthusiast from baton rouge and I've previously been part of local improv theater for about two years, taking classes and performing with a house team.

I've now been trying to start a discord-based group to perform improvised audio shows over the internet, and I've made a post here to recruit. The few people I've recruited from that seem to be having scheduling issues with actually organizing a practice.

What other venues could I pursue to try and attract improvers to this project?

I've been thinking about starting an English-language improv and acting group in Rome and wanted to see if anyone would be interested in participating or collaborating with me.

I'm an English teacher with an advanced acting certificate, and some comedy-writing experience.

I've recently become particularly interested in improv (I love groups like Shoot From The Hip!) and really miss the acting exercises we used to do in acting classes.

The idea is to meet once a week for a couple of hours to play improv games, improvise or recreate scenes and practise acting together, all in English.

It could be a fun way to meet other internationals, practice English, rediscover a passion for acting, try improv for the first time or simply have fun with like-minded people without committing to formal acting classes.

Eventually, I'd love to build a regular improv or theatre group with people who want to take things further!

I'm also considering inviting an experienced improv coach so if you're an improv performer or coach interested in collaborating, let me know!

There would be a small participation fee to cover expenses.

For now, I'm just trying to see if there's enough interest to get started. I'd love to hear your thoughts! 😊

Improv history deep dive with a Chicago South Side perspective.

Does anyone know of any videos of teams performing the 4track? I want to learn more about it before buying Christian Capozzoli's book and the descriptions I've found online haven't been to elaborative for me.

I’m an improviser and sketch comedian who wants to combine those two skills into a local variety show. I already have an in with bands to bring on as musical guests, and a location willing to put us up. But before I pull the trigger on anything I was hoping to get some tips and advice from people who have done similar things. I know this is a big undertaking, but I’m worried that I’m underestimating how big it might be.

If you’ve ever done anything like this and would like to share some wisdom, I would very much appreciate it.

Sou do estado do Paraná, no Brasil. Aqui só vejo postagem em inglês, queria saber se há outros colegas brasileiros por aqui também.

Obs: eu falo inglês, não é um problema, até porque há o tradutor. Rsrsrs

Hi! Going to see Ben Schwartz in Chicago and was wondering if anyone who has seen a show on this current tour could share what the question/prompt was to solicit audience stories. Thanks!

I've been improvising for 10 years, so now I'm curating an extensive list of every improv warm up game I've ever played: Zip Zap Zap, Crazy 8's, Zoom Schwartz Profigliano, Mind Meld, and even more.
While I already have an extensive list with at least 10-20 or more warm up games (haven't counted them yet), I thought, "What better way to get a sense of the total number of improv warm up games out there than to ask r/improv what warm up games they've play (accompanied with a brief explanation if you'd like to include it)". It truly amazes me how many different improv warm up games exist.
Comment with a warm up game (possibly with a short explanation), and I'll tell you if I've encountered it before.

Update: Someone asked for my current list of warm-up games, so here it is:

Big Booty, Hitch Hiker, Czechoslovakia Boom Sha-Boom, Mirrors, Zip Zap Zop, Da Doo Doo, Hot Spot, Mind Meld, Zoom Schwartz Profigliano, Bunny Ears Hop, Bunny Bunny, Categories, 5 Things, Preacher's Cat, Kitty Cat Careers, Crazy 8's, Bop (Bibbity Bibbity Bop), One Word Story, One Sentence Story, Giants Wizards and Elves, I Am A Tree, Woosh, Pass the Clap, Rock Paper Scissors Championship, Two Person Scenes, Three Line Scenes, Look Up, Killer Wink, Bad Rap, Beastie Rap, Fred Schneider, Robot Scenes, Anyone Who, and Tape Ball.

Hey everyone,

I'm brand new to improv - looking into taking classes to challenge myself to try something new, be less self-conscious, and make new friends. I'm currently trying to decide between Level 1 Improv at IO or The Revival in South Loop.

Class prices look to be more or less the same except The Revival's classes are a bit shorter in length and overall "semester". The Revival is an easier commute but I want to get the most out of the $$ I'm spending.

Would love to hear any experiences from folks who have take classes at The Revival, specifically thoughts on:

- instructor quality

- techniques

- class demographics (I'm in my early 30s)

- if you felt it was worth it or not (and any alternate recommendations)

Sometimes I’m on the sideline and realize the two folks on stage just are not finding anything funny and it’s dragging. My instinct is to let them keep going until they find it, but my rational brain says sweep it to relieve them and the audience of their misery. I’m especially motivated lately because I’ve had some shows where we get the blackout and I think “dang that’s 20 minutes already? Our scenes were way too long.“

Is there a less awkward way to mercy-sweep a scene?