The ultimate in corporate edutainment, our shows & workshops are powerful immersive experiences that deliver the laughs and powerful life skills! We host groups at our Times Square NYC Theater and tour venues DC to Boston and beyond! We offer a number of full shows, but here are three inexpensive options for smaller teams, smaller venues and tight budgets. We also offer these programs to schools and private events for friends and family. EMAIL for more information. CLICK HERE to.download / print PDF Corporate Team Building & Leadership Training thru Improv Workshops & Immersive Shows
Corporate Team Building & Leadership Training thru Improv Workshops & Immersive Shows
- Improv Comedy Workshop
- YES AND, THE EXPERIENCE
- Madlib Murders Mystery Events
IMPROV WORKSHOPS
IMPROV WORKSHOPS are amazing tools to develop strong teams and leaders, replacing 1000s of books and lectures that merely discuss concepts, goals and techniques. Simply playing these games develops creativity, critical thinking, public speaking, self confidence, self awareness, listening, focus and more. We teach all to replace ego and insecurities with simple choices, active listening and supporting team. These are all cornerstones of “YES! And…” the #1 governing principle behind Improvisation. YES AND… Improv is also the best route to Psychological Safety, the #1 factor in Team Success. The #1 skill in comedy is LISTENING, which is also the #1 factor in a good leader. We use a version of these workshops to train team building, leadership, sales, customer service, conflict resolution, professional development for teachers, medical staff and more.
YES AND… THE EXPERIENCE
YES AND… THE EXPERIENCE is a 100% immersive game show, hosted by one of our professional teaching artists with years of comedy experience. Guests are invited to the stage to play a series of games. In many ways this is a hybrid show and master class in Improv, the ultimate EDUTAINMENT. While the guests experience a show, all emerge with many of the benefits of a workshop.
MADCAPPED MYSTERIES Our newest show combines the power of improvisation and the popularity of true crime comedy drama. The opening minutes are akin to our popular game HUMAN MAD LIBS and the first scene of any LAW & ORDER episode. Using the guests to fill in the blanks, the entire audience helps establish a crime, naming a fictional victim, and building crime scene details. For the next 20-30 minutes the detective runs around the room and briefly interrogates guests, each assigned a character in our story. Each encounter delivers inspiration for another character. We meet the mayor, chief of police, forensics, coroner, family, friends, coworkers, teachers and other potential witnesses. Before long many guests (perhaps all for smaller events) have been part for the show. At this point, the detective identifies 3-5 stand outs as our prime suspects. The audience is deputized and broken into teams to interrogate suspects, collaborate and deliberate a final solution to the crime. Our detective reads many of the solutions aloud and picks a winning team. We present silly prizes to the winning team and the best actor, voted by your peers.
BOOK ONE OF THESE ACTIVITIES FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT
THE FULL WORKSHOP
Actual games might vary from teacher to teacher, or depending on your specific needs for your team. We have 100s, if not 1000s of games that all deliver similar results.
Our Three #1s:
We begin every session (Including our educational shows) by emphasizing three foundational principles:
- Walter’s #1 Rule: HAVE FUN but never at another’s expense. Improv thrives on a playful and supportive atmosphere where everyone feels safe to take risks and be themselves.
- #1 Improv Rule: YES AND… This principle teaches psychological safety, the number one factor in team success. By focusing on making your teammates look good, you create a collaborative environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute.
- #1 Comedy Skill: Listening This is also the number one skill in a great leader. Active listening involves not just hearing the words, but also understanding the underlying emotions and intentions. It’s about listening with your eyes and being open to changing your perspective based on what you hear.
Warm-Up Games:
- Zip Zap Zup: The classic game warms us up individually and as a team, teaching us to listen and respond quickly as we pass around simple words and gestures.
- Pass the Face: An improv version of telephone, where players pass around a silly face, gesture, and sound. This exercise highlights the importance of non-verbal communication and observation.
- What Are You Doing?: We break out of our shells a bit with silly pantomimes – swimming, biking, running, rock climbing – to spark creativity and spontaneity.
