Villain Theater

Founding (2015)

Peter Mir and Jeff Quintana, who met in 2003 at an audition for another Miami improv group, trained in Chicago and New York before returning to Miami to found Villain Theater. Mir had studied theatre at Florida International University. The company held its first performances in August 2015 at MADE at the Citadel in Little Haiti.

Little Haiti and Growth

Villain Theater established itself as Miami's primary home for Chicago-style long-form improv and was named Best New Theater by Miami New Times within its first year. The company grew to maintain a rotating cast drawn substantially from FIU alumni and expanded its programming to include sketch comedy, devised work, stand-up, and drag shows, running Thursday through Saturday nights.

Current Location and Training

The theatre operates at 5865 NE 2nd Avenue in Little Haiti's Arts Corridor. Its training curriculum runs from VT-1 (Improv Foundations) through multi-level advanced scene work, with program lengths of eight weeks and performances at end-of-level grad nights. A volunteer and internship exchange program provides class access to students who cannot afford tuition.

Tenth Anniversary (2025)

Villain Theater celebrated ten years of operation in July and August 2025, marking a decade as the primary home for alternative comedy in South Florida.

Villain Theater presents Chicago-style long-form improv as the core of its identity, with a multi-level training program that runs students from foundational scene work through advanced performance. The company programs sketch, stand-up, and drag alongside improv, establishing Little Haiti as Miami's alternative comedy center.

Propaganda Machine is the theater's original sketch comedy show, directed by Peter Mir, which takes a satirical look at brand-obsessed media culture. The Saturday Gigantic Improv Comedy Show runs weekly as the flagship improv performance. The Vice City Comedy Festival brings 28 comics from across the US and Canada for multiple nights of stand-up at the theater. The Doll LinkUp Drag Show runs as a recurring variety event. The Tuesday Improv Comedy Show and Feel Good Friday's Stand-Up Show round out the weekly schedule. Named Best New Theater by Miami New Times in 2016.

Co-founders Peter Mir and Jeff Quintana met in 2003 at an audition for Impromedy and went on to study improv and theater in Chicago and New York before returning to Miami. Within a year of opening in August 2015, they earned Best New Theater recognition. The company grew to over 60 homegrown professional improvisers and 800+ students trained through their four-level program (VT-1 through VT-4). Over 20 FIU alumni perform regularly in the rotating cast. Operating from over 5,000 square feet in Little Haiti's MADE at the Citadel, the theater brought Chicago-style long-form improvisation to South Florida alongside sketch and devised comedy.