IC Town Hall Recap

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Hey there, fantastic folks who joined us at the most recent IC Town Hall, thanks for spending your evening with us! In case you couldn't make it, no worries—here's the scoop on what went down.

First off, we reminded ourselves and each other of our purpose and values, which you can catch up on right here. It's the heartbeat of what we're all about!

We reminisced some of the amazing highlights since our last get-together:

Remember the Improv Leadership Summit in October? We had a blast hosting over 100 improv geniuses from around the globe right here in Cincinnati! Think big names like Mick Napier from Annoyance Theatre, Coko Galore from Second City's main stage, and Michael Lutton from Magnet Theatre in NYC—it was an epic experience that put IC on the map. There were a whole lot of workshops for the IC community as well as a “campfire conversation” with Mick Napier. 

Over the last year we've had visits from so many improv legends like; Susan Messing, John Lehr, Louis Kornfeld, Rich Talarico and more. The energy they brought was infectious and their workshops were game-changing! 

Oh, and have you seen our snazzy new marquee? It's a beacon in the night, helping us showcase the awesome shows happening each week.

Since April and the inspirational Kitchen Sink Show, we’ve had a whole host of additional, amazing collaborations, including; 

  • The Pride show🏳️‍🌈

  • Alphas ♀️

  • Wonderbrain ♾️

  • Dungeons & Drag Queens ⚧️

  • ComedySportz 🏆

Looking ahead to 2024, as a company we’re focusing on mutual accountability.  IC Leadership is stepping up and adding new staff and advisors to help keep us accountable and to help us grow in incredible ways:

🌟 Clearly defined roles and responsibilities 🌟 Amped-up efficiency and organization 🌟 Rock-solid internal and external communication 🌟 Checks and Balances 🌟 Diverse input and ideas from our team as well as advisors 🌟 Regular cross-department meetings 🌟 Quarterly goal-setting sessions to keep us on track

We're shaking things up into five departments:

  • Education Team led by Colin Thornton, who's jazzed about bringing back Electives

  • Marketing Team under Kelly Morton's wing, aiming for top-notch branding consistency

  • Operations Team headed by Kelly Gruber, focusing on ace internal communication and leadership

  • Artistic Team co-led by Tone Branson, curating the vibe and developing coaches

  • Improv Applied Team guided by Jon Ulrich, masterminding corporate team building

The department heads will meet monthly to collaborate, and keep each other on track with short term and long term goals. Each quarter a bigger advisory group will meet to give perspective, offer feedback, problem solve and ideate. Stay tuned for an infographic to help wrap your head around it all, as well as updates from us on what we’re up to. 

More you say? Yes! There’s even more exciting stuff happening:

  • Erin Kessler is helping to revive our Mentorship Program! If you're itching for inspiration or want to be a mentor/mentee, apply here! Or contact Erin with any questions at: erinfgkessler@gmail.com. 

  • Caleb Robinson, Morgan Christie, and Monica Nash (among many others) are keeping the fire burning for the independently-led diversity initiatives—join the Affinity Groups for social connections and activism. We’ll have more info to share about this soon.

  • Peter Boylan's leading the Headlines Writing Group for comedy writing enthusiasts—reach out to him at pjboylan@juno.com to join the fun!

  • 2024 has also introduced the Queen City Cup, a cagematch style show where improv teams compete while performing under a given challenge. Check out the website for dates. Reach out to thequeencitycup@gmail.com.

Big thanks also to everyone who shared their thoughts, ideas and feedback. We appreciate the feedback and we’ve noted it all here. (Let us know if we’re missing anything!)

Thanks for being part of this amazing journey. Can't wait to see all the incredible things we'll achieve together this year! 🚀✨