Washington Improv Theater

Founding and First Run (1986–1992)

Carole Douglis founded Washington Improv Theater in Washington DC in 1986. The company performed short-form and long-form improv in and around the city through 1992, when the original organisation disbanded.

Revival (1998–present)

Carole Douglis revived WIT on 27 November 1998 as a consensus-based collective, launching initial performances in the basement of Universalist National Memorial Church. In 2000, WIT established its own improv training programme. In 2004, the organisation hired its first full-time Artistic and Executive Director, Mark Chalfant (a Second City alumnus). WIT established an artistic residence at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th Street NW, and has since developed one of the most active improv training programmes in the US, with 1,728 students enrolled in fiscal year 2019.

WIT programmes both short-form and long-form improv and frames the practice as a civic and creative discipline extending beyond comedy into applied contexts. Its curriculum spans five levels, leading to house team placement. WIT at Work provides corporate improvisation training, and the organisation has programmed with the Kennedy Center and other DC arts institutions. The annual Improvalooza marathon and the Fighting Improv Smackdown Tournament are signature events that serve the local improv community as well as general audiences.