The San Francisco Improv Alliance is a group of actors dedicated to improvisational theater. It started in 2005 by Shaun Landry, artistic director of Oui Be Negroes. The Alliance offers master class workshops and national ensembles, co-production of pre-established ensembles, performance opportunities for upcoming ensembles, staging of self-produced shows and community outreach in the field of improvisational theatre.
The San Francisco Improv Talent Pool also offers improvisational actors a chance at paying work in the craft of improvisational theater through educational, corporate, film, radio and television events.
In 2007 the Alliance expanded its community resources to improvisers within San Francisco, CA. They provided improvisors for The San Francisco Family Festival and Public Service Announcements for The Department of Public Health. The Alliance also booked improvisors for Major League Baseball.
Similarly, the Improv Alliance produced The San Francisco Improv Festival. Beginning in 2003 (with improviser Sam Shaw), the SFIF has had thousands of members attend improvisational theater and enrolled in master classes with teachers such as Mick Napier, David Razowsky, and Ian Roberts. It is one of the few improvisational Theater Festivals that pays its ensembles to perform. Starting as a 12-week event, The festival now runs over a seven-week span, making it still "The longest Running Improv Festival in the Country".
Sam Shaw left the San Francisco Improv Festival in June 2005 giving all rights and entities to the business of The San Francisco Improv Festival (SFIF) to Landry. In 2007, Clay Robeson and Hans Summers became Associate Producers along with Ms. Landry.
Timeline
2008
- July 2: The Best of The San Francisco Improv Festival at SFTF 2008
- July–August: The San Francisco Improv Festival
- June 29-29: SFIA’s Irish Mutts performs at The Twin Cities Improv Festival
- June 2–8: SFIA's Irish Mutts performs at The Chicago Improv Festival
- April 18–20: SFIA’s Irish Mutts at The Oberlin College Improv Conference
- March 16: SFIA Produces PowerDesigner Webisode
- March 6–16: SFIA Produces Toss of a Hat as part of the BOA Festival
- February: The SFIA Becomes Casting Partners with Creative I Talent
- February: Landry and Summers Performs at Boxcar Theater
- February: Oui Be Negroes performs with SacActors.com Sacramento
- January-Feb: SFIA Produces Webisodes for Mobile Complete
- January 19: Storytellers Unplugged at ETH-NO-TECH
- January 12: Hosting Onion’s Broken Resolutions at Mighty
- January 10: Storytellers Unplugged performs at O’Connell High School.
2007
- December 5, 2007: The SFIA Talent Pool at Bacardi/Dewers Repeal Day Celebration
- November 16, 2007: The Irish Mutts performs at IO West Los Angeles.
- November 2–17: The Alliance produces Improv and Soul Revue at The Darkroom Theater
- October 20 - An Evening with Landry and Bodden at The Actors’ Theater Santa Cruz
- October 13: The Alliance hosts Gavin Newsom’s San Francisco Family Festival
- July 29 - The SFIA goes to The Santa Cruz Improv Festival - An Evening with Landry and Bodden
- July: The Alliance Talent Pool at Major League Baseball’s Fanfest
- June–July: The San Francisco Improv Festival 2007
- June 5–6: The Alliance performs for Linksys
- May: The Alliance and Shaun Landry on KQED Cool As Hell Podcast
- May 2007: The Alliance helps cast Late Night with Conan O'Brien
- April 21–28: The Alliance produces Improv Juggernaut Comedy at The Exit
- April 21–22: The Alliance Produces SPF7 We Used to Fuck
- March: The Alliance takes permanent residence at The Garage Theater
- February 2007: Oui Be Negroes Performs at the Climate Theater
- January 2007: The Alliance takes over the Monday Night Make Em Ups
2006
- December 2006: The Alliance Performs for Hart Howerton
- September 2006 The Improv Alliance Presents Unfiltered Comedy
- August 31 - September 2, 2006 The Improv Alliance Presents Revolving Madness and SPF7
- August 27, 2006: John Filgas Memorial
- June 26, 2006: Jill Bernard Drop In Class
- June 15 - July 27, 2006: The San Francisco Improv Festival
- April 8, 2006: The Alliance Hosts iTalent HP Photo Shoot Audition
- March 18–19, 2006: The Alliance Hosts Commercial Improv Auditions for RMITV
- March 17- April 8, 2006: The Improv Alliance Presents Revolving Madness
- March 3–11, 2006: The Improv Alliance Presents Drunken Monkey
- February 22, 2006: The Improv Alliance appears on a Mytechnologylawyer.com webcast
- January 19, 20, 21, 26-27 2006: The Improv Alliance Presents 15-Minutes
- February 13–18, 2006: The Improv Alliance Talent Pool Performs for Vodavi Communications Systems
- January 11, 18, & 25 2006: The Improv Alliance Presents The Audition Class
- January 5, 2006: The Improv Alliance Talent Pool Performs for McGraw Hill
2005
- December: The Alliance Presents The Practice Round: Pay what you can Classes
- December 9: The Alliance performs for Texaco/Chevron Holiday Celebration
- November: Alliance featured in Theater Bay Area
- October 19: Alliance Talent Pool Performs for Dome Construction Oktoberfest
- October 15: Improv Alliance Oui Be Negroes performs at Denver Improv Fest
- October 7: Improv Alliance First Talent Pool Performance for Family Caregivers
- October 4: Improv Alliance and the Flood Relief Improv Revue
- September: The Alliance Helps Manage the Climate Theater
- August 27: The San Francisco Improv Alliance Historical Group Photo 2005
- August 5–27: Improv Alliance/OBN - Cafe Negro at The Climate Theatre
- July 30: Alliance and Oui Be Negroes on Cool as Hell Podcast San Francisco
- July 12: Improv Alliance Drop in Classes at the Darkroom
- June–July: Improv Alliance Forms The Improv Talent Pool
- May 28: Alliance Announces Submissions for SF Improv Festival 2006
- May 26: Oui Be Negroes Becomes House Ensemble with the Alliance
- May 23: Improv Alliance Forms. First Alliance email newsletter distributed