About VIC

for media | performances | workshops | about improv | the people

VIC’s performers and theatre space are available for private workshops, parties and corporate events. Just contact us for more information.

In 1989, Barbara Scott from Bay Area TheatreSports™ came to Ventura County to visit her mother and, while here, put on an improv workshop. The attendees included Gary Best and Tom Mueller, who considered the workshop “a revelation,” and went on to form a local TheatreSports™ league. In the two decades since then, that league grew up to be Ventura Improv Company (VIC).

Located in the historic Livery complex in downtown Ventura, VIC offers comedy improv shows every weekend and a full lineup of improv and movement workshops throughout the year.

VIC exists to enrich people’s lives through improv theatre, and to nurture local talent and the cultural life of Ventura.

VIC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

For the Media

Access VIC’s Media page to download VIC’s press kit, logos, photos and more.

Performances

Ventura Improv Company performs comedy improv every Friday and Saturday night at 8pm. Ages 12 and over are recommended. Our schedule is updated regularly with our full menu of shows, workshops, special events and more.

Our regular Friday night shows are intended to showcase the talents of our improvisers of all experience levels — some newer performers are mixed in with our more seasoned performers.

Our regular Saturday night shows feature our experienced “Varsity” players.

Formats of the regular shows are subject to change, depending on the number of players for the evening — it’s always competition-style comedy improv, and always fun!

Amanda Armitage, Gary Best, Travis Greer on stage, 2009

Shows typically last about 1 hour, 45 minutes. Concessions (soft drinks, coffee, candy and cookies) are available at the box office before the show and during intermission.

Tickets:

  • $10 each for ages 12+
  • $8 for under 12
  • $8 for seniors 55+
  • $8 for college students or members of the military with ID
  • Groups: $8 per ticket for groups of 10 or more. See additional policies about group reservations, below.

Reservations/Refunds:

  • Reservations are generally not required for our regular Friday or Saturday night shows, unless you have a large group or have other needs.
  • To reserve tickets, call (805) 643-5701 ext. 2, or email
  • Tickets must be purchased in advance for groups of 10 or more in order to secure reservations.
  • Requests for refunds can be made up to 24 hours before the show.
  • We accept cash, checks, Visa and Mastercard.

VIC’s performers and theatre space are also available for private functions and events. Contact us for more information.

VIC performs many improvisational formats and special shows including:

  • TheatreSports™ Team Match Two teams are asked to perform the same challenge given by the show’s host. Examples of challenges: use the audience, scene with a moral, employ a verbal restriction. A panel of three judges rate the individual scenes between one (worst) to five (best), holding up Olympic-style cards. The team with the highest score at the end of the night is the winner.
  • Micetro™, AKA Last Improviser Standing Each player is assigned a number. The show’s director then selects numbers at random, and asks the players to perform an improv scene or game. The audience then votes on the scene, clapping for a number between one (worst) and five (best). Throughout the performance, the lowest-ranked players are eliminated until one winning improviser, the Micetro, remains standing.
  • Gorilla Theatre™ This is a four-player format, in which each of the improvisers take turns directing the other three in a scene or game of his/her choosing. The director can be very hands-on, replaying, stopping, or jumping into scenes. The audience judges each scene, awarding either a banana (win) or a forfeit (lose); a forfeit is some kind of humiliation the player must do or perform.
  • Spontaneous Broadway The audience acts as potential funders for a Broadway show. In the first half, players “audition” a song from their improvised musical. Audience members supply made-up song or show titles, which the players use to for inspiration. The audience then votes on the show they’d like to see in its full length. The long-form, Broadway-style musical is then performed after the break.
  • Tournaments Multiple-week series that run on Fridays, several times a year. Ventura Improv Company believes that participating in performances is a key part of the improv student’s development. These tournaments allow performers of all levels to showcase their talents and gain valuable experience. Past tournament themes have included “Summer Blockbuster”, “Spring Break”, “Baseball”, and “Monster Mash.”
  • New Year’s Eve This popular, family-friendly event starts early and ends by 10:30pm, so guests can party on elsewhere or beat the crowds home. The evening includes a sumptuous appetizer and dessert buffet, a comedy improv show, silent auction of fabulous prizes, and champagne toast.

Workshops

Find out more about our full menu of improv and movement classes on our workshops page.

About Comedy Improv and TheatreSports™

TheatreSports™ is improvisational theatre staged as a competition. Improvisors — or players — perform scenes and are awarded points by Olympic-style judges. TheatreSports™ is an international organization, with chapters in many countries; Ventura’s group began in 1989. See our resources page for more in-depth information about improv and TheatreSports™.

Keith Johnstone, the founder of TheatreSports™, has been involved in improvisational theatre since the mid-1950s and is internationally recognized as a pioneer in this field. Keith found a way to inject into theatre the same kind of excitement that audiences experience at sporting events. This involves a change in the relationship between the players and the audience, breaking down the formalities of traditional theatre by encouraging spectators to cheer, boo, and become involved in the creative act by fueling scenes with suggestions. The players have in common a love of improvisation, the point of which, in the words of Keith Johnstone, is “to create a feeling of benevolence in the audience.”