Impro Company Platform is a Tokyo-based improv theatre company founded in September 2010, known for its original theatrical technique called Concept Impro. The company operates under the artistic direction of Mikou Sumiyoshi, who developed Concept Impro prior to the group's founding. Platform performs, produces workshops, and organizes collaborative events connecting student and emerging improv groups across Japan.
History
Impro Company Platform was established in September 2010 with two guiding principles: exploring the creative reaction between improvised and scripted performers, and passing improv culture to the next generation. Artistic director Mikou Sumiyoshi had developed the Concept Impro form before Platform's founding, and it became the company's defining technique. The company gained national recognition by winning the jury special award at the 8th Lunatic Theater Festival and later taking the grand prize at the first THEATRE Theater Festival in 2019 with its performance Setuna. Platform has built a substantial following through video content distributed online, reaching audiences throughout Japan.
Artistic Identity
Platform distinguishes itself through Concept Impro, a form that imposes a specific structural or thematic concept onto an improvised performance, blending the spontaneity of improv with deliberate theatrical framing. The company places particular emphasis on bridging improvised and scripted acting traditions, and it actively cultivates younger improvisers through student competitions and collaborative productions. Its aesthetic tends toward the theatrical rather than the purely comedic.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Impro Company Platform. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/companies/impro-company-platform
The Improv Archive. "Impro Company Platform." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/companies/impro-company-platform.
The Improv Archive. "Impro Company Platform." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/companies/impro-company-platform. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.