OKC Improv

Founding and Growth (2009)

OKC Improv was founded in 2009 in Oklahoma City, establishing a dedicated home for improv performance and training in the state. The company settled in the Plaza District at 1757 NW 16th Street, programming Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. and building a broad partnership with Oklahoma improv groups.

Oklahoma Improv Community Hub

OKC Improv developed into the primary organizational hub for Oklahoma's improv community, working with more than thirty local performance groups and offering eight-week class sessions. Executive Director Kendon Lacey leads the organization, which is recognized as an Oklahoma Performing Artist by the Oklahoma Arts Council.

OKC Improv serves as the primary platform for Oklahoma improv performance and training, presenting more than thirty local groups and offering entry-level through advanced class tracks from its Plaza District venue.

OKC Improv's Saturday night showcase rotates through more than 30 resident performance groups, giving Oklahoma City audiences consistent access to a wide variety of styles. Fortune's Fools performs improvised Shakespeare, drawing on Elizabethan language and theatrical conventions. Villain: The Musical stages fully improvised Broadway-style musicals with original songs and narrative arcs. The Laughing Stocks presents fast-paced short-form games for mixed audiences. The Ones Your Mother Warned You About performs improvised relationship comedy drawn from audience confessions. Everybody and Their Dog focuses on long-form narrative improv. The duo act Twinprov, featuring twin brothers Buck and Clint Vrazel, performs improvised scenes and songs on a rotating theme and has been recognized nationally for the format.

OKC Improv was founded in December 2009 by Marcy Fleming, Buck Vrazel, Clint Vrazel, and Eric Webb as Oklahoma's first nonprofit dedicated to improvisational comedy and theatre. In the summer of 2010 the organization graduated its inaugural class of students, establishing an eight-week curriculum that has since been refined into one of the state's most accessible improv training programs. Operating from the Plaza District at 1757 NW 16th Street and recognized as an Oklahoma Performing Artist by the Oklahoma Arts Council, OKC Improv has grown the metro's active performance group count from roughly five to more than fifty since its founding. The organization performs at civic events including the State Fair and Festival of the Arts, and its showcase model functions as an infrastructure hub rather than a single resident company.

Buck and Clint Vrazel, who served as co-artistic directors and lead instructors from January 2009, are among the state's most recognized improvisers. Their national touring act Twinprov, launched the same year as OKC Improv, has appeared at venues and festivals across the country. The company's open-platform approach has directly enabled the growth of dozens of independent troupes, making OKC Improv the organizational backbone of Oklahoma's improvised theatre community rather than one company among many.