The Improv Archive
The comprehensive digital archive for improvisational comedy and theatre. Preserving the forms, people, companies, and histories that define the art form.
Explore the Archive
Start with the core reference sections.
Games
Audience-facing structures, scenic challenges, and classic performance games.
Exercises
Drills and workshop mechanics for listening, agreement, character, and scene work.
Formats
Long-form architectures like the Harold, Armando, Monoscene, and beyond.
Books
The core library of published writing that shaped modern improvisation.
Editorial Pathways
Short-form and long-form each deserve their own doorway.
Learn & Guides
Move from reference pages into practice.
The Improv World
Study the art form as a network of places, companies, and people.
Anniversary Milestones
Second City Television, known as SCTV, premiered in 1976 in Canada, produced by The Second City Toronto and Andrew Alexander. The sketch comedy series featured ensemble members including John Candy, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, and Catherine O'Hara across its eight-year run. SCTV was broadcast nationally in Canada and syndicated in the United States, earning numerous Emmy Awards and establishing Second City alumni as defining voices in North American television comedy.
Andrew Alexander and Len Stuart launched SCTV in 1976 as the first production of The Second City Entertainment Company, drawing its cast largely from the Toronto stage. The groundbreaking sketch series ran until 1984. Opened in 1973, rescued and rebuilt by producer Andrew Alexander from 1974, and the birthplace of SCTV, the company launched the careers of Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Mike Myers,.
In 2021, after iO had closed during the pandemic, Charna Halpern sold the theater building and the iO brand to new owners who intended to reopen the institution. The sale marked the end of Halpern’s direct ownership after decades of shaping iO’s role in long-form improv.