Impro Match
Impro Match is a competitive improv format in which teams or individuals face off in a series of challenges judged by the audience. The competitive structure adds stakes and audience investment. The format borrows from sports entertainment to frame improvisation as a spectator-friendly contest.
Worth Reading
See all books →
Theatrical Improvisation
Short Form, Long Form, and Sketch-Based Improv
Jeanne Leep
Improve
How I Discovered Improv Comedy and Conquered Social Anxiety
Alex Graudins
Acting Through Improv
Improv Through Theatresports
Lynda Belt; Rebecca Stockley
Pirate Robot Ninja
An Improv Fable
Billy Merritt; Will Hines
Group Improvisation
The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games
Peter Campbell Gwinn; Charna Halpern
The Improv Mindset
Change Your Brain. Change Your Business.
Gail Montgomery; Bruce T. Montgomery
Related Formats
Micetro
Micetro is a competitive long-form format created by Keith Johnstone. A large cast of improvisers performs scenes that are scored by the audience, and the lowest-scoring performers are progressively eliminated until a single winner remains. The format combines the spontaneity of improvisation with the tension of a tournament structure.
Theatresports
TheatreSports is a competitive long-form format in which two or more improv teams perform scenes judged by an audience or panel, with scoring, fouls, and challenges drawn from the conventions of athletic competition. Created by **Keith Johnstone** in Calgary in the 1970s, TheatreSports is one of the most widely performed improv formats in the world and the foundation of a global network of licensed companies operating under the International Theatresports Institute.
Comedysportz
ComedySportz is a competitive short-form improv format in which two teams perform improv games head-to-head, with the audience voting to determine the winner of each round. A referee moderates the show, selects games, enforces rules, and calls fouls for jokes that cross established content boundaries. The format frames improvisation as a spectator sport, complete with team names, uniforms, score-keeping, and crowd participation. ComedySportz makes improv accessible to audiences unfamiliar with the art form by providing a clear competitive structure, audience agency through voting, and a family-friendly entertainment guarantee enforced by the foul system.
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form performance format adapted from the long-running television show in which performers play a rotation of quick improv games based on audience suggestions. The format features a host who introduces each game and manages the energy. It is one of the most widely recognized improv formats in popular culture.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Impro Match. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/formats/impro-match
The Improv Archive. "Impro Match." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/formats/impro-match.
The Improv Archive. "Impro Match." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/formats/impro-match. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.