The Improv Embassy is a school dedicated to growing and showcasing improv, sketch and stand-up comedy in the nation’s capital. We run jams and teach classes for those looking to have fun and for those who wish to become performers. We have produced shows in venues across the city and we produce the annual Ottawa Improv Festival. We are a nonprofit founded and run by volunteers.
Our statement of principles
- We understand that diversity, equity and inclusion are core parts of our mission to provide a safer space for truthful comedy;
- We operate in a way that amplifies historically marginalized voices;
- We acknowledge that any commitment to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion is ongoing and enduring;
- We act in service to the community, with humility, curiosity, and a willingness to listen.
Where we came from
The seeds of the Improv Embassy were planted with Experimental Farm Theatre, founded by Dani Alon and Chris Hannay in 2014. The improvisers began producing shows in the summer of 2014, and began teaching improvisation in 2015.
In the summer of 2016, the theatre company renamed itself the Improv Embassy Theatre Company, officially incorporated as a non-profit.
Since then the Improv Embassy has flourished, introducing hundreds of Ottawa students to the art and joy of improv. The company started Corporate Workshop training, bringing the benefits of creativity, collaboration and communication to the workplace.
In 2020, Alon and Hannay handed over the company to the Board of Directors. While still a non-profit, the company now operates collegially with the Board responsible for strategic and financial oversight and the facilitators and Team Leads providing artistic and operational direction.
The facilitators of the Improv Embassy are professional improv performers. They have performed in the Del Close Marathon in New York City, Toronto’s Big City Improv Festival, the Toronto Haroldfest, Mprov (the Montreal Improv Festival), Montreal Sketchfest, Halifax’s East Coast Improv Festival, the Baltimore Improv Festival. the Miami Improv Festival and Ottawa’s Fresh Meat DIY Theatre Festival.
The Improv Embassy produced the Ottawa Improv Festival for sold-out crowds at Arts Court Theatre in 2016-2020, 2024 and 2025. We’ve produced successful shows at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, such as the sketch revue EFT-up: Just Like You in 2015, and The Fake News Show and Quest Friends Forever in 2017.
Throughout our history, we could not have accomplished anything without the hard work, dedication and talent of the improvisers in our fast-growing community.