Comedy pioneers BATS Improv turn 40, with more wild flights of storytelling - 48 hills

"“The excitement of improvisation was palpable, and the joy and discovery and being onstage together was addictive,” she says. “It was playful, lively, and surprising, and you wanted to do more, learn more, and perform more. The mystery of the unknown future, combined with the trust that we'd be able to take the next step, went hand in hand.”"

"Some of the biggest questions early on were where they would perform, where to hold workshops, who would attend them, and how much to charge. She and her fellow improvists, including Brian Lohmann and William Hall, navigated those early days by taking one step at a time, as the company went from a workshop to a show to an organization."

"Founded in 1986, BATS Improv strove to cultivate and innovate the craft of improvisation through engaging, playful, and high-quality performance and training. When Stockley joined in 1989, she brought her preferred Theatresports-style improv-created by British-Canadian educator and theatre director Keith Johnstone-from Seattle's Unexpected Productions, where she got her start as a player, to BATS."

"BATS Improv, San Francisco's premier improv theatre company and school, is celebrating 40 years this season, including more summer youth camps, 40th anniversary specialty classes, community improv jams, a “Hitchcock Performance Lab,” and zesty new shows like Women of the West, Warp Speed: Improvised Star Trek, and Whodunnit? (Seriously, We Don't Know Either)."

BATS Improv in San Francisco celebrates 40 years with expanded summer youth camps, 40th anniversary specialty classes, community improv jams, a “Hitchcock Performance Lab,” and new productions including Women of the West, Warp Speed: Improvised Star Trek, and Whodunnit? (Seriously, We Don’t Know Either). The company operates from the 200-seat Bayfront Theater at Fort Mason Center and became a model for later improv theatres over four decades. Early growth involved uncertainty about venues, workshop locations, audiences, and pricing. Founding member Rebecca Stockley describes improvisation as exciting, playful, surprising, and driven by trust in taking the next step. Theatresports-style improv from Keith Johnstone’s approach helped shape the training and performance culture at BATS.

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