New York
Improv classes
Every school and company we know of running improv classes in New York — what they teach and where to sign up. Details come from each school's own site; confirm dates and prices with them directly.
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Brooklyn Comedy Collective
Improv Levels 1-4 ($375 for 7 weeks), Musical Improv Levels 1-2 ($395), sketch, stand-up, character and clown classes and $300 five-week advanced electives, plus $35 drop-in classes and $35-$40 drop-in workshops. Full-length classes include free show admission and most culminate in public performances.
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Magnet Theater
Improv Levels One-Three plus advanced levels, electives and intensives, Musical Improv, Sketch Writing Levels One-Three, storytelling and teen classes — 'active' classes where you learn by doing since 2005.
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The PIT (Peoples Improv Theater)
Improv Levels 1-4 ($299-$399 early bird), 'Joy of Improv' beginner classes ($149 early bird), sketch, stand-up, acting and musical improv tracks, and two-hour $25-$35 drop-in improv classes every day of the week. Running since 2002.
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The Second City New York
The Second City curriculum in Brooklyn: Improv 1-5, Writing 1, Stand-Up 1 and Intro to Acting at $440 (autumn sessions began Aug 30 - Sep 3 2026), Conservatory 3 and Grad Revue 2-3 at $475, Musical Improv Conservatory at $635, a $275 Public Speaking course and a $275 Intro to Improv in Spanish from Sep 27, teen improv ($315) and a Teen Ensemble ($495), plus $35 improv, musical improv, stand-up and writing drop-ins.
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UCB New York (Upright Citizens Brigade)
The UCB Training Center's long-form improv curriculum (Improv 101 through 401 plus Advanced Study), Sketch 101-301, Character 101-201 and Intro to Stand-Up Comedy, taught at the 14th Street Campus and a Union Square campus. Most eight-week sections are $525 (a few daytime sections $475, one-week Mon-Fri intensives $450, Sketch 301 $600, Advanced Study $400-$500, Intro to Stand-Up $400), with a free Improv 101 Drop-In on Tuesday Sep 22 and New York sections starting September 13 through November 1 2026.
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FoHi Improv
Neighbourhood improv school in Forest Hills teaching long-form: a 4-session Absolute Beginner Course at $140 on Monday evenings from late September 2026, a six-week Improv for Older Adults (60+) on Friday afternoons at $210, an eight-session Improv Essentials course at $320 and a Musical Improv course at $395 on Tuesday evenings from mid-October, each ending in a showcase. Held at the First Presbyterian Church community room and the American Legion hall.
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Improv NOW!
A $15 drop-in improv class on Sunday afternoons and Monday evenings and a $10 improv jam on Friday evenings, run as a weekly Meetup group at the Ripley-Grier rehearsal studios on 8th Avenue.
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Improvolution
Character-based improv school at 115 MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village - 'the first female-founded, owned & operated improv school in NYC', running since 2002. The ladder runs from a single-session 2.5-hour Intro to Improv and a four-session Launch Into Yes through Level 1: Core ($495 for ten 2.5-hour or eight 3-hour sessions, 18+) and advanced classes for experienced improvisers, plus a $25 Friday Gym Jam and corporate and team workshops.
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New York Improv Theater
Short-form improv company running since 2002: two-hour Adult Drop In Classes at 12pm Saturdays at the Broadway Comedy Club ($50 a week, $100 a month or $800 a year, with free tickets to all public shows), 10am Saturday Youth Classes in 8-week sessions plus comedy-camp weeks, alongside K-12 school programmes.
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Q.E.D. Astoria
A welcoming Astoria comedy and workshop space whose improv offering is an 8-week Adult Improv Class with Bridget Fitzgerald ending in a public performance, alongside stand-up, storytelling, crafts and kids' programming.
Before your first class
Learn the fundamentals free.
Our twelve-chapter course covers yes-and, listening, game of the scene and more — read it in an afternoon and walk into class ahead.