ImprovBoston

Nonprofit improvisational theater

ImprovBoston is a nonprofit improvisational theater, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers shows and classes its theater in Central Square. Classes are offered in improvisation, stand up comedy, musical improv, and sketch writing.

In 1982, Ellen Holbrook, a former student at The Second City in Chicago and a producer of the Chicago Improv Olympic, assembled and trained several loosely knit bands of improvisers into teams that competed in the Boston "Improv Olympic" at Reilly's Beef and Pub near Government Center. Holbrook also arranged for David Shepherd and Second City's Michael Gellman to come to Boston to teach improv workshops to local performers. In 1983, Holbrook, along with Nicholas Emanuel and Katy Bolger, co founded ImprovBoston, as the organization evolved. With their contacts, the group moved to Satch's near Copley Square, owned by former Boston Celtic Satch Sanders. In 1984, ImprovBoston became a not for profit corporation and moved to Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge at Inman Square, where they remained for several years. Show formats varied but often included several improv games based on audience suggestions, set sketches based on improvs from past shows, musical improvs and song parodies. ImprovBoston troupe members often took turns directing shows, but other ImprovBoston directors during this time included David Thibodeaux, Jack O'Connor, Leslie Curtin and Brad Jones.

In 1993, under the leadership of Artistic Director Nancy Howland Walker, ImprovBoston acquired a lease to the Back Alley Theater in Inman Square ImprovBoston's first dedicated theatre space. The ImprovBoston Mainstage cast performed late night weekend shows for several years, eventually expanding to prime time slots. Walker was just as instrumental in obtaining the New England franchise of Theatersports, which eventually became a regular Thursday night show at the theater. During Walker's tenure, the cast grew from five to well over 20 members. Larry Pizza became Artistic Director in 1995 and, in 1997, the artistic leadership again transferred, this time to Ron Jones, a former cast member from the early 1990s. The theater began to extend its reach to further aspects of improvisation, creating new formats and shows beyond the traditional shortform game format the theater used for their Friday and Saturday night shows.

In 2020 the theater had to close its doors due to the COVID 19 pandemic. A small team returned in 2021 to revive the theater and bring it back to the post pandemic Boston Comedy scene. Though without its home theater, the theater continued to host classes in improv, stand up, and sketch writing, weekly, as well as perform on the road in local theaters and performance spaces around Boston. In 2023, ImprovBoston rebranded, updated its website, and renovated an office space across the street from its old location to be a new black box theater space. In December 2023 ImprovBoston Managing Director Matt Laidlaw announced that it would be closing at the end of 2024 due to financial difficulties.