Schools & Theaters

Del Close and Charna Halpern's laboratory for long-form — the birthplace of the Harold and the pipeline that fed UCB and SNL for three decades.

The Chicago long-form institution Del Close and Charna Halpern co-founded in 1981 around a single idea: that improvised scenes could add up to a full evening of theater. Home of the Harold. Where Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, and most of American comedy trained.

Keith Johnstone's Calgary theater — where Theatresports was invented in 1978 and where improvisers from six continents trained at the International Improvisation Summer School 1988-2019.

Mick Napier's Chicago theater — founded 1987 as Metraform — whose 'Individually Powerful' philosophy became the explicit counter-argument to polite Yes-And improv.

Gary Austin's 1974 LA training company — the single most reliable feeder to Saturday Night Live's West Coast pipeline for 50 years.

Founded 1959 by Paul Sills, Howard Alk and Bernie Sahlins — the oldest continuously operating improv-derived theater in the US and the commercial template every subsequent training theater copied.

The improv empire founded by four Chicago transplants in a NYC basement in 1996 that codified the game-of-the-scene style and produced most of the Obama-era comedy bench. Its NY theater closed in 2020 during the pandemic; LA and the training center survive.

UCB's LA branch opened at 5919 Franklin Ave. in 2005; the larger Sunset Blvd location (2014-2020) sold during the pandemic; Franklin survived and reopened in September 2022.

Founding UCB — Besser, Poehler, Roberts, Walsh — opened in 1999, built the ASSSSCAT/Harold pipeline for a generation of NY comedy, shut both NY venues in April 2020, and reopened on 14th Street in September 2024.

Comedy venue opened 2017; absorbed into the Improv Asylum family in 2021, briefly occupied the former UCB Chelsea, then moved to Flatiron in fall 2023.

Andrew Moskos and Pep Rosenfeld's English-language Amsterdam improv theater since 1993 — feeder for Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele, Jason Sudeikis and the Ted Lasso brain trust.

Dudley Riggs's Minneapolis satirical theater — self-billed as America's oldest continuously operating satirical comedy theater, now stewarded by Hennepin Theatre Trust.

Philip Markle and Annie Donley's 2018 BK theater — the first major NYC comedy house to pay performers a significant cut of the door; produces the Fun & Dumb Festival.

Lower East Side live-show venue and 'bar and stage for the inquisitive' — host to Squirrel Comedy Theatre's in-person residency and a key post-UCB NYC comedy space.

Aggregate record for the US collegiate improv ecosystem — feeder groups like On Thin Ice (Harvard, 1984), Quipfire! (Princeton, 1992), Commedus Interruptus (USC, 1989) — connected nationally through the College Improv Tournament (CIT) and the Chicago Improv Festival.

Dick Chudnow's 1984 Milwaukee troupe that turned Keith Johnstone's Theatresports into a franchise brand — over 25 CSz cities worldwide run the same ref-whistled match format.

Ottawa's premier improv company since 2007 — Canadian Comedy Award winners who introduced multi-city live-video improv with the Friday Skypetacular.

Atlanta's flagship improv and original-works theater — founded 1995 by FSU grads, now owns a converted church in the Old Fourth Ward and draws 30,000+ annually.

Berlin's best-known improv ensemble since 1997 — resident at the Ratibor Theater in Kreuzberg and host of IMPRO, the international Berlin improv festival, since 2001.

Amsterdam's long-running English-language improv and stand-up ensemble — weekly shows from CREA cultural centre, School of Improv & Stand-up trains hundreds.

Hong Kong's anchor English-language improv organization since 2015 — shows, classes and workshop programming for the HK comedy scene.

Steve Roe and Edgar Fernando's 2006 above-a-pub workshop that became the UK's first improv theater and now its largest improv training organization.

Sydney's 40-year Theatresports institution — since 1985 at Belvoir Street Theatre, holder of the Australian Theatresports trademark and producer of the Cranston Cup.

Victoria's premier improvised theatre company — founded 1996 by Russell Fletcher and Christine Keogh, grounded explicitly in Keith Johnstone's philosophy; Melbourne's longest-running improv company.

Spain's anchor improv institution — launched in 1999 with Madrid's first Match de Improvisación, now operates one of Spain's oldest improv schools and produces FESTIM, the country's only international improv festival.

North End Boston improv-sketch theater founded 1998 — 7,500+ shows, expanded to NYC as Asylum NYC in 2021.

New England's largest improv institution from 1982 until it lost its Central Square venue in 2020 and ceased operations December 31, 2023.

Berlin English-language improv, theater and stand-up school at Haus Zwingli (Friedrichshain) — pedagogy emphasizes psychological safety as a prerequisite for creative freedom.

