Santa Fe Improv

Founding (2009)

Ben Taxy, a writer who worked on Family Guy, founded Santa Fe Improv in 2009 alongside early members including Maddi Knox, Brian Crane, Ruby Peru, Charles Gamble, Kate Chavez, and Robin Holloway. The organization operated as a performing group for its first decade.

Nonprofit Status and Permanent Space (2019 to 2020)

Santa Fe Improv incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2019. In 2020 Eric Weiss joined as Artistic Director and the organization secured a commercial lease and built out a permanent theater space in Santa Fe on Parkway Drive. The physical home enabled expanded programming.

Community Education Programs

Under Weiss's artistic direction, Santa Fe Improv developed Improv4Schools, delivering free improv to local schools, and Improv4Educators, teaching teachers to incorporate improv into their classrooms. Both programs extend the organization's work beyond performance into education across New Mexico.

Santa Fe Improv centers long-form improv performance within a nonprofit model that prioritizes community access. Its education programs Improv4Schools and Improv4Educators direct improv practice into schools and teacher development, positioning the organization as New Mexico's primary long-form improv education institution.

Santa Fe Improv's recurring long-form showcase, The Big Ass Improv Show, features performances by the organization's faculty and house teams on a regular basis. The faculty ensemble Big Jabroni performs original long-form sets, as does Lunch Ladies, a second house team. After School Special is a student-to-performer-level ensemble that bridges the class curriculum and main stage. SFI Community Night is an open-to-all performance event emphasizing accessibility. The MasterClass series brings guest artists to Santa Fe for intensive workshops that culminate in public demonstrations.

Ben Taxy, a writer for the animated television series Family Guy, founded Santa Fe Improv in 2009 alongside a founding cohort that included Maddi Knox, Brian Crane, Ruby Peru, Charles Gamble, Kate Chavez, and Robin Holloway. The organization operated as an LLC through its first decade, with Kita Mehaffy sustaining operations through a transitional period after Taxy relocated. In 2019 the company incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and in 2020 it opened a permanent commercial theater on Parkway Drive in Santa Fe -- the first dedicated improv performance space in New Mexico -- while Eric Weiss arrived as Artistic Director. By January 2024 Weiss had assumed the role of Executive Director, reorienting the organization's long-term strategy around long-form improvisation and deep community integration.

The organization's Improv4NewMexico initiative has become its most distinctive community contribution, encompassing Improv4Schools, which delivers tuition-free improv instruction to public school students, and Improv4Educators, which trains classroom teachers to use improv techniques as pedagogical tools. Santa Fe Improv has partnered with institutions including the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Santa Fe Public Schools. Lucy River serves as Managing Director, and the organization holds performances at partner venues such as Fuller Lodge Art Center in Los Alamos, extending its reach across northern New Mexico.