Organizations

The Applied Improvisation Network (AIN) is a global professional association connecting practitioners who use improvisational techniques in business, education, therapy, and community contexts. AIN hosts an annual world conference and supports a global community of applied improv facilitators.

The Canadian Improv Games (CIG) is a national high school improv competition that has run annually since 1977. Students from schools across Canada compete in regional tournaments, with winners advancing to a national championship in Ottawa.

ComedySportz (CSz) is a family-friendly competitive improv franchise founded by Dick Chudnow in Milwaukee. ComedySportz franchises operate in dozens of cities across the United States, performing short-form improv games in a sports-themed competitive format.

Improv Everywhere is a New York-based performance art collective founded by Charlie Todd that stages unexpected public spectacles — "missions" — involving large groups of participants in public spaces. Known for events such as Frozen Grand Central and the No Pants Subway Ride.

iO Theater (originally ImprovOlympic) is the home of the Harold — the long-form improv structure developed by Del Close and Charna Halpern. Founded in Chicago in 1981, iO trained generations of comedians who went on to Saturday Night Live, SCTV, and major film careers.

A competitive improv league founded by Robert Gravel out of the Théâtre Expérimental de Montréal. The LNI uses a hockey-style format unique to Quebec, with teams competing in improvised scenes scored by referees. The format has influenced competitive improv across the francophone world.

The Second City is a Chicago-based comedic institution that has shaped American comedy, television, and improvisational theatre since 1959. Alumni include John Belushi, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and dozens of other major figures.

TheatreSports International is the global franchise network for the competitive improv format created by Keith Johnstone in Calgary. Member companies perform the TheatreSports format — two teams competing before a judge — in cities across North America, Europe, and Australia.

The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improv and sketch comedy organization founded by Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh. UCB became a defining force in American long-form improv and sketch comedy, producing performers who went on to careers in television and film.