Mockingbird Improv

Founding After Old Town Improv (2021)

Mockingbird Improv was founded in 2021 in San Diego, California by founder Jackie, arising in the wake of the closure of Old Town Improv Company in 2020. The new organization carried forward much of the Old Town community's membership and spirit while establishing its own identity as a nonprofit, extending improv's reach in a San Diego scene that had lost a key anchor.

Nonprofit Mission

As a nonprofit, Mockingbird Improv emphasizes accessibility and community engagement, working to keep San Diego improv affordable and welcoming to performers across experience levels. The company runs shows and workshops, maintaining a presence for long-form improv in a major West Coast market.

Mockingbird Improv is a San Diego nonprofit carrying forward the community of Old Town Improv Company through accessible long-form performance and training.

Radio '47 is a recurring immersive production transporting audiences to a fictional 1947 radio station, KBRD, with costumed actors, period props, and fully improvised drama co-directed by Peter Jacques and Adam Raichel. All Hands On Deck is the company's audience-driven family-friendly game show running Saturdays at 7 PM. LIRRER is an improvised telenovela in English running on rotating Fridays. Broadway Unscripted pairs a live keyboardist with singing improvisers creating audience-suggested musicals. SmackDown Sunday is a recurring team competition where successive championship wins earn a residency offer. Sketch Night is a monthly production driven by the Writers Wing with a rotating cast. Let Me Have It is an all-femme showcase launched in October 2025. Lyrics and Laughs pairs guest singers performing standards with improv scenes inspired by the songs.

Mockingbird Improv emerged in 2021 from the closure of Old Town Improv Company, which shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Members and supporters of the former company reorganized under the legal name OTIC Theater Collective and established Mockingbird as a registered 501(c)3 California nonprofit, making it San Diego's only nonprofit improv theater. Located in the Liberty Station arts district, the organization was built on a philosophy of expanded access, combining weekly performances across multiple recurring formats with class programs from beginner through advanced levels, youth programming, and a commitment to equity and inclusion as organizational priorities rather than secondary goals.

Since 2021 the company has developed a recurring performance slate that includes original formats such as Radio '47, an immersive period production set in a fictional 1947 radio station, alongside ensemble showcases, team competitions, and mixed-bill nights spanning short-form and long-form improv. As San Diego's only nonprofit dedicated to the art form, Mockingbird occupies a distinctive structural position in the regional comedy ecosystem, channeling community donations and volunteer energy into programming that serves both general audiences and aspiring performers. The organization explicitly frames its story as one still being written alongside its community, signaling an institutional identity built around participation and growth rather than a fixed legacy.