M.I.'s Westside Comedy Theater facts for kids
 |
|
| Address | Santa Monica< California United States |
|---|---|
| Type | Comedy club, bar |
| Genre(s) | Sketch comedy, improvisation, stand-up comedy |
| Opened | 2009 |
The M.I.'s Westside Comedy Theater is a fun place in Santa Monica, California. It's a comedy club where people perform funny shows, a theater, and even a bar. It's also a school where you can learn to be a comedian!
Contents
How the Theater Started
From College to Comedy Club
The story of this theater began in 1998. Six friends from a college improv group called Mission IMPROVable moved to Chicago, Illinois. They wanted to learn more about comedy and perform shows.
By the year 2000, their group started traveling. They performed short comedy shows at colleges all over the country. Soon, more performers joined them. This allowed the group to do even more shows. They traveled in their van, which they called "Vanarky."
In 2002, some of the Mission IMPROVable performers moved to Los Angeles, California. They hoped to create a TV show, but it didn't happen. Still, they became popular on many comedy stages in Los Angeles.
Opening the Westside Comedy Theater
The M.I.'s Westside Comedy Theater officially opened on April 1, 2009. It was started by former members of Mission IMPROVable. One of the founders was Lloyd Ahlquist. He is famous for co-creating the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History.
When the theater first opened, Lloyd Ahlquist was in charge. In 2011, Sean Casey took over. He helped the theater grow and added more shows. Now, the theater has shows seven nights a week! Chris Gorbos is the current General Manager.
Famous Performers and Shows
Who Has Performed Here?
Many well-known comedians have performed at the Westside Comedy Theater. Some of these include Cole Stratton, Alonzo Bodden, David Alan Grier, Tig Notaro, Kevin Pollak, Neal Brennan, Demetri Martin, Aziz Ansari, Bill Burr, Zach Galifianakis, Russell Peters, and Dave Chappelle.
Mission IMPROVable Today
Today, the Mission IMPROVable group has over 50 members. They perform more than 350 shows each year. They travel to places from Hawaii to Singapore! The group also works on projects for movies and TV. They even created a special show for colleges and military bases. This show, called A Shot of Reality, helps teach about making good choices.
For ten years, the founders of the theater performed together weekly. Their show was called The Grind. It was a type of improv show. They stopped performing The Grind in 2019.
Learning Comedy at the Theater
The Westside Comedy Theater is also a training center. It offers classes in improvisational theatre. There are seven different levels of improv courses. You can also take classes to learn stand-up comedy. They offer two levels of stand-up courses.
