Philly Improv Theater (PHIT) is the only longform improvisation theater in the Metro Philadelphia area. PHIT embraces the art of improvisation as an end rather than a means - creating and producing improv, sketch, and alternate comedy shows in the tradition of theaters like Chicago's Second City and New York's Upright Citizens Brigade.

Photo (c) Tom Lovelund, 2008

Latest News

12/24/08 PHIT CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAYS. PHIT's office will be closed starting today at noon until Monday, January 5, 2008 at 10am. This is the first break we've taken since opening in 2005 - and we won't be checking email or phone messages while we're gone. If you do contact the theater, please know we will respond as promptly as we can when we return.

12/14/08 TICKETS AND CLASSES MAKE GREAT GIFTS. Looking for the gift for the comedy fan in your life? Get them tickets to one of our upcoming shows! We've got plenty of stand-up, sketch, and improv shows to choose from, so there's something for everyone. Or maybe that comedy fan is ready to become a comedy performer, but hasn't quite made the leap from seat to stage? Check out our upcoming classes - the perfect way to say "I'd love you even more if you were trained in the art of improvisation."

12/11/08 JANUARY CLASSES NOW ENROLLING! Start the new year off right with a Level 1 or Level 2 improv class with Activty Book director Rick Horner, or PHIT Artistic Director Alexis Simpson. Check out the details on our classes page.

12/09/08 ANOTHER SHUBIN WEEK IN THE CAN! Last Sunday PHIT celebrated the closing of our final Shubin Week of 2008. We laughed along with The Comic Vs Audience Comedy Show and Why Am I Not Famous?!? as they enjoyed their largest audiences to date. We said a teary goodbye to BEDTIME STORIES, Gregg Gethard's monthly variety showcase, whose audience has grown to a size that no longer fits in our theater! Though the week was bittersweet, we can always look back on December Shubin Week and remember that we enjoyed Omelet, Dave Hill, CUBED, Activity Book, Illegal Refill, The Hopper Brothers, Kent Haines, Dave Walk, and a mild-mannered chihuahua named Zoe.

Join us when we return to the Shubin Theatre January 5th-11th, 2009, and kick off another year of the best sketch, stand-up, and improv comedy in Philadelphia!

Want to savor more delicious memories of December Shubin Week? Visit the Unofficial PHITblog. For an excellent recap of Friday's Dave Hill Explosion, check out Comic Vs Audience.

12/1/08 THE STATE OF PHIT: TOMORROW NIGHT! Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow night at 8pm we'll be addressing you, the funny people of Philadelphia, about how things have been going here at Philly Improv Theater, and how we'll hope they go in 2009. We'll be at the Shubin Theater - 407 Bainbridge Street - and will be serving some light snacks. See you there!

11/21/08 DECEMBER CLASSES ENROLLING NOW! Heat bills got you down? Stay warm this winter through the power of mental imagery! Learn to improvise scenes that take place in sunny Florida! The Gobi Desert! The surface of the Sun! Long-time improviser, first-time instructor Jason Stockdale will teach you the skill set you need to have fun and play, no matter how cold it is outside. Enroll today!

10/30/08 SEE THE ACTION SECTION THIS WEEKEND! A special weekend of Halloween shows featuring up-and-coming sketch comedy group The Action Section hits the stage at The Shubin this weekend for a 4-night run of their Halloween themed show. And get ready for Shubin week starting next week!

10/18/08 SAVE THE DATE! DEC. 2, 2008 IS THE STATE OF PHIT! Last year we had a packed house for our presentation, which you can see details on and download the presentation from here. This year we're expecting an even larger crowd as we highlight our accomplishments in 2008, here Artistic Director Alexis Simpson lay out her artistic goals/vision for next year, and get an announcement from Executive Director Greg Maughan about performer profit sharing starting in 2009. More information about the evening can be found on our State of PHIT 2008 page.

10/15/08 CHECK OUT THE UNOFFICIAL PHIT BLOG! Members of our House Teams, their directors, as well as Artistic Director Alexis Simpson and Executive Director Greg Maughan, will be posting their thoughts on improv, updates about the theater, and links to funny stuff starting in the past and continuing into the future at http://phitblog.blogspot.com. There's already quite the flurry of activity - so check it out for more news about the theater all the time.

10/11/08 THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG, HOUSE TEAMS NAMED! Please join the entire Philadelphia improv community in welcoming our first-ever house teams into the world (all have another show tonight), they are:

Fletcher - director Scott Sheppard
Activity Book - director Rick Horner
The Scramble - director Greg Maughan

10/4/08 HOUSE TEAM PREMIERES NEXT WEEKEND! Check out our shows and/or tickets page for the details and to get seats in advance. Not only are we premiering the three new ensembles that we auditioned way back in April... we're also hosting a house team from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York: RAGNAROCK!