Go Comedy! Improv Theater

Founding (2008)

Pj Jacokes, Chris DiAngelo, Tommy LeRoy, and Gerald Knight founded Go Comedy! Improv Theater in November 2008 in downtown Ferndale, Michigan, at 261 East 9 Mile Road two blocks east of Woodward Avenue. The four founders, all seasoned Metro Detroit improvisers, launched the company after Second City Detroit's move out of the city left local performers without a professional improv home.

Programming and Recognition

Go Comedy's flagship show The Showdown became Metro Detroit's longest-running short-form improv show. The company also presents long-form scene work and scripted productions. Go Comedy has been voted Best Comedy Club by Real Detroit Weekly and Metro Times.

Training Programs

Go Comedy operates Go U (adult classes), Go Youth (launched fall 2010), and Go Corp (corporate improv training) as its three training tracks, built on the company's founding philosophy of Integrity, Inspiration, and Innovation.

Go Comedy! Improv Theater presents both long-form and short-form improv as Metro Detroit's primary professional comedy venue, with The Showdown as the anchor short-form format and a three-track training program serving adults, youth, and corporate clients.

Go Comedy's longest-running production is The All-Star Showdown, described as Metro Detroit's longest-running short-form improv competition, which follows a game-show structure comparable to Whose Line Is It Anyway and has anchored the theatre's weekend schedule since its early years. Late Night House Party pairs short-form game-style improv with fully improvised scene work in a looser, more experimental format. Breaking Point is a sketch comedy show developed and performed by a resident ensemble group. Proving Grounds serves as a showcase for emerging performers, pairing opening acts with established headliners. Bottle of Red is a recurring two-person improv performance series. The theatre also presents Beginner's Luck and the hybrid standup-improv show I Ain't No Joke as part of its regular rotation.

Go Comedy! Improv Theater was founded in November 2008 by Pj Jacokes, Chris DiAngelo, Tommy LeRoy, and Gerald Knight, launching into a Detroit comedy market that had just lost Second City Detroit, which had relocated and eventually closed. The founders established a permanent home at 261 East Nine Mile Road in Ferndale, Michigan, building a full ecosystem of public shows, an adult training academy (Go U), youth programming (Go Youth), and corporate training (Go Corp) that together sustained the organization through more than fifteen years of continuous operation. LeRoy served as Artistic Director and the venue became the anchor of Metro Detroit's independent improv community.

A Homecoming event convened alumni from across Go Comedy's history, including performers who went on to television and film work: Jaime Moyer (Bob's Burgers, Modern Family, AP Bio), Maribeth Monroe (Workaholics, The Good Place, Bob Hearts Abishola), and Garrett Fuller (Wayne County Lyfe, Salvation Boulevard). The theatre's eight-term Go U curriculum, housed in a separate Training Center on Nine Mile, has produced hundreds of graduates and provided a structured path from beginner student to ensemble performer within the Metro Detroit comedy community.