The Improv Embassy

Founding as Experimental Farm Theatre (2014)

Dani Alon and Chris Hannay began producing shows in Ottawa in summer 2014 under the name Experimental Farm Theatre (EFT), starting improv teaching in 2015. EFT performed at the Ottawa Fringe in 2015 ("EFT-up: Just Like You") and 2017 ("The Fake News Show" and "Quest Friends Forever").

The Improv Embassy (2016)

In 2016 Alon and Hannay renamed the organization The Improv Embassy and incorporated it as a nonprofit, reflecting its growth into a dedicated school and festival producer. The organization's primary performance venue became Arts Court Theatre in Ottawa.

Ottawa Improv Festival

The Improv Embassy produces the Ottawa Improv Festival at Arts Court Theatre, running sold-out editions in 2016 through 2020 and resuming in 2024 and 2025. The festival has featured performers from the Del Close Marathon in New York, the Big City Improv Festival in Toronto, the Montreal Improv Festival, and other national and international gatherings.

Current Operations

In 2020 Alon and Hannay handed strategic oversight to a Board of Directors while facilitators and team leads continue day-to-day operations. The organization describes itself as the only company dedicated to growing improv, sketch, and stand-up comedy in Canada's capital.

The Improv Embassy is Ottawa's nonprofit home for improv education and festival production, serving Canada's capital through structured training programs and the annual Ottawa Improv Festival.

The Ottawa Improv Festival (OIF) is the Improv Embassy's signature annual production, bringing local, national, and international improvisers to Arts Court Theatre each spring. The festival sold out in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024, and 2025, and its 2025 edition marked the first expansion into additional programming beyond the core weekend format. The All-Levels Improv Jam serves as a recurring community show, structured with skill-building exercises leading into long-form ensemble sets, formatted as pay-what-you-can to emphasize accessibility. The Embassy also produced sketch revue productions at the Ottawa Fringe Festival in 2015 and 2017.

Dani Alon and Chris Hannay founded Experimental Farm Theatre in the summer of 2014 and began producing improv shows and classes immediately, launching Ottawa's first dedicated improv school and performance series. The company renamed itself Improv Embassy Theatre Company in summer 2016 upon formal incorporation as a nonprofit, adopting a governance model centered on community ownership. In 2020, Alon and Hannay transferred operational leadership to the Board of Directors, shifting to a collegial volunteer-driven structure that has sustained the organization since. Based at Arts Court Theatre in downtown Ottawa, the Embassy has introduced hundreds of residents to improv through its curriculum running from Intro to Improv through advanced long-form levels.

Beyond Ottawa, Improv Embassy performers have appeared at the Del Close Marathon in New York City, the Big City Improv Festival in Toronto, Toronto Haroldfest, Mprov in Montreal, and Montreal Sketchfest, establishing the organization's presence on the Canadian and North American festival circuit. The Ottawa Improv Festival has become a flagship event on Canada's improv calendar, drawing artists from across the continent. Corporate workshop clients have included Oxfam Canada and the National Research Council, extending the Embassy's reach into professional development contexts.