About The Improv Network
The Improv Network is an online community that brings improvisers together from all over the world. We offer theaters, festivals, improvisers, troupes, and instructors a wide array of services and resources, along with a way to connect and communicate. Our ever-expanding resources include easy, quick, and organized festival submissions for both teams and festival organizers, teacher and workshop listings, and pertinent blogs.
Looking to book a local show? That’s great. But we’re not the ones to contact about that. We aren’t part of any local theaters and can’t book shows for them. If you’re looking to book a local show, we’d suggest going to the theatre section and searching for groups in your area and reaching out to them directly. We’re sure you’ll have a great time.
Mission
To connect improvisers and provide every team, theater, and performer, anywhere in the world, access to the support, information, tools, and resources they need to create outstanding improv and run positive, safe, and diverse theaters and festivals.
Vision
A connected world-wide improv community that shares, supports each other, and creates excellent improv, so we may help each other be the best, most inclusive performers and producers we can be. Every performer should be treated as a professional artist.
The Team
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Melanie Leon – CEO
Melanie is an improvisor, actor, and writer in Orlando, Florida. She has toured the country with a comedy show and continues to travel to improvise and teach at festivals. Mel also coaches, uses improv at hospitals to help better train medical professionals, teaches applied improv to companies, and uses improv to help train difficult leadership topics for the US military. Locally, she performs, hosts, and teaches at different places, including SAK Comedy Lab, performs with her own indie teams, is a producer of the Orlando Fringe Festival, and is the Associate Producer of the Central Florida Improv Festival. Her true passions in life are improv, animals, sugar, and travel. |
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Jeffrey Thompson – Secretary
Jeffrey Thompson is an LA native and is the Secretary of the Board for The Improv Network. He’s an actor and writer, but he also teaches psychology at Citrus College and does taxes for creative professionals. He’s received a Master’s degree in Psychology and an MBA with a marketing emphasis, both from Pepperdine University. He is also licensed by the IRS to represent taxpayers as an enrolled agent. He’s been performing for over 15 years and currently performs at the Ruby LA on the sketch team, The Money Pit, and at the Westside Comedy Theater on the house improv team, Gravity. He also co-produces the Westside Comedy Festival. |
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Bill Binder – Website Administrator Bill began performing in Michigan in 1994 where he performed for six years before moving to Phoenix, AZ. Bill helped organize the first Phoenix Improv Festival in 2002, spent two years training at iO West in Los Angeles and was one of the founding members of The Torch Theatre. Currently Bill is an instructor at The Torch Theatre and producer for the Phoenix Improv Festival. He tours teaching and performing across North America. |
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Marcus Sams – Board Member
Marcus Sams is the Founder/Artistic Director of Moment Improv Theatre. Established in 2014, it is one of the first African-American owned improv theatres and training centers in the United States. He’s the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Improv Festival, has performed in 75+ national improv festival shows and has taught for festivals across the country. Marcus is a pioneer in the online improv space, having created the style known as the F.L.I. Technique and Teleprov, he is advancing what is possible in world of online improv. In 2020 he taught over 345hrs of online instruction and on average teaches 6-8 classes a week. He teaches teambuilding sessions for Google, Microsoft, & LinkedIn among many others. Improv is his religion and the stage, his church. |
