"Improv? I could never do that!", said everyone.

FROM THE FOUNDER OF HUDSON VALLEY IMPROV, SAMANTHA JONES

When I was young,  teaching never occurred to me. It was always acting. I started acting professionally in third grade and never looked back. But at 19, I stepped into my first improv class. This changed my life.  

I expected improv to be relatively easy given my prior experience. What I discovered was transformative. For the first time since childhood, I felt truly free and 100% present. I stopped using my brain to come up with things to say and instead did it instinctually.  Can you imagine feeling that liberated, without a single worry in the world? That moment ignited a lifelong commitment to improv, reminding me of who I am and what I can achieve.

This is why I dedicate my life to teaching improv to adults. When I encounter individuals who say they could never, ever improvise, I respond with this:

"When you were born, the only way you learned was by playing. Improv is more natural to you than you can imagine. Let me help you remember".

For over 30 years, I’ve been helping adults rediscover that joy. I've taught parents, teachers, librarians, corporate teams, start-ups, and even military personnel. My techniques have supported rock bands, musicians, and TED Talk speakers alike. Yet, it’s here in the Hudson Valley, where I spend nearly every day, I live and breathe improv—teaching and promoting the incredible work of my local students.

We are the only professional level improv training center people can find between NYC and Albany, and we don't take that lightly. We have people driving over ninety minutes to our classes, sometimes multiple times a week. We are expanding, but we can only go so far without raising our prices, which would make it impossible for many of our students to attend our classes. 

That's where you come in. 

I invite you to help us continue this important work. Your support can make a real difference in our community and help more individuals experience the freedom and joy that improv brings.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to support our mission.

Live to play,

Samantha Jones
Founder/Director
Hudson Valley Improv

Hudson Valley Improv is a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a 501(c)(3) charity. Contributions made payable to Fractured Atlas for the purposes of Hudson Valley Improv are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Any donation amount is appreciated! 

Read more about Fractured Atlas and donate HERE

• Your donation helps keep our classes prices affordable in a rural area of Upstate NY. Additionally, by off setting expenses, with your donation we can bring our improv corporate training to other non-for-profit organizations who want to have us but cannot afford it. 

• Current Larger Scale Corporate Opportunities: Our corporate sponsors keep Hudson Valley Improv moving forward. We operate on a very low budget and put most of our income from classes right back into the business. Corporate sponsors help us do more, offer more, and make the improv wheels turn faster. We are a certified woman owned business in NYS.
  

1. SHOW SPONSOR - HVI produces several live shows per year. Our show sponsors are mentioned right at the top of our shows in a very exciting, energized way! To be a yearly sponsor the donation must be at least $12,000. 
   
2. FESTIVAL SPONSOR - HVI lives to attend festivals! Our festival sponsors make that happen. Our festival sponsors logo is place prominently on the back of our performance shirts and if w have video from the perforce (which we always do), your company is in the opening credits : SO and SO Company present Hudson Valley Improv at the SO and SO Improv Festival"!
   National Festival Sponsor minimum donation $12,000
   International Festival Sponsor minimum donation $20,000
   
3. WEBSITE SPONSOR - Our website sponsor company name is place right under our hame on our home page as " Presented by So and S0 Company". Our website sponsor is seen on the HOME page of our website by every person who visits. Minimum donation $50,000

Future goals your donation will help make possible:

• We would like to create a Diversity Scholarship Program for both new and existing students that offers financial aid, networking events, targeted educational programs and on-going mentorship to historically underrepresented individuals in our community so all students may have an equal opportunity to learn and grow through improv. 

• Our House Team of our most advanced students are often invited to perform in improv festivals in the US and abroad. These festivals are incredible opportunities for our students to enrich their overall understanding of their own creativity and expand their knowledge and connections in the world of improv. We would like to be able to subsidize the costs of these opportunities so they may attend. 

• We would like to rent a space and build a blackbox theater. In our area there aren't many small affordable theatres to rent, so we are often at the mercy of already established businesses fitting us into their schedules. As a result, we have limited access an opportunity to perform. With our own theatre we can offer larger and more classes as well as more shows and community building events we produce.