HUGE Improv Theater is a Minneapolis artist-led non-profit theater company founded in 2005 by improvisers Jill Bernard, Butch Roy, Nels Lennes, Joe Bozic and Mike Fotis, dedicated to long-form improvisational theater.
HUGE’s presence has accelerated the growth of improvised theater and comedy in the Twin Cities, training thousands of new improvisers since its founding, expanding audience access from 56 to 500+ performances annually, and teaching 600+ students each year. In June 2023, HUGE closed its original location at 3037 Lyndale Avenue, after purchasing its own building at 2728 Lyndale Ave, Minneapolis.
History
HUGE began in 2005 as a collective of artists producing new improvised works at various venues throughout the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Responding to growth in audience demand and widespread interest in improv classes, HUGE was incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2009 and opened the doors of its first long-term home (a 100-seat theater/education venue at 3037 Lyndale Avenue, Minneapolis) in 2010, managed by Roy, Lennes and Bernard, who also served as the first Board of Directors, later joined by Molly Chase. HUGE is the only theater in the Twin Cities dedicated exclusively to long-form improvisation.[4]
In August 2017, a story in City Pages reported that HUGE's landlord, Julius Jaeger De Roma, had donated $500 to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke's 2016 campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana.[5] Upon this revelation, HUGE's board of directors denounced De Roma and began conversations about moving the theater to a new space.[5][6] In May 2019, HUGE announced a capital campaign to fund the eventual purchase of its own facility.[6]
As of 2019, HUGE was producing around 600 shows per year with an annual operating budget of $540,000.[6]
Shows and classes
HUGE runs improv shows six nights per week.[1] The theater also hosts classes for beginning improv students and workshops for more advanced improvisers.[4] HUGE is the site of the annual Twin Cities Improv Festival, a creation of the theater's staff designed to increase the presence of improvised theater in the Twin Cities.[4] It also hosts independent improv festivals such as the Black & Funny Improv Festival and Queer & Funny Improv Festival.
References
- ^ a b c d Rowe, Ashleigh V. (Series producer) (November 7, 2011). #245: HUGE Improv Theater, Davina + the Vagabonds + The Minnesota Historical Society’s 1968 Exhibit. Minnesota Original (Television production). Twin Cities Public Television. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ "HUGE Theater". Minnesota Fringe Festival. 2012. Archived from the original on July 5, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Google (May 29, 2013). "HUGE Improv Theater, Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ a b c Oxborough, Allegra (July 21, 2012). "Twin Cities Improv Festival kicks off at Huge Theater". City Pages. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ a b Boller, Jay (August 30, 2017). "Nazis, KKK 'can fuck straight off': Huge Improv Theater issues statement on controversial landlord". City Pages. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b c Hewitt, Chris (May 20, 2019). "Landlord's politics were 'catalyst' for huge move by Lyn-Lake's Huge Theater". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.