Reno Improv

Founding (2015)

Ben Craig first encountered improv at Second City Chicago in the mid-1990s, originally using it to improve public speaking. He later performed with Second City Las Vegas and moved to Reno in 2004, finding no active improv community in the city. Aurora Boles began studying improv in 2011 for confidence and presentation skills. In 2015 they co-founded Reno Improv out of the Potentialist Workshop with an explicit mission centered on fun, challenge, playfulness, and accessibility.

Nonprofit Model and Community Focus

Reno Improv incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to make training affordable and remove financial barriers to participation. The founders' backgrounds in improv as a personal development tool informed an organizational identity that prioritizes inclusion over elite performance, welcoming participants from all experience levels and backgrounds.

Ongoing Operations

Reno Improv continues to operate in Reno as the city's primary improv organization, offering classes, workshops, and performances through its nonprofit structure.

Reno Improv presents community-focused long-form improv with an emphasis on inclusion and accessibility. The nonprofit model enables a mission-driven approach: keeping training affordable, welcoming all skill levels, and positioning improv as a tool for confidence-building and public speaking development alongside theatrical craft. The organization explicitly serves Reno's diverse community rather than a self-selecting performing arts audience.