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.
The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles, California. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improv techniques were taught by Del Close and other members of the Second City, located in Chicago and later St. Louis. They used these techniques to produce sketches and improvised scenes. Its name is taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act III, Scene II: "...to split the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumbshows and noise." In 1975 the troupe purchased and moved into its location on Melrose Avenue.
The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and New York. The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959, and has become one of the most influential and prolific comedy theatres in the English-speaking world. In February 2021, ZMC, a private equity investment firm based in Manhattan, purchased the Second City.
Amy Poehler is an American actress and comedian. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade. The group moved to New York City in 1996, where their act became a half-hour sketch-comedy series on Comedy Central in 1998. Along with other members of the comedy group, Poehler is a founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.
Rachel Susan Dratch is an American actress and comedian. After she graduated from Dartmouth College, she moved to Chicago to study improvisational theatre at The Second City and ImprovOlympic. Dratch's breakthrough role was her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006. During her time on SNL, she portrayed a variety of roles including Debbie Downer. She has since occasionally returned to SNL as a guest portraying Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Jill Talley is an American actress and comedian. She is a main cast member on the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants, in which she voices Karen Plankton. Her other voice roles include Sarah Dubois on Adult Swim's The Boondocks and Rita Loud on The Loud House. She is married to fellow voice artist Tom Kenny, a co-star from SpongeBob SquarePants.
Stephanie Catherine Miller is an American political commentator, comedian, and host of The Stephanie Miller Show, a Progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles, California, by WYD Media Management and syndicated nationally by Westwood One. In 2017, Talkers Magazine ranked her the 23rd-most important radio talk show host in the U.S. Miller has leveraged her talk show via various platforms including online, as well as via her Sexy Liberal Tour live comedy show.
Eric Appel is an American filmmaker working in television, film, and commercials.
Becky Johnson is a Canadian comedian, writer, actress, improviser, craftsperson and organizer.
Kay Cannon is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actress. She is best known for writing and producing the Pitch Perfect film series (2012–2017). She made her directorial debut with the comedy film Blockers (2018). Cannon was also a writer and producer for the NBC comedy series 30 Rock (2007–2012) and the FOX comedy series New Girl (2012–2014). She created, wrote and produced the short-lived Netflix comedy-drama series Girlboss (2017).
Sarah Catherine E Hadland is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Stevie Sutton in the BBC One BAFTA-nominated comedy television series Miranda (2009–2015) and Trish in The Job Lot (2013–2015).
Stephanie Courtney is an American actress and comedian, best known for playing the advertising character Flo in television and radio commercials for Progressive Corporation beginning in 2008.
The Midnight Show was a Los Angeles–based sketch comedy group which performed monthly at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Founded in 2008, the show owed its notoriety not only to production of several viral and mature-themed internet videos on Funny or Die and YouTube, but also to the fact that the show has functioned as a feeder of talent to the cast and writing staff of Saturday Night Live. The show contained both live and pre-filmed sketch material, guided by a celebrity host. Past hosts have included Drew Carey, Andy Richter, Dax Shepard, Fred Willard, Jerry O'Connell, Trevor Moore, Jerry Minor, Jordan Peele, Michaela Watkins, Matt Walsh, Paul F. Tompkins, Steve Agee, James Van Der Beek and John Ennis.
Natalie Denise Sperl is an American model and film and television actress, better known for her appearances in the films Mank, Succubus: Hell Bent, Rock Monster, and Around the World in 80 Days.
Aidan Mackenzy Bryant is an American actress and comedian. Bryant is most notable for being a cast member on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live for ten seasons, joining the show for its 38th season in 2012, and leaving at the end of its 47th season in 2022. For her work on the series she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, including two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus is an American actress and comedian, known for portraying Susan Fischer in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black and Jess in the HBO comedy-drama series Crashing (2017–2019). She has also appeared in the television series Are You There, Chelsea? (2012), Hot in Cleveland (2012), Clipped (2015), The Big Bang Theory (2018–2019), and Good Girls (2020–2021) and in the films Jurassic World (2015), The Unicorn (2018), and The Wrong Missy (2020). She played the voice role of Lotta in the animated comedy series Harvey Girls Forever! (2018–2020).
Iron Sky: The Coming Race is a 2019 Finnish-German comic science fiction action film directed by Timo Vuorensola. The sequel to Vuorensola's 2012 film Iron Sky, its production was crowdfunded through Indiegogo. Like its predecessor, the film mixes political themes with repeated allusions to the popular culture and various conspiracy theories, but is generally more action-adventure oriented. A major inspiration of the content is the Vril conspiracy theory.
Naomi Snieckus is a Canadian actress, best known for her regular television role as Bobbi in Mr. D and her appearance as Nina in Saw 3D. She is also a podcast host.
Nicole Byer is an American comedian, actress, and television host. She is known as the host of the Netflix comedic reality bake-off series Nailed It! (2018–present), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Louisa Clare Harland is an Irish actress. She is known for her roles as Orla McCool in the Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls (2018–2022) and the titular character of the Disney+ series Renegade Nell (2024).