English-language acting and improv training organization active in Berlin since 2013; pedagogy centered on self-expression and acting-as-natural-behaviour.

iO's Hollywood Boulevard outpost 1997-2018 — hub for LA long-form before its sudden 2018 closure over lease issues and a harassment scandal.

Bogotá's La Gata Cirko spawned La Gata Impro and PICNIC Improvisación Teatral — multidisciplinary improv with roots in contemporary circus, and the host of an international improv festival.

Mission IMPROVable's Santa Monica theater — opened April Fools' Day 2009 on the Third Street Promenade, home of Epic Rap Battles of History.

Armando Diaz, Ed Herbstman, Shannon Manning and Alex Marino's 2005 NYC theater — considered the world epicenter of musical improvisation.

David Shore's London branch of the Monkey Toast improvised-talk-show brand — runs Chicago-style long-form classes and shows since his 2010 relocation.

Cross-border European improv network connecting 50 experienced improvisers across languages and cultures for residencies in March, August and November.

Umbrella entry for Paris's interlocking improv ecosystem — LIFI (1987), LIP, Les Ateliers de l'Impro (since 2001), Impro Academy (founded 1999) — anchored by the Match d'Improvisation tradition imported from Quebec.

Tokyo's English-and-Japanese bilingual short-form group — 15+ years of simultaneous dual-language improv, monthly residency at What the Dickens! in Ebisu.

Paul Sills and David Shepherd's University of Chicago-adjacent company that codified Viola Spolin's Theater Games as a working method — the direct ancestor of Compass and Second City.

Christian Capozzoli's 29th Street 'grad school of improv' in the 2010s — taught the Reckless method of 'agreement and attack' and was a TimeOut NY top-5 improv club before closing.

Korea's oldest English-language improv group — founded 2007 in Itaewon by an international actor collective, now touring across Asia and North America.

Historic London new-writing and comedy venue — key West End showcase for touring improv troupes and UK long-form including Showstopper!, Austentatious, The FA.

Gabe Mercado's 2002 Manila group — Asia's premier improv theater and the Philippines' oldest, producing the Manila Improv Festival since 2012.

Originally founded as Theatresports Toronto in 1982; rebranded as The Bad Dog Theatre Company in 2003 — Toronto's dedicated not-for-profit improv theater for 40+ years.

First improvisational theater in the United States — the laboratory where Nichols, May, Close and others turned Spolin's games into a performance idiom.

Professional improv arm of Christchurch's Court Theatre — founded 1989, home of Scared Scriptless (1990–), Australasia's longest-running continuous comedy show.

Graham Dickson's 2014 London long-form company — positioned as the UK analog to UCB/iO/Second City; opened its first permanent 104-seat venue in Southwark October 2025.

Austin's longest-running improv theater — founded 1999 by Sean Hill alongside Austin Theatresports; forced out of 617 Congress Ave. in 2025 and relocated to South Austin.

Vancouver's Theatresports home since 1981 — rebranded in 2021 from Vancouver TheatreSports League to The Improv Centre; owns its Granville Island venue.

Adam Kangas's 2011 Melbourne theater — the Southern Hemisphere's largest Chicago-style improv training program, running year-round weekend shows from Meyers Place in the CBD.

John Cremer's 2004 Brighton company — one of the UK's leading improv companies, which spun off its classes to AndAlso Improv in 2023 to focus on performance.

Judith Amsenga's London long-form training center and rehearsal space near London Bridge — 15+ years of long-form pedagogy and a bursary program for access.

Ali Reza Farahnakian's 2002 NYC theater — positioned from day one as a big-tent comedy venue fusing improv, sketch, stand-up and storytelling.

Toronto franchise opened 1973, rescued and expanded by Andrew Alexander in 1974 — produced SCTV and an entire wing of Canadian comedy.

Second City's Los Angeles training-focused satellite, operated at 6560 Hollywood Blvd from 2005 until closing in 2022.

UCB NY alumni's nonprofit response to UCB's 2020 closure — founded by former UCB artistic leadership with an explicit equity and artist-compensation agenda.

Arizona's first non-profit improv theater — formed 2007 by a coalition of six Phoenix long-form troupes to build a dedicated home for the regional scene.

Philippines' first dedicated improv school — founded 2015 by Gabe Mercado and the SPIT Manila collective explicitly as an Asian Second City.

UCB's Lower East Side second NY venue (153 E. 3rd St., 2011-2019) — home to a generation of East Village improv and sketch experimentation.

Original UCB NY theater at 161 W. 22nd St. (1999-2002) and 307 W. 26th St. (2003-2017) — where the UCB scene was built before the move to Hell's Kitchen.

Edmonton's Old Strathcona performance venue and home of Die-Nasty, the weekly live improvised soap opera running since 1991 — 30+ seasons of serialized improv.