Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script.
Nicole Frances Parker is an American actress, comedian, writer, podcaster, and singer. She is best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show Mad TV, which she was a regular cast member. In July 2009, Parker concluded her run as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, a role that she reprised on tour across North America. She voiced Penelope Pitstop in the animated series Wacky Races (2017–2019) and has appeared in the parody films Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie. Parker currently co-hosts the Earwolf podcast The Neighborhood Listen, along with comedian Paul F. Tompkins.
Spontaneous Broadway is an advanced long-form improvised performance, based on audience suggestions. The audience typically submits titles of songs that have never been written, and the performers choose suggestions to create songs, the audience votes through acclamation on their favorite song, which is then used as the core of a brand new Broadway musical.
Paul Provenza is a television presenter, actor, radio panelist, stand-up comedian, filmmaker, and skeptic based in Los Angeles. He has appeared on several podcasts and in recent years has interviewed other stand-up comedians. In 2005 he became a director, in 2010 an author and in 2011 he started producing for comedy festivals and television.
The Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT) is a not-for-profit, community-based improvisational theatre group in Wellington, New Zealand. It is run by a committee elected by and from its forty to sixty active members. WIT performs both long and short-form improvisation.
Patti Stiles is an actress, director, author, playwright, teacher and improvisation artist living in Australia.
Rebecca Northan is a Canadian actor, improviser, theatre director, and creative artist. She is known for playing the hippie mother Diane Macleod on the CTV & The Comedy Network sitcom Alice, I Think. She is a graduate of the University of Calgary, and an alumna of the Loose Moose Theatre Company where she did her improv training with Keith Johnstone.
Becky Johnson is a Canadian comedian, writer, actress, improviser, craftsperson and organizer.
CRUMBS is an improvisational theatre duo based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Maryedith Ann Burrell is an American actress, comedian, film and television producer, writer and documentarian best known for starring roles on the television series Fridays, Throb, Ron Howard's Parenthood, and The Jackie Thomas Show as well as recurring roles in the television series Seinfeld and Home Improvement.
Pippa Evans is a British comedian, known for her work in character and improvisational comedy.
The Peoples Improv Theater (PIT), also known as the PIT, is a comedy theater and training center in New York City, founded by comedian Ali Farahnakian in 2002. Shows combine improvisational comedy, sketch comedy, stand-up, theater, and variety. Each show is hosted by a combination of "house teams" of comedians hired by PIT and by outside comedians.
Taz VanRassel is a Canadian Comedian and Actor primarily known for his work in Improv theatre. He was nominated as Best Male Improviser in Canada at The Canadian Comedy Awards from 2007-2015, is a founding member of The Sunday Service improv troupe, of Instant Theatre Company, 9-year member of the Vancouver TheatreSports League and is a member and co-creator of the sketch comedy group Titmouse! with Eisner Award-winning comic book writer/comedian Ian Boothby.
Katie Cariad Lloyd is a British comedian, actress, writer, and podcaster who has been performing since 2007. She is a member of the improvisational comedy group Austentatious, the host and creator of Griefcast, and an improv teacher.
Ronald Pederson is a Canadian (Métis) actor, comedian and theatre director who has worked extensively throughout Canada and in the United States. He has performed with most of Canada's major theatres including The Stratford Festival, The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, The Citadel Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects, The Arts Club, The Vancouver Playhouse, The Young Centre, The Canadian Stage Company, The Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Soulpepper and The SummerWorks Festival. Pederson has also worked extensively in television and may be best known for his Canadian Comedy Award-Nominated work and his three seasons on Fox Television's MADtv.
The Free Association, or The FA, is a London-based improvised comedy theatre and school. It was founded in 2015 and operates two comedy venues and training centres in London. They are currently the largest provider of improvisation training in the UK.
Jamillah Ross is a Canadian comedian, actress, and singer-songwriter. She trained through Toronto's The Second City and has performed in improvisation troupes and on stage, television and film. She was in the cast of Show Stopping Number which won a Canadian Comedy Award (CCA) for best improvisational troupe.
Diana Frances is a Canadian comedian, writer, and business manager. She has written and performed comedy for stage, television and radio for three decades, and served as the managing director of the Vancouver-based Rock Paper Scissors comedy collective. She has been nominated for a Gemini Award and nine Canadian Comedy Awards.
Austentatious is a long-form improvised comedy show, in the style of a Jane Austen novel, where each show is improvised by a six-strong cast, based on a title suggested by a member of the audience. Begun in 2011 in London, the original cast members took the show to the Edinburgh Festival Free Fringe in the summer of 2012. Following their initial success, they began performing a monthly show in London, transferring to the West End in 2017, and have since performed on BBC Radio 4, on tour, and at the Edinburgh Fringe.
James and Jamesy are a Canadian clown duo, created by Aaron Malkin and Alastair Knowles with director David MacMurray Smith. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, they produce theatrical and other clown performances, blending theatre, physical comedy and dance, which typically include significant audience participation, breaking of the 4th wall and improvisation on the part of the performers.
