Best. Improv. Resources.

If you’re interested in improvisation as an art form or if you’re taking improv classes in Portland or other cities: fabulous! Maybe you’re a business leader who has taken a corporate improv workshop or received business training in Portland with us. Great: keep going!

We’d like to help you on the next phase of your journey.

As you’re starting to understand how joyous, freeing, and transformative improvisation can be, we’ve got recommendations on what we feel are the best improv classes in Portland along with some of the best books, interviews, shows, and podcasts about improv for you to check out. Exploring this list of improv resources can help take your curiousity, education, and practice of improvisation to the next level!

The Best Improv Classes in Portland (and beyond):

• For improv classes in Portland that focus on an acting-based “long-form” approach, we recommend OUR CLASSES. This is where we shine!

• For the best Portland improv classes that focus on a game-based “long-form” approach, we love the curriculum and teachers at Kickstand Comedy. Even better: they’re a community-run, non-profit theater. Check them out.

• For improv classes in Portland that focus on “short-form” games, look no further than CSz (Comedy Sportz). They’re the oldest improv theater in Portland and one of the best-known brands on the planet. Run by Patrick Short, a master musician, improviser, and teacher.

• For improv classes online, we recommend a master teacher: Kenn Adams, Artistic Director of The Synergy Theater.

Best Books on Improvisation:

• Patti Stiles - Improvise Freely

• Kat Koppett - Training to Imagine

• Keith Johnstone - Impro: Improvisation and the Theater

• Viola Spolin - Improvisation for the Theater

• Chana Halpren - Art by Committee: A Guide to Advanced Improvisation

• Andy Goldberg - Improv Comedy

• Adam Meggido - Improv Beyond Rules

The Best Talks, Interviews, & Documentaries About Improv:

• Follow the Fear - Documentary about Del Close

• Keith Jarrett - The Art of Improvisation

• Amy Pohler - Interview with Charlie Rose

• Christopher Farlow - Rules of Improv (although I prefer the term “guidelines”)

• Chris Gethard - A Lesson on Improv Technique

• Ken Adams - Creator of the “Story Spine”

The Best Blogs About Improvisation:

• Patti Styles - Patti is a renowned teacher, improviser, and author. I mentioned her book Improvise Freely above but her blog is ALSO a treasure trove.

• Change Through Play - David Koff, the founder of our company writes essays regularly about the art improvisation and how his improv in Portland (and in Los Angeles before that) became like a meditation for him.

The Best Improv Shows & Improvised Movies:

• Asscat - Upright Citizen’s Brigade on YouTube

• Improvised TED talks with James Cordon & guests (Bob Odenkirk!!)

• Curb Your Enthusiasm - Youtube & Free Trial on Prime

• Middleditch & Schwartz - Netflix

• Murderville - Netflix

The Best in Improvisation in Music:

• Herbie Hancock improvises for… Harvard?!

• Chick Corea & Friends, Improvising at the White House, followed by two songs

• Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) throwing down live on the radio (NSFW)

• Eminem vs. Juice freestyle rap battle from about 1997 (NSFW)

The Best Improv Podcasts:

• Improv4Humans, by Matt Besser from UCB

• The Dead Authors Podcast, by Paul F. Thompkins

• Mega, by Holly Laurent and Greg Hess

• Mission to Zyxx, by an incredible ensemble

• Improv4Humans, by Matt Besser from UCB

The Best Improv Shows & Performances in Portland:

• The best long-form improvisation shows in Portland featuring the city’s top talent is Bridge City Improv

• For great short-form improv shows in Portland, we recommend shows at CSz, in NW PDX and Curious Comedy, in NE PDX

• For community-based improv shows in Portland: “Open Court”, every other Sunday at Curious Comedy, where ANYONE is invited on stage to experiment with improv

• For long-form sets based on game theory, check out the shows at Kickstand.

A Work in Progress: Latest update Feb 20, 2024

We’ll regularly update this page as we learn new resources to share with our students, corporate clients, and the larger improvisation community. If you think we’re missing something from our list, contact us and let us know what you’d add and WHY!