Improv HI

Founding (2012)

Kimee Balmilero founded Improv HI in 2012 upon returning to Oahu after performing and studying improv in Los Angeles and New York. The company launched as an online event calendar and touring entity, performing across multiple Honolulu venues without a permanent home.

The Tiny Stage (2020)

In 2020 Improv HI acquired The Tiny Stage, a dedicated class and studio space in the Kakaako neighborhood at 419 South Street, giving the organization a permanent home in Honolulu for the first time. Original monthly shows including improvised musicals, comedy rap battles, and open jams anchor the programming calendar alongside corporate training.

Hawaii Comedy Festival

Improv HI produces the Spring Improv Showcase within the Hawaii Comedy Festival, extending its visibility across Hawaii's comedy community.

Improv HI serves Hawaii as the state's primary improv company, building ensemble confidence through weekly multi-level classes and original monthly shows at its Kakaako studio. Balmilero's performance background informs the company's mix of improvised musicals, comedy performance, and corporate training.

WTF Comedy Show, subtitled A Night of Weird Comedy Concoctions, is Improv HI's signature recurring production, presenting weird, wacky, and unhinged comedy in a variety format at The Tiny Stage. Open Improv Jam is a weekly participatory session held at The Tiny Stage in which all registered participants receive guaranteed stage time, functioning as both a public performance and a community practice space. Short Form 101 is a four-week course-based performance series modeled on game-show improv in the tradition of Whose Line Is It Anyway. The company also stages shows at the Hawaii Comedy Festival and has appeared at San Francisco Sketchfest, extending its reach to major West Coast festival circuits.

Improv HI was founded in 2012 by Kimee Balmilero, a Hawaii-born actor best known for her recurring role as Medical Examiner Dr. Noelani Cunha on Hawaii Five-0, who returned to Oahu after training in Los Angeles and New York to build an improv community on the islands. The organization began as an online event calendar aggregating comedy activity across Hawaii before evolving into a producing ensemble and eventually a dedicated venue operator. In 2020, Balmilero acquired The Tiny Stage at 419 South Street in Honolulu's Kakaako neighborhood, giving the company its first permanent home and a dedicated studio and class space.

The ensemble has drawn performers with credits across Lilo and Stitch, Magnum P.I., and Doogie Kamealoha M.D., reflecting the overlap between Hawaii's film and television production community and its improvisation scene. Appearances at San Francisco Sketchfest and the Hawaii Comedy Festival have extended Improv HI's visibility to mainland and international audiences. The company's motto, Building Confidence Through Comedy, frames its work as personal development as much as performance, and its weekly class programming at all levels has established a training pipeline for aspiring comedians on Oahu who would otherwise need to travel to the mainland for comparable instruction.