Impro Theatre

Founding as Los Angeles Theatresports (1988)

Dan O'Connor, Ellen Idelson, and Forest Brakeman co-founded Los Angeles Theatresports in 1988, becoming a licensed Theatresports company in the tradition established by Keith Johnstone, who had created the competitive format at the Royal Court Theatre in London and the University of Calgary. O'Connor was also a co-founder of BATS Improv in San Francisco. The company continued to operate under the Los Angeles Theatresports Inc. legal entity.

Pivot to Literary Long-Form (c.2003)

The company developed its distinctive 'UnScripted' format, in which ensemble members conduct months of research into a specific literary author or theatrical genre (Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Chekhov, Tennessee Williams, Shakespeare, Sondheim) before performing completely improvised, full-length plays in those styles. From approximately 2003, the company began regular sold-out runs across Southern California under this format and began operating publicly under the 'Impro Theatre' name. The legal entity remains Los Angeles Theatresports Inc. The 'UnScripted' format earned national critical recognition: American Theatre Magazine featured the company in a 2014 cover story, 'Impro Raises the Theatrical Bar.'

Impro Theatre's identity is grounded in the Theatresports tradition of Keith Johnstone (competitive, game-based improv) but has developed toward long-form theatrical production as its primary mode. The 'UnScripted' format treats improvised performance as theatrical event rather than comedy exercise: the cast's pre-performance research into specific authors and genres creates improvised work that functions as a genuine dramatic or comedic experience within the conventions of the chosen form rather than as a meta-commentary on improvisation itself. Impro Theatre employs professional actors, writers, and directors.

Impro Theatre's signature UnScripted series presents fully improvised, full-length plays in the styles of specific authors, composers, and genres, with the cast conducting months of dramaturgical research before each production. Current and recurring titles include Jane Austen UnScripted, Shakespeare UnScripted, Chekhov UnScripted, Tennessee Williams UnScripted, Sondheim UnScripted, Twilight Zone UnScripted, Fairytales UnScripted, and L.A. Noir UnScripted. Three productions run in repertory at any given time. The company has performed internationally at the Dubai Fringe Festival and at Det Andre Teatret in Oslo, and the Impro Studio and Impro Theatre School operate as distinct performance tracks alongside the main company.

Dan O'Connor, Ellen Idelson, and Forest Brakeman founded Los Angeles Theatresports in 1988 as a licensed Theatresports company operating in the tradition of Keith Johnstone, who created the competitive format at the Royal Court Theatre in London and at the University of Calgary. The company rebranded as Impro Theatre as it shifted emphasis from competitive Theatresports toward the UnScripted format, a method of building fully improvised plays around intensive prior research into a specific author's voice, themes, and dramatic structure. Beginning in 2003 the main company began performing sold-out shows across Southern California, establishing Impro Theatre as the recognized center of genre and narrative improv in Los Angeles.

Wayne Brady, Brad Sherwood, and Mike McShane, all later cast members of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, were among early LA Theatresports alumni. O'Connor has co-authored two books with Jeff Katzman on applying improv principles to everyday life. The company's structural division into a main company, a school, and a studio provides multiple entry points for professional and student performers, and its international touring has carried the UnScripted method to audiences outside the United States. The emphasis on months of dramaturgical research as preparation for improvisation represents a methodological contribution to long-form narrative improv that has influenced genre-based improv practice more broadly.