Playgrounded Improv

Playgrounded offers weekly improv classes for kids and teens ages 7 and up.

Improv is the art of creating theater on the spot. Working together, players discover scenes and characters that have never existed before, and will never exist again! In each improv class we teach and practice the skills that help players do this successfully every time they perform.

All improv, no matter what form it takes, revolves around the central idea of “Yes, and…” At Playgrounded, we believe this means accepting others’ ideas and activating them. Our classes use theater games and focused acting exercises to hone each player’s ownership of this core belief. We explore a variety of skills including active listening, hard support, and intelligent play.

Improv is very much a team sport, just like basketball or soccer, and classes help players drill these concepts so that they can become second nature. Players bond with their peers while learning to develop their own unique comedic voices. Unlike standup, which relies heavily on making jokes to get laughs, much of improv’s comedy comes out of interaction between players in a scene. Good improvisers are good actors who make their scene partners look great! We encourage honest emotional reaction, and full embrace of each player’s point of view. In our classes, the things that make us different are the things that help us succeed. We teach our students to become well-rounded players who draw on a solid theoretical understanding of improv, a well-stocked tool belt of theatrical skills, and an ownership of their individuality. We applaud bravery and risk-taking, promote generosity, and are devoted to creating kind, safe environments where everyone feels comfortable to discover and share what makes them awesome.

We hope you’ll check out what makes improv one of the fastest growing art forms in America, performed in theaters all across the country like UCB, The PIT, The Magnet, iO, Second City, The Annoyance, ComedySportz, and The Groundlings; seen on television on shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?; and used in corporate workshops for companies like Google, PepsiCo, and MetLife.