Team-Building Games:
- Ten Scenes Ten Minutes: In smaller teams scattered around the room, players spontaneously create a series of simple conversations based on a location or scenario. This activity builds quick thinking, collaboration, and storytelling skills.
- Eight Things or Categories of Eight: Each player is given a topic to list eight things, while the team encouragingly counts to eight after each offer. This game promotes creative thinking, quick recall, and supportive teamwork.
- One Word Story: Players create a short story, one word at a time. This exercise fosters collaboration, active listening, and builds a sense of shared creation.
- Yes! And… Short Stories: Players create mini-stories one sentence at a time, starting with the words “Yes! And…” This exercise reinforces the power of agreement, collaboration, and building on each other’s ideas.
- I Am a Tree: We learn to make simple choices, listen, and “Yes, And…” as we build a series of pictures. This game develops trust, non-verbal communication, and the ability to create a shared vision.
Masterclass of Performance Games:
Unlike most corporate training improv companies, we believe in ending the session with a taste of actual performance games you might see in a show like “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” or performed by local troupes, including our own off-Broadway show. These games showcase the potential of improv and demonstrate how far the team has come during just one session. The beauty of improv, while it takes years to train as a professional performer that could get hired by a company like ours, everyone can have fun playing these games on day one. Whether as final moments of the workshop or our show YES AND… THE EXPERIENCE, these games deliver the laughs, gentle push our comfort zones and boundaries and leave everyone realizing they are capable of far more than they gave themselves and / or each other credit.
Corporate Events
The New York Improv Theater is a one stop edutainment center for corporate team building, office / holiday parties and more. Our comedy shows and workshops deliver high impact results. Clients include Google, Merck, Mercedes Benz, META /Facebook, TikTok, JP Morgan Chase, Accenture, Morgan Stanley, Twitter, Roblox, Rimowa, EI Digital, Accenture, Datadog HQ, Milbank, BING/Microsoft, Band of America – Merrill Lynch, Home Depot, Ernst & Young, Johnson & Johnson, Louis Vuitton, Coach, UBS, BDO, AMEX, Master Card, Macy’s, 360i, IBM, GM, Kraft, UNILEAVER, HBO, Prudential, Convene, Conference Board and many more… (NYC DOE VENDORS)
College / University Tour
EIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH Improv Comedy show has played the big stages (500+ seats) and smaller intimate venues (50-200) and even Greek Houses of Syracuse, Seton Hall, Princeton, Georgetown, Vaughn, Molloy University, Montclair State University, Bloomberg College, High Point University, Williams College, Lynchburg College, Southern New Hampshire University, Ferris State, Mount Isa, Misericordia, Sacred Heart, Hastings College, Pace University, Vaughn, College Misericordia, University of Vermont, Stone Hill University, Yeshiva University, Columbia University, NYU, Hofstra University, Cooper Union, John Jay College, Fordham University and more.
More Improv Touring Nationwide
Additionally, EIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH has toured 1000s of public and private events at The Smithsonian Portrait Gallery, Wolf Trap, The Argyle Theater, Emelin Theater, Gerold Opera House, 72nd Street Pier, Cherry Point Marine Base, Disney Resorts, Ohio National Guard, Connecticut DCF, First Nights Winchester VA, Binghamton First Night, Haddonfield First Night, Chateau Briand, Babylon Carriage House, retirement homes, numerous libraries, YMCA, JCC, Parks and Recreation, 1000s of k12 schools and summer camps in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska.
Artistic Director, Walt Frasier has 25+ years of professional credits in comedy, Theater and music. He got his big break in TV performing comedy sketches on MTV’s Stankervision, Late Nite with David Letterman, TruTV’s Friends of the People, and most recently on HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay. As an actor, Frasier has appeared on NBC’s Blacklist, CBS’s Blue Bloods, USA’s Royal Pains (Filmed in Puerto Rico), Netflix’s Lilyhammer (filmed in Norway) and NICK’s Naked Brothers Band. In addition to 1000s of live performances around the world, Frasier has also appeared in numerous commercials, industrials, webisodes and reality TV shows.
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